Why We Keep On Truckin’

It’s been a rough stretch of road for the U.S. auto industry. Last Monday, we learned that Daimler had sold Chrysler for scrap metal. President Bush vowed to start regulating tailpipe emissions. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced new low-carbon fuel standards, a firm shove to the entire transportation sector. And gas prices hit an all-time high — bad news for carmakers that keep cranking out gas guzzlers. But probably the worst moment came the week before last, on the reality TV show “Survivor,” when Yau-Man gave the pickup truck to Dreamz.

Here’s what happened: Yau-Man Chan, a 54-year-old computer engineer, had won one of the show’s “reward challenges.” The prize: a hulking, 350-horsepower Ford Super Duty F-350 pickup that looks like it’s capable of towing your average volcano.


Yau-Man took one look and promptly gave it to a rival player, Andria “Dreamz” Herd, asking only for some strategic help at the next “tribal council.” It was a shocking move by Yau-Man. But now we can report to the nation the real reason he didn’t want the truck:

“I would disappear if I sat inside.”

He’s talking by phone from his home in Northern California.

“It’s not my lifestyle,” he says. And moreover: “I don’t think it would fit in any parking spaces.”

Washington Post