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I'm on Long Island, and gigantic pickups are everywhere, such as heavy duty places like supermarkets. I do honestly think 85% are for status or, "well, everyone has one now." It does seem like overkill.
This has been a longstanding topic of discussion on this Forum. While I'm reluctant to speculate as to the psychological reasons for the popularity of trucks, here are a few potential demographic reasons:
1. The demographic that used to buy a Camaro, a Monte Carlo, a Duster or a Falcon today evidently buys a pickup.
2. People who want a traditional RWD, body-on-frame vehicle, are now limited to buying a pickup.
3. With the demise of American performance cars in the 1970s - at a time when truck-performance more or less endured - a large swath of the American car-buying public switched to trucks. And they've never looked back.
4. Many amongst the environmentally-conscious, high-efficiency, low-carbon-footprint crowd are now eschewing motor vehicles altogether. They buy bicycles. They would have been buying compact passenger-cars, if they were buying a car at all. But their removal from the automotive market reduces popularity of cars, in favor of trucks.
5. Americans have always labored under an awe-shucks self-imposed humility, where aristocratic aspirations are viewed as uppity and gauche. Thus, driving a Mercedes S-class, an Audi A8 and that sortof thing, is viewed by many as being elitist and snooty. But driving a decked-out $85K pickup is just fine, because it signals working-class unpretentiousness.
6. Children today no longer play hockey in the street, or baseball in the back-yard. Instead, they're shuttled to formal after-school activities. This function is best accomplished by a truck, or truck-based vehicle.
I'm a sport scar/coupe kind of guy. Give me my corvette any day of the week over a truck or SUV
Women, in my experience love SUVs. Maybe it's marketing /trends/expectations but whatever it is, as long as it's a crossover or SUV, they're on it. Minivans are just gross.
Obviously most of us men like trucks. I can see the appeal for a truck. It's as manly as they come but I just prefer my speed/sportiness.
Now sedans, yeah they're in that small no-man's land. Obviously German and Japanese have no problem selling sedans but American automakers will never be able to catch them.
I really don’t see how anyone could own a home and not have a truck, I know I use mine for so many things. Just last week I had to go buy a new water heater, if I didn’t have a truck I would’ve had to call a plumber. Now I suppose owning a utility trailer would work (and I do) as long as you have a vehicle capable of pulling it, but it’s easier for me to just have a truck in the first place.
I remember what it was like not having one, and having to ask other people to transport things for me. I won’t go back to that.
I really don’t see how anyone could own a home and not have a truck, I know I use mine for so many things. Just last week I had to go buy a new water heater, if I didn’t have a truck I would’ve had to call a plumber. Now I suppose owning a utility trailer would work (and I do) as long as you have a vehicle capable of pulling it, but it’s easier for me to just have a truck in the first place.
I remember what it was like not having one, and having to ask other people to transport things for me. I won’t go back to that.
That's it exactly. I traded in my 1988 Mercury Tracer wagon for a 1997 Pontiac Grand Am, and soon found that anything larger than a folded up map or a pair of gloves would not fit inside the car. I bought a file cabinet from Sam's Club and ended up having to have my parents bring it home for me.
I bought a used 1994 Ford Escort wagon as a second car. Three weeks later, I used it to bring home a water heater.
By the time I was ready to trade in my 2006 Ford Focus wagon, station wagons had become extinct (No Subaru dealers in this county). I had also become fed up with trying to get out of my driveway each winter, so I bought a Toyota Tacoma 4WD. The Tacoma is also much more suitable for the poorly maintained roads here. I don't have to worry about tire, wheel, or suspension damage every time I drive.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Originally Posted by southernnaturelover
I really don’t see how anyone could own a home and not have a truck, I know I use mine for so many things. Just last week I had to go buy a new water heater, if I didn’t have a truck I would’ve had to call a plumber. Now I suppose owning a utility trailer would work (and I do) as long as you have a vehicle capable of pulling it, but it’s easier for me to just have a truck in the first place.
I remember what it was like not having one, and having to ask other people to transport things for me. I won’t go back to that.
You can never have enough hauling capability. I have a truck and a utility trailer (and a travel trailer). Whether it's a water heater, refrigerator, stove, washer, dryer, sofa, bed, lumber, large plants, trip to the dumps, bags of mulch, or just luggage on a road trip, the truck that still carries 5-6 people comfortably just makes a lot of sense.
I have to 'fess up and say that along with my Impala I also have a 2005 Subaru Outback, for shlepping things from Home Depot and for other things. It's nice to have a car for pure driving (Impala), and a workhorse SUV. But I don't like the idea of sedans totally receding from the landscape.
I love my 2005 Nissan Sentra and have used it to haul everything from mulch and my bike to small furniture and an 8'x11' rug. (It's like a playing a game of Tetris getting things in there sometimes!) I've taken it camping several times and have had no problem fitting my gear in the car. On those rare occasions that I've had something to pick up that won't fit in my car, I've rented a pickup truck. I have no desire to own either an SUV or a CUV as I don't like the way that they handle and will likely not fit well in my small, below-grade garage (the drive way is very short and very steep). I don't see the point of having a vehicle that i cannot park in my garage.
Those things being said, I've been been preparing for my Sentra's eventual demise and been car-shopping for the past few months. My selection of sedans is limited due to the fact that I loathe CVT transmissions and don't want to drive a manual in the Pittsburgh area for multiple reasons. I also want a real spare *standard* instead of the silly tire patch kits that have largely replaced the spare. I think that a Mazda 3 will be my next car, but I've surprised myself by truly entertaining the thought of getting a hatchback instead of the sedan as the sedan's trunk is smaller than that of my current car. The idea of a small, easy-to-park city driver with greater utility than a sedan is very appealing. I see both the sedan and the hatchback versions of the Mazda 3 rather often in the city, although it seems like it's mostly men driving the hatches.
Last edited by Twenty Years in the Burgh; 04-11-2018 at 07:39 AM..
I really don’t see how anyone could own a home and not have a truck, I know I use mine for so many things. Just last week I had to go buy a new water heater, if I didn’t have a truck I would’ve had to call a plumber. Now I suppose owning a utility trailer would work (and I do) as long as you have a vehicle capable of pulling it, but it’s easier for me to just have a truck in the first place.
I remember what it was like not having one, and having to ask other people to transport things for me. I won’t go back to that.
A water heater weighs maybe 100 pounds. A 4x8 folding trailer that sits upright in your garage can be towed by any econobox with a bolt-on receiver hitch. An aluminum one at Northern Tool weighs 195 pounds and costs $599.
I have a 6 cylinder Outback with a receiver hitch rated for 3,000 pounds. I rent U Haul trailers for sub-$20. A 5x8 enclosed cargo trailer works better than a pickup for hauling furniture. A 5x8 open trailer is perfect for yard debris. I also have an unregistered trailer for my fiberglass bottom inflatable dinghy I haul a couple times per year to get it on and off the dinghy dock. I might tow something 10 times per year. My car has 6 foot cargo area length with the back seat dropped. I have a roof rack. Unless I'm buying plywood, I don't ordinarily need a trailer for Home Depot/Lowes runs.
I figure most people who own pickups and don't work in the trades are compensating for something. Stallone types who need elevator shoes. A Viagra Rx. The $50K truck with the 6 year loan parked in front of the 40 foot double-wide.
I really don’t see how anyone could own a home and not have a truck, I know I use mine for so many things. Just last week I had to go buy a new water heater, if I didn’t have a truck I would’ve had to call a plumber. Now I suppose owning a utility trailer would work (and I do) as long as you have a vehicle capable of pulling it, but it’s easier for me to just have a truck in the first place.
I remember what it was like not having one, and having to ask other people to transport things for me. I won’t go back to that.
Easy. I owned a home with my ex and, in addition to our main jobs, we did interior design on the side. And did lots of DIY work on our own house as a showcase. IOW, we were doing a lot more remodeling work than the average young homeowner. I rarely needed a truck. The few times I ever needed a truck, I just rented one locally. Typically <$25 for an hour or two of use which is usually all that was needed for local stuff.
Is it slightly more convenient to have a truck in those *few specific instances?* Sure. But if I'm going to pick something up that needed a truck, it was nothing to just rent a truck while we were out, haul the thing where it needed to go and then take the rental back to pick up our own car and head home. The extremely minor convenience of owning a truck for ourselves would not have been worth the significant extra cost of having the truck the other 363 days of the year.
Also, I was able to to fit almost anything we needed to haul into my grand am or my ex's hatchback.
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I do honestly think 85% are for status or, "well, everyone has one now." It does seem like overkill.
