Americans love their pickup trucks
Our 16-year-old son was loading a wooden ramp into his Ford Ranger pickup the other day when he started to gush about his love for trucks.
His aunt asked him to build the ramp so her new puppy could climb into bed with her. English bulldogs, it seems, are not great jumpers.
“You know, if I ever get a car (instead of the truck), I don’t know what I’ll do,” said my son, while pulling a strap tightly across the truck bed and then tying it off. “Yep, trucks are pretty handy,” I agreed. He didn’t say how he would go from having two trucks to having none. I guess he was just making conversation. His “backup” truck is a 1973 Ford F-350.
For years, every time I needed a new vehicle, my wife said I should get a truck. I always said “nah” — partly because I’m a car guy and partly because it sounded like work. I know somebody who specifically got rid of his truck because friends were constantly asking him to borrow it to haul something.
With about a quarter of a million new trucks sold in the United States each month, trucks rank just behind SUVs as the leading vehicle segment. The U.S. is far and away the biggest truck market in the world, and people in other countries don’t really understand why we love them so.
I think it’s part cultural, part utilitarian and part personal preference.
The other day, as we were driving home from a spring-break beach trip, county music was playing on the radio. Morgan Wallen was singing “Silverado for Sale.” It reminded me that Russell Dickerson had a hit called “Blue Tacoma.” Meanwhile, in one 30-minute
stretch, I noticed at least a quarter of the cars that passed me on I-65 were Ford F-150s, the bestselling full-size truck in America.
Granted, it’s the South … but still, that’s a lot of trucks.
Trucks have drawbacks. They generally get poor gas mileage. The big ones can be difficult to park. Much of the time their beds are empty.
But yet Americans can’t get enough of them.
Here are some of the reasons:
› You are never truly unemployed if you have a pickup truck and a strong back. Our 16-year-old made several hundred dollars one Saturday this spring delivering mulch.
› By sheer mass, most trucks look and feel safer than cars. Climbing into a full-size truck feels like putting on a suit of armor.
› Trucks can help you become a valued friend. Yes, it can be a pain when people take advantage of your kindness, but on the other hand, kindness is in short supply these days.
› Trucks are the best clutter busters around. Imagine how much better you will feel after you take a load of your junk to the dump every week for a month.
› Mud looks good on them. Unlike cars, which need constant cleaning, a truck looks just as good when coated in muck. In fact, dirt makes them look happy. Or you can shine them up if that makes you happy.
› Every truck is a work in progress. They can be endlessly customized.
› Unlike sedans that eventually beg to be traded, you can own a truck for life. Just pass it down to someone you love.
There’s a reason the used truck market is always tight.
We get attached. And like my son says: What would we do without them?