Explain why white collar people buy pickups

[Pete]

There is a lot of discussion about how SUV's have almost completely supplanted cars in sales over the last couple of decades.

The shift has been so profound that Ford will soon only make one car: the Mustang.

But lost in that focus is the fact that the three highest-selling vehicles in the U.S. are pickups: Dodge Ram, Chevy Silverado and Ford F150. Also in the top 10 are the GMC Sierra and the Toyota Tacoma.

Why???

I fully understand the practicality for people who work with their hands. But clearly, both by the sheer number of sales and just all the lawyers and accountants I personally know who drive pickups, the majority of these very large trucks are sold to people who do not buy them for anything work-related.

And these things are BIG. The mid-sized and compact trucks have almost vanished.

I get SUV's, even if you don't need to haul a lot of people and/or stuff on a regular basis. I have one myself and have found all types of situations when it has been invaluable (mainly taking my dogs with me, transporting my bike in a safe place, camping and runs to Home Depot).

But even though I do a ton of home improvement and other projects, I've never needed a truck. In fact, I own one through the Gazette. And in nearly 3 years I've never bothered to use it. I've hauled all types of things in my modest mid-sized SUV's which has been more than sufficient.

And for really huge home-improvement things, you can have an unlimited amount delivered for $50. I did this recently where I bought a sliding door, a huge amount of gravel and a picnic table. They dropped it in my garage the next day.


Is it just an image thing?

They drive/ride badly, get terrible gas mileage and don't hold much inside.

I'm not judging, just trying to understand the appeal.

[Plutonic Panda]

It’s sad the watch the death of the American sedan. I believe after having announced the death of the 300, Chrysler will only offer one model and that’s the Pacifica which makes me wonder if Fiat will shut them down. Soon the only big body sedan will be the charger.

Cadillac did away with the CT6(an amazing car) and only will sale them in China. May of the pick up trucks my friends and family have recently purchased are close to 100k. I’m baffled by it and especially when I’m in Oklahoma City I’m amazed at how many trucks I see. It’s almost like how shocked I am at how many Tesla’s or Prius’s I see in LA, I’ve been at a stop light before in OKC with about 10 trucks there.

[Plutonic Panda]

But I have to disagree they ride badly. Many of them ride just like a car now.

[Pete]

^

It's an American thing.

Even in countries like Australia where they have even more open space than we do, they don't even buy SUV's let alone huge pickups.

I suspect it has to do with marketing. as big truck and SUV's are highly profitable for American manufacturers -- way more than cars, especially because there are so many great foreign options.

Foreign makers are now pretty much caught up on SUV's but trucks are a different matter.

[Pete]

But I have to disagree they ride badly. Many of them ride just like a car now.

Trucks are built on a truck chassis (body on frame) with very robust suspensions.

It's why most SUV's have moved to unibody design, like almost every car. Body on frame are purpose-built and riding on a typical road is a far worse experience which is why that way of manufacturing is now almost completely confined to pickups.

[FighttheGoodFight]

Wait until you see the margin of profits dealers/manufactures make off these pickups.... Sedans are a much lower margin.

SUVs make sense, they replaced the minivan and are "cooler".

I think pickups are the boots and cowboy hats of vehicles. Functional but became more about fashion. Also fuel is extremely cheap/subsidized in America. Why not buy a big vehicle?

The scariest thing I see is the amount of people financing these high priced vehicles. You regularly see 72 month loans advertised. Dear lord people are spending well beyond their means.

[Plutonic Panda]

^

It's an American thing.

Even in countries like Australia where they have even more open space than we do, they don't even buy SUV's let alone huge pickups.

I suspect it has to do with marketing. as big truck and SUV's are highly profitable for American manufacturers -- way more than cars, especially because there are so many great foreign options.

Foreign makers are now pretty much caught up on SUV's but trucks are a different matter.

Yeah it’s interesting to me Europe has no problem selling sedans nor does China but for some reason the US companies claim they don’t sell. I loved the Continental but that got axed too. I was looking at fords website and they offer like 5(!!!!!) different crossover models and the Fusion is being transformed to crossover(I believe electric). The only new truck I’d ever want to get if I could ever afford it would be the Shelby F-150.

Australia has the Ute! nuff said lol

Coincidentally enough I saw a freightliner semi that had been converted to a pick up here in LA. Don’t tell people in OKC that’s a thing. Heh

[Plutonic Panda]

Trucks are built on a truck chassis (body on frame) with very robust suspensions.

It's why most SUV's have moved to unibody design, like almost every car. Body on frame are purpose-built and riding on a typical road is a far worse experience which is why that way of manufacturing is now almost completely confined to pickups.

I’m not sure Pete but I drove a new Ram and it drove very smooth. My cousin has a F-150 limited which costs north of 60k and it rode just like an Escalade.

[Pete]

I love cars as much as anyone but the rapid depreciation is breathtaking.

And let's face it, almost any new car is a million times better than just 2-3 decades ago in terms of safety, efficiency, performance and amenities. So, once you get to around $30K or so you get to a point of rapidly diminishing returns. At that price you get a very nice car (think Honda Accord EX-L) with leather seats, a sunroof, electric everything and usually loads of tech. Beyond that you are paying for a brand/image and very small incremental improvements.

Unless I had more money than I could ever spend, I don't think I will ever again buy the types of cars I have owned in the past (2 Porsches, 2 Audis, 1 BMW, etc.).

I MAY go up to $50K to get something I really, really like and plan to keep for a long time. On an adjusted basis, I spent about that amount on my current car; but I've owned it for 17 years (!) and it's been paid off for almost that entire time. It's been free for me to drive for one and half decades and it's still going strong and looks like new (I buy new and take very good care of my cars).

But I simply can't fathom spending that same amount or more on a pickup. And I bet the majority of people don't keep them for more than a few years.

[Plutonic Panda]

Yeah I don’t disagree there. I’ve always wondered why people who live paycheck to paycheck or just have their funds stretched in general will ever buy a new car. To me it’s one of the biggest wastes of money out there.

German cars are about my favorite out there but MB and BMW lower end models depreciate extremely fast.

[king183]

I have been asking this very question for a long time. It has to be an image thing, and for some reason I can't explain, it just bothers me. Perhaps because it's so goofy and ridiculous. I have several lawyer friends who live in Nichols Hills and who only commute 3 miles a day, but for some reason they buy these hilariously large trucks as their commuter vehicles. You can almost always tell by how clean it is whether they use it for work or just to commute.

[Pete]

^

Here are reasons to be bothered by people buying them for no practical reason:

1. Very bad for the environment
2. The weight and bumper height means any sort of collision with a non-monster truck can result in serious damage/injury to the other party
3. They block views of the road and parking lots
4. Most don't fit in garages so they litter driveways and streets
5. They can be viewed as the ultimate expression of excess

[catch22]

I bought a little Ford Ranger last year. It's a 2002, so one of the small ones. I paid around 2 grand for it. With that, whenever it gets time to replace my SUV (Mazda CX5) I will replace it with a sedan.

It's handy to have a small little work truck, as I do enough random stuff to haul stuff around at least once or twice a month. When the weather is nice I throw up an ad on craigslist and see what little odd side jobs ring on my phone. Sometimes a quick deck repair for someone who doesn't want to pay retail price, or hauling some junk to the landfill.

I agree - I don't see the need for these huge trucks. Even the smallest trucks offered are so huge. My ranger has a 24 inch bed height, and measures about 5 feet across. That is plenty. Fits nice and snug on the side of my driveway

[Bill Robertson]

I’m not sure Pete but I drove a new Ram and it drove very smooth. My cousin has a F-150 limited which costs north of 60k and it rode just like an Escalade.

Mid to high end pickups have suspension systems that while capable of hauling loads can also ride very, very well. Not even close to the harsh ride that the 60s, 70s and 80s trucks had when I regularly owned trucks.

[d-usa]

Is there still a big difference in gas mileage between Sedans, SUVs, and Trucks?

We are still seeing very low gas prices, so that may be a contributing factor. I feel like places had a hard time selling trucks and SUVs when we had prices north of $3 a gallon.

[Bill Robertson]

Is there still a big difference in gas mileage between Sedans, SUVs, and Trucks?

We are still seeing very low gas prices, so that may be a contributing factor. I feel like places had a hard time selling trucks and SUVs when we had prices north of $3 a gallon.

This I don't know. But like all other vehicles trucks and SUVs get much better mileage than my '72 Chevy, 400CI automatic did. Unless I really was careful, and I very seldom was, 10 MPG or over never happened.

[mugofbeer]

They're all big enough to fit battary packs into. They'll all be electric soon enough.

[Brett]

I remember attending the auto show with my father held at the State Fairgrounds Bennett Event Center in 2020 right before COVID-19 shut everything down and seeing a Ford pickup that cost over $100,000. Both of us remarked how insane the price was. The house my parents still live in today originally cost $10,000 in 1970.

[OkiePoke]

I have had a truck for the past 7 years ago, considered a lux truck.

It can almost everything, haul plenty of people, comfortable, 19 mpg, haul/tow stuff, not park in garages very easily.

I would prefer not to have a truck, and I think any other thing would be more comfortable driving down the highway (body on frame). The issue is when I need to use it for truck stuff a few times per year, I can. I don't have to worry about borrowing a truck or renting one. It is a huge convenience. I do tow stuff every couple of months, so I can justify it.

I have been thinking about selling it and buying a Tesla Y or something, but that can't tow what I need ~5k lb. I would either have to borrow, rent, or buy an older truck to tow.

[d-usa]

We do have an SUV to haul family and most routine things. I feel like our compromise is having a hitch and being able to rent a trailer for the things I would end up using a pickup for.

[ChrisHayes]

Here's a list of all the vehicles I've had since I started driving in 1996: 1991 Dodge Spirit, 2000 Dodge Dakota, 2012 Nissan Versa (totaled in 2014), 2015 Nissan Versa, and 2019 Nissan Frontier. While I was doing the apartment living thing after moving to Oklahoma in 2013, my little cars were fine. However, not long after I bought my house in 2018, it was becoming apparent I needed a truck. I was doing lots of work around the house and yard so I needed/need the capability to haul stuff. Plus, I wanted a second vehicle in case something happens with my car. I had no desire for a big truck such as a Titan. I like normal sized big trucks such as the Ram, F150, and Titan, but wanted something more modest, so I went with a Frontier. Now, the big trucks like are around Oklahoma City, I can't stand. I just don't see the need for those things. However, if someone wants one, have at it. It's not my money. In short, trucks offer practicality that cars don't. Especially since so many are quad cabs now. I just wish they had the gas mileage of cars.

[d-usa]

My only main beef with giant trucks is this:

If you can’t park the damn thing, don’t drive the damn thing

[HangryHippo]

My only main beef with giant trucks is this:

If you can’t park the damn thing, don’t drive the damn thing

This!

[Ward]

My Dentist had a Jaguar but recently bought a brand new Ford pickup.

Go figure. I don't know either.

[Swake]

I just don't get it. I like to drive and have had sporty sedans for years. I currently drive an Infinity Q50 which is plenty fast and fun to drive. When it's time to replace that I will probably get a Tesla 3.

My wife has a Pathfinder, which is better than a truck, but I still hate to drive it. It lumbers around, is heavy, isn't responsive or even comfortable to get in and out of. She loves it, she likes to be high above the traffic, but I can't stand it