AHC: much lower trajectory for SUVs ("Sport Utility Vehicles") in the United States.

. . . What is the attraction of the very large pickup trucks? . .
I once borrowed my dad’s pick-up to help a friend get some elephant dung from the Houston Zoo for a community garden. Yes, really! , and we hosed out the truck bed afterwards

Fun to be able to do something so directly practical! :)
 
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SwampTiger

Banned
Yes, the simple utility of the 1/2 - 1 ton pickups is hard to beat. Station wagons/estates/hatchbacks/minivans cannot match their shovel stuff in/shovel out utility. Maybe we could get a move towards the utes/El Camino style pickups.
 
But that is the thing. The classic ute and Japanese 4WD tray backs max out a lot smaller than pickup trucks. I get that utes and pickup trucks approached the same problems from different directions (Church on Sunday, work on Monday. One is a truck-like car, the other a car-like truck). Large size has all sorts of benefits in a commercial setting. So do pickup trucks only operate in niche roles outside of America? It can't be as simple as cheap fuel and wide open spaces?
 
So do pickup trucks only operate in niche roles outside of America? It can't be as simple as cheap fuel and wide open spaces?
Universalmotorgerät” ‘Universally applicable motorized implement’
mercedes-benz-unimog.jpg


For the postwar German Farmer.
Here, with some of the implements fitted
U%205%20Prototyp%20Nummer%205.jpg

Jeeps were the same way at first,
2935148897a25789cdb54f8aae30ac59.jpg

dual use for small farms, and West Germany has tiny farms in comparison to the US.
It's no joke, I seen farmer's fields that here in the US, would be considered a garden
 
As did Land Rovers to the point they had central rather than offsite steering.

Is a Unimog really in the same class?

The only 4WDs I see modified to that degree these days are for bush bashing. Eg catching buffaloes. Specialized tractors etc haul the serious agricultural equipment.
 
A slight tangent that may or may not help.

What is the attraction of the very large pickup trucks? Most countries max out at 1 ton Landcruiser size. Any bigger you get a genuine truck.

A friend of mine has suggested it is because pickup trucks see a lot of service as prime movers for farm work. I know that overseas they are mostly used for mid weight stuff like horse floats and caravans.

Is there something unique about rural USA that allows these not quite trucks to exist?

The problem is that it's not just rural USA. I live in a townhome development in suburban Maryland between DC and Baltimore. I have more than one neighbor with huge pickup trucks. I have no idea why they have them other than they like them.
 
One of the reasons I like my SUV so much is that I can take it to my girlfriend's family lake and off road. It is pretty durable in those situations, even if the gas mileage is a bit disappointing. The 4 wheel drive feature I think was also big for a number of people.

Perhaps more amenities for people who are into off-roading and rural transport in general for sedans and they stay on top?
 
I know car-based utes aren't as durable, but how many people who drive half-ton pickups actually use them as trucks & need the heavy-duty durability?

What are the chances for a "heavy-duty Camino" to fill that role? Or a move by a truckmaker (Stude?) to offer a 3/4-ton at a lower price to take sales from the half-tons, while also selling a "HD *Camino"?
 
Yes, the simple utility of the 1/2 - 1 ton pickups is hard to beat. Station wagons/estates/hatchbacks/minivans cannot match their shovel stuff in/shovel out utility. Maybe we could get a move towards the utes/El Camino style pickups.

aeda0635ffe48d7af78afa2e6742aa3633f5f7a9.jpg

1978 Chevy El Camino “Black Knight”

https://rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/...-1978-chevrolet-el-camino-black-knight/296259

Yes, the El Camino-style car in front, pickup in back, all at regular height. I think they could have caught on more. :cool:
 
The problem is that it's not just rural USA. I live in a townhome development in suburban Maryland between DC and Baltimore. I have more than one neighbor with huge pickup trucks. I have no idea why they have them other than they like them.
I know some people just like the way they drive compared to a normal sedan. I've had both and can't really say I have an on-road preference, but without a doubt, they are different in terms of feel.

And then some people just like bigger vehicles, even with the more demanding maintenance.

But it would be pretty much impossible to have one and live in most East Coast cities.
 
aeda0635ffe48d7af78afa2e6742aa3633f5f7a9.jpg

1978 Chevy El Camino “Black Knight”

https://rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/...-1978-chevrolet-el-camino-black-knight/296259

Yes, the El Camino-style car in front, pickup in back, all at regular height. I think they could have caught on more. :cool:

I see you one El Camino and raise you a Maloo.
maloor8lsa-exterior-3.jpg


Admittedly in the end they were largely superseded by Hilux trayback type 4WDs they still had a place for hoons who had to work in the morning.

I suspect the killer in the US was the customers were used to the size of pickup trucks trays while the utes suffered car fuel taxes rather than truck taxes.
 
Might better start here:
gremlin-pickup-truck.jpg

Or maybe here:
1879kol5ssskjjpg.jpg

About even odds you end up here:
1b6021feed6fd7b254018679255d693d.jpg

And that Caprice with FWD & an aluminum 5.3 wouldn't be a bad thing, exactly.
 
The problem is that it's not just rural USA. I live in a townhome development in suburban Maryland between DC and Baltimore. I have more than one neighbor with huge pickup trucks. I have no idea why they have them other than they like them.
Perhaps they go driving on "forest roads" with deep cross ditches in their spare time and like the extra ground clearance that a truck with bigger wheels and tires might provide ?
 
So do pickup trucks only operate in niche roles outside of America? It can't be as simple as cheap fuel and wide open spaces?
IME they are niche roles only, typically the niche role of “must compensate for penile issues while being just practical enough to satisfy the taxman it’s a work vehicle”. Or as mentioned before “i’m too insecure to just buy a van”.
This is what people outside the US typically use
upload_2019-7-18_20-4-25.jpeg

Much more load space and probably more payload too, on a smaller engine and the same physical footprint. Available in larger versions all the way up to requiring a commercial licence, and all the way down in size until the little sedan deliveries take over. Dropside, tipper, crane, box, duals, 4x4, you can get everything imaginable in pretty much any wheelbase you wish. Ford Transit is the classic single-name example, the VW T5/Crafter does it over two ranges.
 
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