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Cold Start: Meet The Ape Poker

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You know Piaggio, right? They make the famous three-wheeled truck called the Ape, which is Italian forĀ bee, Italy’s true workhorse that hauls pretty much everything, everywhere. They’re fantastic. They also made a four-wheeled variant called the Apepoker, which is impossible to not read as “ape-poker” as in someone who pokes large gorillas. And that’s hard not to laugh at.

Here, look how it looks in print:

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Apepoker, apepoker, apepoker. It is a cool little truck, a sort of convergent evolution example to Japan’s Kei-class trucks.

Also, I once was driving through Italy for the Mille Miglia in a Jaguar F-Type and stopped in the middle of the Parmigano region and convinced a wonderful farming family to let me drive their Ape:

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I had to explain myself with Google translate and hand gestures, but somehow it all worked.

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Phantom Pedal Syndrome
Phantom Pedal Syndrome
1 year ago

I thought an Ape Poker was the stick chimpanzees use as a tool to ā€œfishā€ for insects like termites.

Dusty Kornphartz
Dusty Kornphartz
1 year ago

I just noticed the wheels on that. They look like wide 5s. How cool.

Or Some
Or Some
1 year ago

Piaggio also makes the Vespa, of course, which means wasp. Whatā€™s like a wasp but a bit chunkier at the back? A bee. Hence the name.

The Ultracrepidarian
The Ultracrepidarian
1 year ago
Reply to  Or Some

So would a Waspoker be a 4 wheel Vespa? and fyi, I wouldn’t want to poke a wasp either.

B3n
B3n
1 year ago

Random and slightly unrelated, Piaggio also sold the 7th. generation Daihatsu HiJet kei-trucks as the Piaggio Porter, with tiny diesel engines as options.
They even made an electric version. Production of the HiJet-based Piaggio Porter ended in 2020 and now they make a rebadged Chinese Foton truck as the 2nd. gen Piaggio Porter.

Rjs2005
Rjs2005
1 year ago

Seeing these little trucks always reminds me of my last Navy duty station- we had several tiny trucklets and a couple “vanlets” of the same dimensions, used to shuttle supplies and parts from the warehouse to the pier and back. One day a rather portly civilian warehouse guy was delivering a load of parts to a barge at the pier when his brakes failed. He went down the pier screaming “no brakes”, hit the pier scupper, bounced up and over the edge into the river. A couple sailors jumped in to drag him out of the truck. The rest of us watched as he and the sailors crawled back onto the pier and the trucklet sank to the river bottom. A pier crane was used later that day to fish it out. No one was hurt save for the warehouse guy’s pride (and his skivvies, I suspect).

Mark Tucker
Mark Tucker
1 year ago

Hang on – an implement with which to poke apes, or an individual whose job (or hobby?) it is to poke apes?

Dusty Kornphartz
Dusty Kornphartz
1 year ago
Reply to  Mark Tucker

In India they pronounce this like ah-pay. But they also pronounce coupe wrong like the British do. Cou-pay.

But ape poker is much more fun. If my job was to poke apes, I would rather do it with a little bit of sheet metal in between us, and perhaps an engine to help me escape should (when) things turn bad. Some of those Piaggios are quick. Like 40-50 mph, which feels like you’re going 100.

My vote is an implement used to poke apes.

Ron888
Ron888
1 year ago

For several decades i thought cou-pay was the *correct* way to say it,and that’s how the french pronounced it.
It’s only in the last couple of years i learned the truth! So embarrassing

CSRoad
CSRoad
1 year ago
Reply to  Ron888

Me too.
That cuts doesn’t it?
Like taking a hacksaw to a saloon.

NZ Sean
NZ Sean
1 year ago
Reply to  Mark Tucker

Either way, I think an apepoker can only succeed in making an ape apeoplectic.

Justin Haas
Justin Haas
1 year ago
Reply to  Mark Tucker

A feed store I pass every day advertises “Emu oil sold here!” Is the oil made from emu? Or is the oil to give your emu a sensual massage?

CSRoad
CSRoad
1 year ago
Reply to  Mark Tucker

That doesn’t sound safe behavior, apes can be pretty aggressive and are known to carry diseases that could be transmissible to humans. Best keep the poker holstered.

10001010
10001010
1 year ago

“I had to explain myself with Google translate and hand gestures”

Isn’t Italian like 60% hand gestures anyways?

Andrew Baglio
Andrew Baglio
1 year ago
Reply to  10001010

Yeah, but he doesn’t speak Italian. Hand gestures in English don’t help much.

Chris with bad opinions
Chris with bad opinions
1 year ago

I’ve heard about not poking the bear but I’m not sure what the protocol is for an ape. I imagine if you value your life it’s a bad idea. Or are we talking about apes playing cards? Obviously, if art has taught me anything dogs know how to play poker but I have no context for apes. Or maybe I’m really overthinking this. Anywho, have a great day folks!!

Dave Horchak
Dave Horchak
1 year ago

Yeah dogs may be able to play poker but apes have a thumb allowing them to be able to deal as well.

Jakob K's Garage
Jakob K's Garage
1 year ago

I love it beacuse it has the correct positive camber, small italian cars should have!

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