Dictionary Definitions from Oxford Languages · crum·my /ˈkrəmē/ informal adjective adjective: crummy; comparative adjective: crummier; superlative adjective: crummiest; adjective: crumby; comparative adjective: crumbier; superlative adjective: crumbiest 1.) dirty, unpleasant, or of poor quality. 2.)an old or converted truck used to transport loggers to and from work.
At one point, I had three vehicles. I Had an old Jeep for bad weather. I had a mini van for when it was time to transport the whole family. I had a two door "W/T" pickup truck, for when it was time to haul things. I bought a 2006 Ram Mega Can 1500 4X4, and sold ALL THREE of the vehicles I replaced with this one. It has a massive cab for the family, 4WD and a 6 foot truck bed. The one truck does everything so perfectly that after I drove through the first engine. I put in a new engine, updated the electronics, reupholstered it and painted it. Now I will have this truck for yet another 20 years.
West coast loggers used the term “crummy” back when I was a kid and I suspect they still do. Never heard the term used for four door pickups, but it wouldn’t surprise me. A crummy was a pure workhorse that didn’t receive much in the way of pampering, unlike the modern ones seen regularly in suburban driveways.
I knew many logging companies that had suburban's and called them crummies. I worked on the railroad and they had big 1 ton 4 door pickups and called them crummies.
As this term was not known to me, I had assumed that this was a video about America loving, shall we say, less than mediocre cars. Funny, but I learned something new in the process. Good vid 🤳
Never have I heard of a crew cab being called a crummy. We used to call them....workie trucks, as in the guys using them were....workies. They almost always were bare bones trucks for....working. Not like what we have these days, with truck interiors rivalling a Lincoln Town Car.
What a crummy video ;-p Never heard this term before, but liked the history you have shown. Recently bought a non-crummy regular cab full sized truck, F-150, RCLB. The way trucks should be, 8 foot bed ;-p
Yep, Chevy/GMs are junky rust buckets. In 2010, I bought a used 1999 F150 tan stepside extended cab, 4 doors but the rears opened opposite. A friend had a lower mileage 1999 Silverado 1500 of a very similar color and also stepside. Her truck rattled like it was worn out at less than 90k miles. The tailpipes rusted and fell off. The power window motors died. Also it only had 3 doors. No rear door on the driver side. Meanwhile, my F150 rode like new, no squeaking interior. No rusted out exhaust. Power windows still worked. My life changed after a couple years and sold my truck for reasons but yeah. The buyer didn't even try to haggle, very rare in the south. He was tickled to find it.
I buy around 7 years old, decent mileage and in good shape and just maintain them and drive like the next one costs a mint. Latest one was ziebart undercoated new and then maintained to the max. It's a 2017 Frontier SV 4X4 for $17k. Damned near bulletproof.
My daily is a rusted out 2008 Durango with the infamously bad 4.7 V8. Mine has 289,000 miles on it, but I've kept it maintained. I did make some patch panels and rivet em over the larger holes. Ain't no point in putting too much effort into it. Those 07-09s rust like crazy, especially up here in the rust belt.
I miss those compact trucks of the late 70s, 80s, and early 90s. They were not only utilitarian; they were also easy to drive compared to the big vehicles that dominate today.
Morning HCG. I’m a boomer that has always had an interest in the automotive world but must confess I had never heard the term “crummy” until you mentioned it in a previous video. I’m wondering if its origin is a regional phenomenon (I’ve spent most of my life in the Midwest and the Mid-Atlantic areas and have never lived west of the Mississippi). At any rate, the bulk of the current market saddens me. Crossovers and SUVs are so boring… there is only so much “style” that can be added to what is essentially a box with a hood. I’ll probably be buried in my Buick TourX wagon… lol. Thanks for my Friday morning fix! 👍👍👍
I'm 54 and I've got to say I've never heard the term "Crummy" to refer to crew cab trucks. How did that word come to be? I've only ever known it to mean something bad, which I guess, a lot of modern crossovers are. I've got a 2004 Tacoma Crummy that I'll never part with. Enlightening video!
It’s called a crummy cause it’s just crappy or crummy ol rig you use to get to the job site. I know a power crew in Eugene OR that uses an old 70s Vw beetle as a crummy. They keep it on top of one of the big crane trucks when not in use. it’s on Franklin blvd I bet it’s on street view
Considering how devastating the depression was to the auto industry, I'd say Graham/Paige managed to do a lot better then many other more prestigious names like Auburn-Cord and such. Interesting that after the war they were picked up by henry Kaiser to eventually become Kaiser-Frasier and go onto a number of directions, Kaiser cars eventually continuing production in Argentina I believe for many more years. I'm willing to believe that somewhere in the word parts of this company or it's products may still be being made or used to this day, saying the reality was success for the brothers after all.
SO the seeds of their demise really were planted in the depression. Building the merlins gave them a lease on life and they darn near did it. Perhaps had they come up with the Clipper idea 5+ years earlier under a different marque and become a 2-division (Cadillac and Chevrolet) version of GM. Getting an OHV V8 out in the late 40s rather than 1955 might've helped too. But they went for the auto transmission. If they could've outsourced that (even a pre-selector setup) and avoided the ticking time bomb of the Briggs deal who knows?
My Dad was a packard man, owning many models including a 1939--120, a 41, a 48, and a 53 clipper. I was just 2 years old, when he bought the 53 clipper used in 56. My favorite was the 1939, I felt it would be a perfect mobster car, ha, ha--it sat so high with running boards. The story of the 1939 was very unique. Dad bought it from a banker who worked at a bank called Farmers and Merchants in long beach(this is one solid bank--where I still keep my money). This guy was higher up in the bank--the position I don't remember. Dad bought it in 1959--with 10,000 miles on it, for $500, yup $500, and it was 20 years old, always garaged with orginal paint.. The banker drove it to work very rarely because he lived less than 2 blocks from the bank. It was a daily driver for dad, and he had the interior redune(moths had put holes in the interior), put a turn signal kit on it from "western auto" if anyone remembers those stores (this was in orange county california) and put new tires on it. He drove that car for years, doing very little, I remember he put new brakes on it at one time, and replaced a broken valve spring(Those engines were so easy to work on). I would walk a couple of blocks and greet him when he came home from work, hop on the running boards, and enjoyed the ride back home for 2 or 3 minutes with the wind blowing in my face. That car ran and ran--it was unbelievably reliable. There was a place where he got gas, where a man approached him to sell it many times. Dad said he drove some old piece of junk, and felt he did not have $50 to his name. One night the guy approached dad, again to sell it, and dad said $500. The man said, I'll be by to pick it up tomorrow night. Dad came home and told Mom and me, to which I cried all night--I loved that car. But this was in the 60's after packard had long gone out of business and dad was worrying about parts. Such great memories with this car. If they were in business today, I'm sure I would own packards. Because these cars sold themselves, by owning them. As it is said, "ask the man who owns one". Great credit for the video by "The hopless Car guy"", Thank You.👍👍
Thank you for this brief history of Packard. The unusual mention of Packard's use of Series rather than model years is appreciated. When I bought my turquoise 23rd Series Standard Eight Touring Sedan, it had already been titled as a 1949 by the US states of Connecticut and Rhode Island and the Canadian province of Ontario even though the serial number indicates it was manufactured in 1950 and it has Ultramatic (which some say was introduced in 1950). When it came into California, I decided not to fight with the DMV about the model year. My second road trip was from Irvine, California to Springfield, Missouri by way of Wichita, Kansas. I kept careful records of gasoline purchases and mileage and got a bit over 22 mpg overall with the 288 CID inline 8 and Ultramatic. When I set out on that trip, there was a slight tremor in the engine (no standing a nickel on edge). When I got back, it was a bit worse. A thorough examination revealed that the head gasket had a slight leak between the two front cylinders. After the head was milled and the gasket replaced, it was smoooooth! Still semi-retired, it seems content to go out on occasional local trips. *_Packard: Ask The Man Who Owns One_*
The fact that you said you'd stop making these videos broke my heart!! Now that you're back into another offering makes me thank the Gods! Thank you Sir!
