In 2020, the top-selling vehicle in the USA was the Ford F-Series with 787,422 units sold. Second place belonged to another pickup truck, the Chevy Silverado, with 586,675 units. Third? Another truck, the Ram pickup, with 563,676 units. The first crossover SUV to make this list, the RAV4, was in fourth place, more than 130,000 units behind the Ram. Clearly, Americans love their pickup trucks, and we see them ply the city streets every day in all their configurations – from single-cab workhorses to dual cabs with more horsepower than a performance car. Why do Americans love pickups so much?
The Past
At the beginning of the 20th century, more than a third of Americans were farmers, and getting their produce to the market before it spoilt was Mission Number One. And so, the pickup truck was born, and it has evolved ever since. 100 years ago, the entire economy ran on pickup trucks – a truck could get a thousand pounds of produce to town on bad roads. So Americans built big, smooth, wide roads and large parking spaces that suited the size of their trucks, and agriculture bloomed.
The Present
Curiously, the pickup truck has remained the top-selling vehicle type in America to this day, even though large-scale commercial farming and heavy transportation have taken over the job of the farm pickup. The truck has remained firmly lodged in the collective US consciousness as a reminder of what this country is built on, and where we come from. But it’s not all nostalgia – pickups remain the ideal do-it-all vehicles. Whether you’re a landscaper, tradesman, or electrician, you can use your truck for work. If it’s a four-door dual cab with a back seat, you can use it as a family car over weekends, too, and go literally anywhere with it.
The Future
The future is electric, but by and large, the pickup still looks basically the same. Look at the forthcoming pickups from Hummer, Lordstown, and Nikola and you’ll see that the familiar pickup silhouette. The Bollinger is even salute-the-past retro. No, the future of the pickup’s shape is the Tesla Cybertruck, melding EV tech with a shock- and/or horror-inducing stainless steel pyramid design that shatters all pickup design conventions. With more than 500 miles of range and a sprint to 60 mph in less than three seconds, it will set the cat among the pigeons in the pickup class. It’s due for a late-2021 launch.
Here are some of the exciting EV trucks to look forward to in the near future. They are all expected to launch in 2021:
- 2021 Bollinger B2
- 2022 GMC Hummer EV
- 2022 Tesla Cybertruck
- 2021 Rivian R1T
- 2021 Lordstown Endurance
- 2021 Atlis XT
- 2022 Ford F-150 EV
- 2022 Nikola Badger
Choosing A Pickup Truck
But right now, there is a vast range of options available for any truck-loving buyer, some with very powerful engine choices and strong performance. There are so many models, they are impossible to sort individually, so let’s just highlight the major top-selling brands making mid-size and full-size pickup trucks:
- Ford. The top seller offers a massive range of trucks, the Ranger being their smallest (mid-size) model. Then starts the full-size F-Series, from the normal F-150 through the Super Duty models of the F-250, F-350, and F-450.
- GM. Among the GM brands, another bevy of trucks is offered with varying branding. These include the mid-size Chevy-branded Colorado and the full-size Silverado, Silverado 2500HD, and Silverado 3500HD. GMC-branded trucks include the mid-size Canyon and full-size Sierra 1500, 2500HD, and 3500HD models.
- Ram. The older full-size Ram 1500 Classic runs alongside the new Ram 1500, 2500, and 3500 models.
- Jeep. Jeep currently has one pickup truck, the mid-size Gladiator.
- Honda. Honda sells only the mid-size Ridgeline.
- Nissan. Nissan is well represented with the mid-size Frontier and full-size Titan and Titan XD.
- Toyota. Toyota offers the mid-size Tacoma and full-size Tundra.
Pros And Cons
So what are the up- and downsides of living with a truck?
Pros
- Versatility – covers many bases as a mode of transportation
- Safety – these top-selling models feature all the best safety features nowadays
- Reliability – they are generally very reliable because they must be able to work hard
- Capability – They can carry lots of people and cargo, plus tow heavy rigs
Cons
- Size – they can be cumbersome and difficult to maneuver and park
- Price – the MSRP can be very high, especially the high-spec models
- Fuel economy – mpg figures are predictably terrible in comparison to cars
- Handling – they are cumbersome to drive and handles far worse than a car
Conclusion
In America, space is the ultimate luxury and our cars and pickup trucks are oversized too, just like our country and our roads. The pickup will remain a super-popular choice and the latest models are equally good at work as they are at taking the family to far-flung destinations on weekends. The pickup truck remains the ultimate do-it-all vehicle and those people still put off by their inefficiency and poor gas mileage won’t have too long to wait. The EV truck era is upon us and before too long, there will be a host of electric trucks on the roads, removing the last remaining stumbling block. Long live the pickup truck!