Pickup truck has America addicted, willing to sacrifice booze, coffee ...
DETROIT — Stephanie McRae leaned into the bed of her husband’s 1997 Ford F-150 to slide in an enormous pellet smoker for her son on Father’s Day, as grandson Kameron Runge watched.
“My husband is a delivery driver who works nights. He’s sleeping right now,” she explained in a Lowe’s parking lot in Fort Gratiot Township, Mich. It was her second trip to Lowe’s, having discovered the box wouldn’t fit in her 2014 Chevy Equinox earlier Sunday.
Ah, yes. Another pickup truck saves the day.
This is why America loves its pickup trucks.
So while it may be no surprise that people love their trucks, Ford Motor Company commissioned an online Great American Truck Survey of 2,000 owners to find out just how much people love their trucks.
The company is preparing to reveal to the world a redesigned 2021 Ford F150 on Thursday. Ford has dominated pickup sales since the beginning of time. Still, the Chevy Silverado and Dodge Ram trucks have been in aggressive pursuit.
Now the so-called truck wars, which drive the biggest profits for Ford, General Motors and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, are showing no sign of slowing. The F-Series dominates. It is commonly known as the Golden Goose for Ford, because the multibillion-dollar truck franchise within Ford North America generates revenue comparable to that at Facebook, Nike and Coca-Cola. Booze, Sex
For millions of truck owners, the vehicles are as important to life as air and water.
People surveyed revealed that instead of giving up their truck for a year:
• 79% would give up drinking alcohol.
• 82% would give up Netflix, Hulu or Amazon Prime Video.
• 71% would give up drinking coffee.
• 47% would give up using phone.
• 44% would give up eating meat.
• 38% would give up sex.
In response to hearing the survey results, McRae, 54, said, “Holy Cow.”
When it comes to her husband, she predicted, “The cable for sure. The coffee would never happen. He takes that by IV.”
But the truck study results didn’t surprise John McElroy, host of Autoline.tv and longtime industry observer, even a little bit.
“Pickup owners are the most loyal in the business,” he said. “You’ve probably seen the bumper stickers, ‘I’d rather push a Ford than drive a Chevy.’ It’s hopeless to try and get them to switch brands. To them that’s treason.”
Auto historian Matt Anderson said history reflects this passion.
“As early as the mid-1920s, sociologists discovered that many working Americans were willing to cut back on food and clothing to make car payments,” said Anderson, curator of transportation at The Henry Ford museum. “Our trucks and cars are our freedom. The recent COVID lockdowns only reinforced the idea that Americans consider mobility a birthright.” Tattoos and Feelings Meanwhile, nearly one in five tattooed truck drivers have a tattoo of their truck, or related to their truck. And 25% of truck owners surveyed have named their truck.
Advertising campaigns often dig deep to connect with themes associated with strength, independence and patriotism.
The survey showed that truck ownership leaves people feeling:
• Capable (48%)
• Dependable (48%)
• Self-reliant (43%)
• Proud (35%)
• Accomplished (21%) Bradley Johnson, 71, a retired electrician, owns a 1994 Chevy pickup, a 2006 Chevy 2500 heavy duty and a 2017 GMC Sierra 1500 Denali. He and his wife, Jane, of Port Huron, Mich., use their trucks to pull a large camper and travel the country. They, too, were found at Lowe’s after an unsuccessful search for a camper fridge.
Most folks have heard that you may not need to own a truck but you do need to know someone who does.
Data suggests knowing a truck owner is, in fact, essential:
• 94% of truck owners have used their truck to help others.
• 75% of truck owners have used their truck to help friends or family move items.
• 62% have jump-started another car with their truck.
• 22% have driven someone in need to safety with their truck.
Tim Gabriel, 37, a production manager, has helped friends move from house to house, hauled trailers, picked up store purchase for people whose cars are too small.
“This is my first pickup. I’ve wanted one for a long time,” Gabriel said, loading a clothing dryer into his 2019 Ram 1500 Big Horn with a V-8 engine. “Every time you park it, you look back at it because you love it so much.”
He added, “It makes trips to grandpa’s and grandma’s a lot easier to haul stuff with kids. That’s how I sold the wife on the idea. I was in a Jeep Grand Cherokee.”