pickup truck size

[OzarkChris]

I've often wondered in recent years how is it that American (& foreign) full size pick up trucks have become so large, luxury laden, and overwhelmingly expensive almost requiring a 2nd mortgage to purchase. (i'm not talking about those who make a living from their pickups, just everyday owners who cruise the country, malls, & trips to Lowes...)

What is your take? this is observation only, we all have our preferences. I'm talking sheer size & price. I travel narrow dirt roads almost daily, & drive very defensively around blind curves knowing most current pickups almost aggressively consume 2/3 or more of the road while insulated with power & luxury. That's ok, but puts me at risk. Most of the time i just pull off to the side...

So has it been the result of 1) modern owners actually needing all if it? 2) or is it Americans love affair with bigger, better, & more technology laden? I also note that the size of the payload bed continues to shrink all the while. (some 4 full size door models can't even carry a sheet of ply)
Personally i feel both are true: we now use pickups for in a wider range of activities, & want having it packed into one large size. But dang, the price & size
Hey, just as a simple metaphor to compare: look at the vat sized drink tumblers now served @ fast foods. do we really need it?

On the flip side, i've also noticed that especially since '08 crash, Detroit has done an outstanding job of producing more fuel efficient & modest sized passenger vehicles...strange. So tell me about the big pickup truck size craze. Again, not dumping, just observing.
Apologize in advance if this seems like an inane post, but i'm blown away every day of what the full size pickup has now become. best regards

Just my 2 cents, I really agree with you on all of your points except one (I like 40+ ounce drinks ). As far as pickups, I live in a really large community of about a dozen full time residents (in a 1,000 acre "subdivision" split up into 5-50 acre plots - we have 45). We get many "big city" folk out here several times a year that have them 6 digit pickups - the go anywhere, do anything type - that have a really hard time taking them on the gravel road to their 5 acre plot (let alone off road). I've asked several of them why they have such an expensive truck living in the city - do you have big/heavy hauling loads, do a lot of "off roading", etc, and the most common answer is the pickup is a status symbol for them (although they don't actually use that term, they say things like "everybody at work thinks it is cool" or "yes sir, it's the best looking truck at work/on the block now" etc). Usually a waste of money if you ask me, a super duty 250/350, 2500/3500 etc 4 wheel drive lifted for off road clearance (but never taken off pavement - except here on a groomed gravel road). Some of them have boats that go 50+ mph too that typically don't go out of sight of the boat dock - but maybe that should be another thread. Bottom line, in my humble opinion, these folks have more dollars than sense - or more high dollar loans than I'd care to think about. Me, I have a 2 wheel drive '81 f-150 with a Napa crate '84 mustang 350 v-8 in it - in decent shape for its age. The beast will pull almost anything, go almost everywhere and pass everything on the road but a gas station, although it usually only stays on the farm, hauls stuff on trailers or makes trips to the co-op for feed, fuel etc.

 

[Oaktree]

Toyota just kept making the T100 and renamed it "Tacoma"

I thought the T100 became the tundra.

 

[zzvyb6]

Lifestyles, driver gender, shopping habits, campers, boats, and landscaping needs all drive the truck market. Then add safety. A PU head-on with a small anything is a walkaway if you know how to aim it. Even rollover is attenuated by stability control. Winter ground clearance and relatively cheap fuel plus 2 income, high salary couples escaping the 7 deadly crime states for the country top it off. Not everybody is broke, jobless, and lives on a postage stamp sized lot. We're just quiet while city folk kill themselves off. BTW: $100K+ Corvettes are in short supply around here. Yugo wannabees, not so.
Straight from GM Marketting Staff (I retired from Engineering).

 

[Oaktree]

I learned to drive on a 1972 Plymouth Fury. The monster was 18 feet long. My current f150 super crew is slightly smaller.

Heck, even the old Valiants of that era were as big as a modern day pickup. And they were considered a compact caar!

 

[Hardway]

I've often wondered in recent years how is it that American (& foreign) full size pick up trucks have become so large, luxury laden, and overwhelmingly expensive almost requiring a 2nd mortgage to purchase. (i'm not talking about those who make a living from their pickups, just everyday owners who cruise the country, malls, & trips to Lowes...)

What is your take? this is observation only, we all have our preferences. I'm talking sheer size & price. I travel narrow dirt roads almost daily, & drive very defensively around blind curves knowing most current pickups almost aggressively consume 2/3 or more of the road while insulated with power & luxury. That's ok, but puts me at risk. Most of the time i just pull off to the side...

So has it been the result of 1) modern owners actually needing all if it? 2) or is it Americans love affair with bigger, better, & more technology laden? I also note that the size of the payload bed continues to shrink all the while. (some 4 full size door models can't even carry a sheet of ply)
Personally i feel both are true: we now use pickups for in a wider range of activities, & want having it packed into one large size. But dang, the price & size
Hey, just as a simple metaphor to compare: look at the vat sized drink tumblers now served @ fast foods. do we really need it?

On the flip side, i've also noticed that especially since '08 crash, Detroit has done an outstanding job of producing more fuel efficient & modest sized passenger vehicles...strange. So tell me about the big pickup truck size craze. Again, not dumping, just observing.
Apologize in advance if this seems like an inane post, but i'm blown away every day of what the full size pickup has now become. best regards

Pick Up Trucks used to be work trucks and now they are status symbols!
Priced out of the reach of a working man.
To fancy to use as a tool!

 

[ljjhouser]

Your observation seems to be in line with what I am seeing. For years my wife and I have had a small car - Jeep Wrangler - (main vehicle) and an older truck for hauling. Usually a Ford or Chevy 1500 and one 2500. Then in 2017, my wife's mother passed away in Georgia and we had to bring back a grandfather clock and other things. We rented a truck from Enterprise to do that job. We live 1100 miles away. We were absolutely astounded - smooth ride, lots of space, well equipped, AND 21 mpg on the 2500 mile trip. We had saved for 8 years toward a new car. Our jeep got 15 mpg. In 2018, we decided to purchase a new 1500. Checked out the local Ford lot, hundreds of nice shiny trucks - not one under 50K. Finally decided on a Ram truck because of incentives. I live in KC where Ford trucks are assembled (Claycomo). By wife was taken with the panoramic roof and other features. I had to have the 3.92 rear end to permit towing my tractor and trailer. She loves the truck and so do I. It had everything that I said I WOULD NEVER BUY --all those things THAT NOW WE CAN'T DO WITHOUT. Ha! You know, heated and AC seats, auto wipers, auto headlights, music from my phone, integrated trailer tow mode that changes the transmission gearing, electric rear window.......and so on. In 2021, we traded the 2019 for a new 2021, had to have all the SAME stuff.
Lessons I have learned about new trucks: THEY DO NOT fit in parking spaces. Park in the North Forty lot. Improve you driving skills at the car wash by driving curb after the mirrors are folded up. Get a car wash monthly plan - There is NO WAY you can wash the top of a truck unless you are 8' tall. I talked with another guy with a truck like ours - He told me he opened the panoramic window and stood on the seat to wash the top! HA! I would be too embarrassed to even mention the retail price of my truck. (and that is for sure NOT what I paid).

 

[Gord Baker]

If I could only find a new 72 Chevy Cheyenne C-20 350 auto 4 x 4 with air. I would be one happy camper.

I' love a 2009 (last year of production) GMC Envoy Denali, 5.3L 300 HP, 4x4. I should never have traded it in. Got better mileage than 2013 acadian 3.6 271 HP

 

[Kschwennsen]

Frankly, Im really happy with “we can build it (him) bigger, stronger, faster”... (cheap reference to the “Six Million Dollar Man”).
Having my Ram 5500 so strong it’s GCWR is 44,000lbs keeps me from having to own and haul with a tractor trailer.
No I KNOW a tractor trailer will haul substantially more, but todays small-medium truck like mine with a 40’ trailer can haul 12 tons of hay. I can drive home at the end of the day, and park it in my garage. I can also do smaller jobs.
A tractor trailer with a 54’ trailer can haul about 18 tons of hay, but I can’t use it for much else.
I say keep on going. Make them bigger, stronger & faster.
The new GM 4500-6500 trucks show promise. Just need higher towing ratings.

Actually the GM 25/35 trucks have a gooseneck rated at more than 32k. I should know, I designed it.

 

[fender deluxe]

As someone who wants to buy a truck, I feel this. I live in the city but have a hobby farm. I really need a truck, but what's on the market doesn't really appeal to me. I have no desire to be some kind of urban cowboy, I really just need to haul stuff.

Just want a utilitarian truck with a regular cab and an 8' bed, it doesn't need to be aggressively designed or have 300HP. Just needs to haul stuff from A to B, and have 4x4 and enough ground clearance to drive in a field or a gravel bar. Something like a mid 90s F-150 would be ideal, but I don't want to have to depend on a 25 year old truck.

Even a current year base F-150 is just too big. Truck makers seem less concerned with functionality and are more concerned with making some kind of socio-political statement.

 

[ridgerambler]

Yeah trucks have changed. I bought a new Ford F100 flareside in 1973 and paid just under $2000 for a basic three speed on the column work truck. I still have it and it still runs pretty good. I also have a fairly new silverado with air, auto and "some" amenities but that old Ford is still a really good truck. I did drop a heavy duty 4 speed in it in the mid 80's and rebuilt the in line 6 in the 90's. The odometer has turned over at least twice and I put a new wood bed in it in 2003 and painted it at the same time but we still use on the farm and around town.