TOLLED YA!

MELBOURNE’S Herald Sun newspaper recently reported that Ford ute drivers are getting charged more on Melbourne toll roads than Holden ute drivers. A trip on the Eastlink or Citylink toll roads, for example, would see Falcon ute drivers charged around $3 more than their Lion-hearted counterparts. It’s because Citylink classifies the Falcon ute, with its cabchassis configuration, as a light commercial vehicle, as opposed to the Commodore ute, which is considered a normal car. Even though the two have similar fuel consumption, emissions, weight specs and are basically the same concept, the rules seem to side with the Red team.

Craig Burnell-jones – Anyone with half a brain knows Fords are 10 times more reliable than Holdens. Mark Reynolds – “Anyone with half a brain” seems to Ford’s target market. Kristian Van Krieken – I guess with Holden utes being used mainly by hairdressers, it’s unfair to charge them a commercial fee. They could better use that money on a soy frappuccino with skim milk. Anton Kraus – You seem to know your girly coffee well there, bro! Leon Mack – Is that what they do during winter when they can’t tow their hero jet skis? Peter Stone – This classification has always been a BS way of charging for different vehicles on Victoria’s toll roads. Tradies driving Commodore utes with trailers that are being used for commercial and business purposes are charged at a passenger-car rate, yet families that drive a dual-cab with a canopy for weekend play get charged double. Here’s a thought: Charge a privately registered vehicle at the lower rate, and a commercially registered vehicle at the higher rate. Rohan Hyde – Stop using logic. Allan Gillies – Of course, the Falcon ute looks like a Mondeo squeezing out a turd so they’re going to charge Ford drivers more to challenge their decision to buy one. Alan Schneider – When they first came out with that Falcon update, I thought it was just a straight-out copy of the Lancers! Scott Curtis – It’s common knowledge that the Falcon is a true ute and can carry weight with ease, unlike a Commodore ute, which would struggle with so much as a couple of cartons of beer loaded in the back. Tony Baillie – I get charged more for my Triton too; it’s purely for recreational use. An HQ tonner gets charged more than an HQ ute too. The biggest rip-off is motorbikes – mine weighs 300kg with me on it, takes up stuff-all road, yet I get charged half the car rate. Paul Gregson – The Ford ute owners were ripped off the moment they bought one. David Williams – I’m a Holden driver, and I think that the Ford ute is just that – a ute, not a truck. It is based off a car, not a standalone like the Toyota Hilux, Mitsubishi Triton and similar vehicles. Brendan Marshall – I have a VZ one-tonner and it costs me more to use it. Ford drivers are just whinging because they have to pay to push their ute through the tunnel! Dean Agland – Maybe it’s so the Holden drivers have some money for the taxi/tow truck/ train ride home after the shitboxes break down. Jason Wingnut Smith – Look at all the Ford owners justifying the fact they get charged more! Troy Rodger – Fair enough, the Fords are slower, so they are using the toll road for longer and holding up traffic. Matthew Fitzgerald – We should get it for free – isn’t rego to pay for roads? Nick Velas – This shows Fords are workhorses not show-ponies. David Morrison – They’re workhorses because they’re too slow for anything else. Matthew Williams – Except they carry more than a POS Holden ute. All show, no go – they do make good boat anchors though. Stuart Aynsley – Depends how many Chev badges you stick on.