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I am not a truck guy, the closest I have ever come to owning a truck is my '99 Jeep Cherokee. That being said I have no problem with trucks or truck people, buy what you want and can afford. I grew up in the 60's and when it came to cars bigger was always better and even today a bigger vehicle translates into more room and usually more comfort. Just because I have never owned a truck does not mean that I never will but, I would think if I did it would be something along the lines of a Ram SRT/10, Ford Raptor or a Jeep pickup if they ever build one again. I just read the other day that Ram may be coming out with a new version of the Rumble Bee next year, that would work for me.
The big pickups are the only true American vehicle in the world, the Europeans can't build them, the Japanese have tried but with very limited success and the Koreans have not even tried to this point. I wonder if any of the domestic manufacturers have sold or considered selling their large pickups in China.
Actually, I don't know why everyone DOESN'T buy pickup trucks. Now that trucks are four door, why even consider a sedan? Trucks are as comfortable and luxurious as sedans and they also have utility.
It can be as comfortable and as luxurious, but it can't reach the same level of handling or mpg as a sedan with the same amount of passenger space. Also it seems to take more $$ to get a truck to the level of comfort of a comparable sedan. So it still comes back to if you don't need to haul very often or tow something you own, you are probably paying too much to have a truck as your everyday vehicle.
It takes a fair amount of hauling on short notice for owning a truck to beat the price of renting one and/or delivery fees. There's a convenience factor, but again, has to be a lot of hauling or you're paying A LOT for that convenience. I once thought of switching to a truck when I moved in here 10 years ago. So glad I didn't. Gas has gone up so much since then! And I've only really wished I had a pickup a handful of times, maybe on average once a year. (Last couple years I could have used one about half a dozen times but got by with two Home Depot rentals and a couple deliveries.)
Now, one of the reasons I don't need a truck that often is because my car has been a hatchback. I haven't bought a car in 13 years but that covers more than my time at the house. Short of loose material (sand, gravel, both of which I needed in the last couple years but not earlier) or 4x8 sheets (needed some a couple years ago), or really large in all 3 dimensions box, I can get it home in that car. And this is a 2-door Integra hatch! (It's shorter than some others and has a sloping rear profile rather than the longer wagon-like roof.) Last year I brought home 12 foot long boards in the car. I need to have no passenger and the hatch open to do that, but still, they only stuck out a foot or two. I picked up a lawn mower still in box back in the spring. Yes, it fit, with hatch closed. The only thing bad about this one is it's old and has that damn high lift over bit (doesn't open all the way down to the bumper). Makes things hard to get out especially, moreso than in.
If you are towing a work/utility type trailer a lot for local stuff you might be better off with a beater truck plus a car for the rest of the driving. Cost-wise this can come out better perhaps, although I could see not going that route if you already have two or more vehicles in the household. If you're towing a boat or camper long distance, then yeah, you probably want the luxury truck and that seems like the sweet spot for where one would truly "need" such a vehicle.
All that said, it's very common in many things other than vehicles for people to pay extra for utility they aren't likely to ever need. So why should vehicles be any different?
99% of the time you'll never see anything hooked up in the back. However, every few months I move my 2013 42' crossroads elevation toyhauler from one site to the next.
My truck is a great DD. Roomy, comfortable, my company pays the gas. Why not?
The other cars I want are NOT a good DD, so getting a dumpy truck to haul is not an option as my other vehicle wouldn't be a good DD either.
I do not drive one, but they are great for people. If a person only had one car to have, a truck would be great as it can serve multiple purposes. In a perfect world, a person would own different cars for different purposes; so small car for daily driving, large truck for hauling, etc.
I had a truck many years ago, it was great, never had to think about logistics when it came to moving, going off on a trail exploring, tires hold up much better, etc. Now with my small car for example, I have to even think about small things like an IKEA purchase or something as it might not fit in my car, among other things that make having a car a PITA; besides the room because around town is fine, but any trip over an hour and the smallness gets annoying.
I think luxo-trucks (i.e. Silverado LTZ, Ram Laramie, F-150 Lariat, etc) straddle a very good line between being able to do heavy hauling and towing while also maintaining the passenger comforts of a fully-loaded, near-luxury vehicle. You get the best of both worlds in a single vehicle.
Now as far as doing the "dirty" work, most of the luxo-trucks will not see the inside of a construction zone or haul a thousand pounds of lumber/steel/what have you. BUT many of these vehicles are used for towing boats, 5th wheel campers, motorcycle trailers, etc. I RARELY have anything in the bed of my F-150 but it is used quite frequently to tow my boat.
A majority of Americans still enjoy having a large vehicle to drive even with the price of gas hovering between $3.50-$4/ gallon. I don't see people giving up their toys, trucks, or SUV's very frequently because of the cost of fueling their gas guzzlers.
I sat on my buddy's front porch and he said to me; just watch for the number of heavy duty, luxury pickups. Sure enough, about one out of six were those $ 40k to $ 50k models, yet you never see anything loaded on the back. Why the infatuation?
Yeah, but if you looked in the back of most SUVs you wouldn't find anything in the back either.
i drive my truck AND my wife drives her truck, we don't even own a car. Funny thing is mine is a $47k truck with no bedliner and we haul most stuff in it. Hers is a $30k truck with a bedliner, and we rarely haul anything in her bed. Both trucks are used to pull our horse trailer, which is the main reason she got one this time around. She got tired of having to get me to pull the trailer or let her use mine.
Speaking of 4 door trucks, i remember working in Central America back in the mid-90's and every truck you saw was a 4 door truck even on Nissan small trucks! Yet here in the states the best you could find in the sub 3/4 ton class was a king cab that may or may not have a rear door.
You see these militias in the Middle East driving those 4 door Nissans and Toyotas with a machine gun bolted to the back of them.
Yeah, but if you looked in the back of most SUVs you wouldn't find anything in the back either.
Look in the back of our Explorer, you see a Travel Scoot, mobility scooter. A light weight solution for a handicap scooter. Only weights 35 pounds including battery so I can lift it in and out when my wife and I go anywhere if one of us has problems that day, we have mobility. I'm thinking of getting another one to go with it. It fits nicely behind the second seat. With a car the size of the trunk today, would have to go to the trouble of having to fold it up, not just lower the handlebars clicking one clamp, and remove the seat back which just snaps in. Or lift up the back seat, and carry a couple of more people, when need more than seating for 5.
To accommodate people who want a pickup but really need a family car.
I wish that fad would pass and never return.
It's all about image.
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