In an area/state that has mixed town/city/country like Maine you will see “status” pick-ups are upwards of 50% of p-ups on the road.
Shiny, well-polished, covered beds (got to keep those groceries dry…), chromed (it still lives on US vehicles!), and leather seats, big sound systems, LED deco lighting, etc.
Never dirty from off-road, seldom hauling anything that cannot fit under that vinyl cover.
Yes, there are folks who haul lobster traps, lumber, ladders, etc but those trucks are 5-10 years old and dirty and rusty because of the work these do. No point in polishing these, or even painting over the patches, there are more important things to do with their time or their truck than “show it off.”
I have had farners tell me they have trouble affording trucks because the new ones are $50K+ and there is a shrinking pool of available reliable, working used trucks.
Manufacturers NEVER have “just served up what their customers wanted.” But since say 1955, have created the market demand by what they offer, and what they (heavily) advertise.
Anyone else (me) has to work around the edges/foreign makers/used to find anything close to what we need.
This has as been my solution–the '05 Subaru Forester is the “truck”-- lumber strapped to the top (back roads). Fold down seats, cover carpeting, to haul trash bags to dump, etc, etc. The snow vehicle of choice, AWD, high clearance.
Other car was a compact sedan, '07 Toyota Prius. Great for daily 12-mile round trips, lasted 18 years and still running, except road salt rusted it out beyond repair. Sell as parts or trade in.
Finally!! the “excuse” I have been waiting for, we are aiming at an EV, probably a used Bolt or Ioniq sedan. No charger needed, plug into 110 outlet in garage, 8-10 hours replaces those 12 miles used.
The most environmental car is the one you already own, if it is safe, minimally polluting. NOT causing another vehicle to be manufactured is the best choice.
Had good luck with Toyotas in past but will not buy from them again as they have committed to an all hybrid future, still burning those fossils!
I see what you mean. I typed Silverado in to Craigslist. Out of 60 trucks for sale, only 6 are regular cab long bed. All of them are either very high priced, or really old or pushing 300k miles. Someone who buys a truck for its true purpose generally gets regular cab long bed. So 90% of the trucks are potentially for status.
The movie industry hasn’t helped things. Even the movie Hunt for the Red October promoted pickup trucks.
The MSRP on a 2024 F150 is less than $37,000. That would be a work truck with 2WD. The Maverick and Ranger MSRPs are less. Still, with the average price of a new car in the US at about $48,000 it’s not hard to imagine that a full size pickup is more. Also, are these farmers trying to buy off the lot? I doubt that dealers stock the stripped white work trucks. I think those would be special order.
Let’s not forget that many people buy pickups instead of sedans or SUVs not to impress anyone, but because they’re more comfortable.
Drive an F150 and a Camry and see which one has the more comfortable seating area and position. A large, full-frame pickup will smooth out the roads and minimize the bumps and potholes better than a unibody sedan.
At my house we have a Ford Fusion, Cadillac XT5, Ford Flex, and Chevy Silverado. Old worn out seats notwithstanding, guess which one gives the smoothest ride?
Maybe this is just farm country but in the front row of the local Gm dealer are at least three white flat bed trucks with the bed lift on. Have not noticed the pickups yet but I’m sure they are there.
Ease of getting in and out of a vehicle along with ride comfort are major factors for most people when selecting a vehicle.
Prime example, when shopping for a car back in late 2006 I very much liked the height of the “command seating” in the then Ford Five-Hundred sedan. It was the perfect height for me. But I ended up taking it off the possibility list for a variety of reasons after an extended test drive and bought something different. (The 2007 Impala hanger queen I dumped in 2014 in favor of my current Camry.)
Opposite of most people I know, having to step up / pull up to get into a vehicle is more difficult for me than having to step up /push up a bit to exit. Hence, part of my preference for owning a sedan. But when transporting various family and friends I’ve noticed the opposite for them.
All that said, the seat height of small SUVs is easy for me to navigate. Biggest drawback is that the short wheelbase combined with higher profile tends to provide a ride that gives me motion sickness. I’ve found the Ford Escape particularly prone to that.
Yup, depends on the dealer, the region and the customer base they chase. A Naples, Florida Chevy dealer won’t have white WT’s on the lot. High net worth residents that buy those $100K trucks.
The Chevy dealer in Immokalee will. Farm and blue-collar workers town.
My family was cars-only until 2002. Before that we had a couple of Taurus wagons. The '88 could hold 8 passengers with a canoe strapped to the roof rack (I actually did this with the scouts). The getting the canoe on top of the Taurus was a breeze compared to the SUVs. The Taurus roof was longer than an Explorer (for example) and I didn’t need a ladder to get it up there. I was disappointed when the wife went for a smallish SUV.
I borrowed a truck a few years back to get some mulch from Lowes. The plain fact was that the smallish SUV we had could hold more in the back than the truck. Mainly because I could stack the mulch right to the ceiling in the SUV, while my limit on the truck was the depth of the bed.
Americans prefer SUVs to cars because they are roomier and versatile.
But I must admit: I don’t like SUVs very much. My RAV4 feels like it’s going to roll over when going around corners. My Lexus IS sits firmly on the road and around steep corners.
Because SUVs are tall, they can feel very slow and play mind tricks on you. If you don’t watch the speedometer, you’ll get a ticket very fast. I couldn’t believe I was going 65mph while driving the rav4 on a back road. It felt like 35mph to me.
No wonder SUVs tend to fly past me on the highway . People don’t realize how fast they’re going.
