Pickup truck

A pickup truck is a light truck with an open-top rear cargo area. The basic modern design of the pickup truck first appeared in Geelong, Australia in 1934. Many pickups have short rigid sides and an opening rear gate, while others have a flat tray back. These vehicles are known in Australia and New Zealand as a ute or utility (from "utility vehicle"), in South Africa as a bakkie (pronounced "bucky"), and in Israel as a tender. Panel vans, a kind of van, popular in Australia during the 1970s, were based on a ute chassis.

The design details of such vehicles vary significantly, and different nationalities seem to specialise in different style and size of vehicles. For instance, North American pickups come both in full-size (large, heavy vehicles with big V6 or V8 engines) and compact (smaller trucks generally equipped with inline 4 or V6 engines).

Types of pickups

Compact pickups

The compact pickup (or simply pickup, without qualifier) is the most widespread form of pickup truck. It is built like a mini version of a two-axle heavy truck, with a frame providing structure, a conventional cab, a leaf spring suspension on the rear wheels and a small I4, I6 or V6 engine, generally using gasoline. Compact trucks sold in the North American Market include:

In Europe, compact pickups dominate the pickup market, although they are popular mostly in rural areas. Only Japanese makes such as Toyota (Hi-Lux), Mitsubishi (L200) and Nissan (Navara) have typically built models for this segment, with few entries by European manufacturers, the most notable of which is perhaps the Peugeot 504 Pick-Up, which continued to be sold in Mediterranean Europe and Africa long after the original 504 ceased production. Opel, Ford and VW have occasionally sold rebadged versions of Japanese products, built by Isuzu, Mazda and Toyota, respectively. Eastern European manufacturers such as ARO or UAZ have served their home markets faithfully for decades, but are now disappearing. The near-majority of compact pickups sold in Europe use Diesel engines.

North American full-size pickups

A full-size pickup is a large truck suitable for hauling heavy loads and performing other functions. Most full-size trucks can carry at least 1,000 lb (450 kg) in the rear bed, with some capable of twice that much. Most are front-engine and rear wheel drive with four wheel drive optional, and most use a live axle with leaf springs in the rear. They are commonly found with V8, V10, or Diesel engines. The largest full-size pickups feature doubled rear tires (two on each side on one axle). These are colloquially referred to as "duallys" (dool-eez), or dual-wheeled pickup trucks, and are often equipped with a fifth wheel for towing heavy trailers.

Until recently, only the "Big Three" American automakers (Ford, GM and Chrysler) built full-size pickups. Toyota introduced the T100 full-size pickup truck in 1993, but sales were poor due to high prices and a lack of a V8 engine. However, the introduction of the Toyota Tundra and Nissan Titan marked the proper entry of Japanese makers in the market. Both of these trucks are assembled in North America.

As of 2005, five pick-ups are sold as full-size in North America:

Coupe Utility

The Coupe Utility body style is a passenger-car derived light truck with a passenger cabin of "coupe" style but with an integral cargo bed behind the cabin.

In 1934, as the result of a request from a Victorian farmer, Ford Australia combined the cab of its newly released Ford Coupe body with the well-type load area of their roadster utility, producing the first of the 'Coupe Utilities'.

Both the Coupe Utility and the Roadster Utility continued in production, but the improving economy of the mid to late 30s & the desire for a little comfort saw coupe utility sales climb at the expense of the roadster ute until by 1939, the roadster ute was all but a fading memory. No car maker offered a roadster ute when car production restarted after WW2 until 1957 when Ford began offering the Ranchero; GM followed with the El Camino. By the early 1990s, however, the Coupe Utility began to fall out of favor again, although Subaru still offers one as the Baja.

Both the Coupe utility & Closed Cab pickup designs migrated to light truck chassis & these are correctly known respectively as Utility trucks & Pickup trucks. The Pickup design found a natural home on the smaller truck chassis while the ute became entrenched as a passenger car derivitave, so that only one modern manufacturer offers a pickup [passenger car based] or a utility 'truck' today, and even then the body style will be extinct after 2006.

ute, [pronounced 'yute'] in Australian English and New Zealand English usage, short for " utility", the Australasian alternative to the North American pickup, and pickup truck.

Like the US pickup which was also originally based on a passenger car chassis, the Aussie ute has its origins in the open top passenger car models of the mid 1920's.

The Australian utility started its life as a production model, with its unique one piece body from the rear of the door opening back to the rearmost of the vehicle, in 1924. The pickup, on the other hand, started it's life a little earlier & is defined by its separate, & removeable, well-type 'pickup bed'. This pickup bed does not contact the cabin part of the vehicle, while the ute bed is an integral part of the whole body.

The ute body-type was first available in Chevrolet then Dodge models, the bodies of which were made by Holden under contract, & they were essentially an extention of the open top roadster design, but with a 'well' type cargo area instead of the roadster turtledeck. These were known as roadster utilities. This basic design quickly gained in popularity & became available as either a standard offering, or special order body from a number of car makers in Australia by 1929.

Other pickups

The two Australian-built utilities (the Holden Commodore Ute and the Ford Falcon Ute) currently in production are rebodied versions of large passenger cars, as were the now out of production American Ford Ranchero and Chevrolet El Camino. Consequently, they are much lower-slung and more carlike both in appearance and performance than other pickups. Volkswagen and other European manufacturers have also introduced similar designs at one time or another, but they have not been popular and the designs were typically dropped after a few years. Currently the Subaru Baja and the Honda Ridgeline are the only car-based pickup trucks sold in North America. Another derivative is the Ford Explorer Sporttrac, which is a vehicle similar to the Ridgeline as it is based on an existing sport utility (body on frame construction) though it predates it. The bed is made of a plastic material.

In North America their is a sub-class pickup size known as mid-sized. It includes the Dodge Dakota and it Mitsubishi derivative. The Chevrolet Colorado and GMC twin are also in this class. The compact trucks are slowly growing in dimension into this class.

In Latin America, single cab pickups which are based on supermini cars, are fairly popular. They are called "compact," in contrast with "mid-size" (Ranger, S10, Hilux) and "full-size" (Ram, Avalanche, F150), and also nicknamed "picápinhas" in Brazil. Best-sellers are models such as the Chevrolet Montana/Tornado, Volkswagen Saveiro and Fiat Strada.

In Western Europe, Skoda and Fiat have, on occasion, tried to engage the public's attention to this segment, with little success, as panel vans are more popular as light commercial vehicles in city areas, and Japanese compact pick-ups more capable in rural areas' rough terrains. In Eastern Europe, they were quite popular as commercial vehicles until the turn of the millennium, with makes such as Dacia and IZH offering cars for this segment up to 2004.

One of the smallest pickups to be produced in commercial quantities was the British Austin/Morris Mini Pickup. At a little over 3 meters in length, it was none the less quite popular as a practical, working truck, selling 58,000 vehicles between 1961 and 1983.

Pickup cab styles

Pickup trucks have been produced with a number of different configurations or body styles.

Standard cab

A standard cab pickup has a single row of seats and a single set of doors, one on each side. Most pickups have a front bench seat that can be used by three people, however within the last few decades, various manufacturers have begun to offer individual seats as standard equipment.

Extended cab

Extended or super cab pickups add an extra space behind the main seat. This is normally accessed by reclining the front bench back, but recent extended cab pickups have featured reverse-hinged doors on one or both sides for access. The original extended cab trucks used simple side-facing "jump seats" that could fold into the walls, but modern super cab trucks usually have a full bench in the back. Ford introduced the SuperCab concept on their 1974 F-100.

Crew cab

A true four-door pickup is a crew cab or double cab. It features seating for up to five or six people on two full benches and full-size front-hinged doors on both sides. Most crew cab pickups have a shorter bed or box to reduce their overall length.

International was the first to introduced a crew cab pickup in 1957, , followed by Ford with their 1965 F-250 (short bed) and F-350 (long bed), Dodge in the same era, and Chevrolet followed with their 1973 C/K. Japanese makes offered crew cab versions of their pick-ups from the mid-80s.

Four-door compact pickup trucks are quite popular outside North America, due to their increased passenger space and versatility in carrying non-rugged cargo. In the United States and Canada, however, four-door compact trucks have been very slow to catch on and are still quite rare. In recent years seat belt laws, requirements of insurance companies and fear of litigation have increased the demand for four door trucks which provide a safety belt for each passenger. Mexican four-door compact pickups are quite popular.

Pickup bed styles

Full-size pickup trucks are generally available with several different types of beds attached. The provided lengths typically specify the distance between the inside of the front end of the bed and the closed tailgate; note that these values are approximate and different manufacturers produce beds of slightly varying length.

Most compact truck beds are approximately 50 in wide, and most full-size are between 60 in and 70 in wide, generally 48 in or slightly over between the wheel wells (minimum width).

Short bed

The short bed is by far the most popular type of pickup truck bed. Compact truck short beds are generally 6 ft long and full-size beds are generally 6.5 ft long. These beds offer significant load-hauling versatility, but are not long enough to be difficult to drive or park.

Long bed

The long bed is usually a foot or two longer than the short bed and is more popular on trucks of primarily utilitarian employ (for example, commercial work trucks or farm trucks). Compact long beds are generally 7 ft long and full-size long beds are generally 8 ft long. Full-size long beds offer the advantage of carrying a standard-size 4 ft×8 ft sheet of plywood with the tailgate closed. In the United States and Canada, long beds are not very popular on compact trucks because of the easy availability of full-size pickup trucks.

Step-Side

Most pickup truck beds have side panels positioned outside the wheel wells. Conversely, step-side truck beds have side panels inside the wheel wells. Pickup trucks were commonly equipped with step-side beds until the 1970s, when most manufacturers switched to a straight bed, which offer slightly more interior space than step-side beds. Step-side beds do have the added advantage of a completely rectangular box, although most modern trucks with a step-side bed are that way purely for styling.

General Motors calls this option sport-side, while Ford Motor Company dubs it flare-side.

Very short bed

As mentioned above, some compact four-door pickup trucks are equipped with very short beds. They are usually based on SUVs, and the bed is attached behind the rear seats. The Ford Explorer Sport Trac is an example of this, as is the Ssangyong Musso Sport.

No bed

In some cases, commercial pickup trucks can be purchased without a bed at all; the gas tank and driveline are visible and easily accessible through the top of the frame rails until a proper bed (many times customized to fit a particular business' needs) is attached by the customer.

The cultural significance of the pickup

The pickup in American culture

Americans have a special fondness for the pickup truck, and it has developed a mythos that is similar to that of the horse in the American Old West. In the United States, pickups tend to be portrayed as symbols of male virility. They figure prominently in "tough guy" and neo-Western motion pictures, such as Hud, Urban Cowboy, and Every Which Way But Loose. They are also a fixture in American politics, as in the famous campaign speech by Fred Thompson, who explained his opponent's shortcomings by saying "He hasn't spent enough time in a pickup truck." In 2004, Democratic Senate candidate Ken Salazar campaigned with his green pickup truck; Salazar later won the election.[1]

The Australian ute

Since the modern design of the ute first rolled off the assembly line at the Ford factory in Geelong in 1934, which Henry Ford described as the 'kangaroo chaser', Australia has developed a culture around utes. This still manifests itself today, particarly in rural areas with events known as Ute musters that occur nation wide.

In Australia, two common forms of ute exist. The American style Pickup ute which is popular with farmers, etc is usually a Japanese or Australian built ute, such as the Holden Rodeo, Toyota Hilux, etc. These are popular in a variety of forms – two and four wheel drive, single or dual cab, integrated tray or flatbed. These kinds of vehicles are also common in New Zealand, where they are also referred to as utes. There is an extensive industry in rural areas building a huge variety of different ute backs and trays to fit standard chassis.

The other type of vehicle commonly referred to as a ute is quite different – a 2-seater sporty version of typical saloon cars, featuring a ute-type integrated tray back, comparable to the American Chevrolet El Camino or Ford Ranchero. A typical modern-day example would be the Holden Commodore SS ute. Construction is semi-monocoque, with the front end sharing the unitary construction of the saloon car on which they are based, but featuring a more conventional chassis at the rear. The vehicle is optimised for carrying loads in rural Australia which tend to be very flat, however in other environments the vehicles has somewhat questionable value as most feature very low ground clearance, wide road tyres and so forth. Many young urban drivers often customise their utes, resulting in many not willing to scratch the paintwork on anything useful such as carrying a load.

Pickups in Thailand

As the world's second largest manufacturer of pickup trucks, aided by punitive excise taxes on passenger cars, pickup trucks have long been extremely popular in Thailand: between 1987 and 1996, 58% of all cars sold in the country were pickup trucks. [2] Pickups are used extensively for shipping and transport, notably the converted songthaew (lit. "two row") minibus that forms the backbone of public transportation in and between many smaller cities.

Thailand is also the world's second largest market for pickup trucks, after the United States. 400,000 pickups were sold there in 2005.

Pickups in Europe

In Europe, pickups are considered light commercial vehicles for farmers. Until the 1990s, pickups were preferred mainly as individual vehicles in rural areas, while vans and large trucks were the preferred method of transportation for cargo.

The largest pickup market in Europe is Portugal, where crew cab 4WD pickups have somewhat replaced SUVs as offroad vehicles, after a change in taxation removed light commercial vehicle status from SUVs. The introduction of more powerful engines in pickups, benefitting from variable nozzle turbochargers and common rail direct injection technology, have made these cars interesting prospects in the eyes of the public.

In the United Kingdom, France and Germany, pickups are rarely seen and carry little cultural significance. While British environmentalists tend to object to large cars, their focus is usually aimed at the more common people carriers and especially on the very popular 4x4s (SUVs in American English).

Military use

Pickup trucks have been used as troop carriers in many parts of the world, especially in countries with few civilian roads or areas of very rough terrain. Pickup trucks have also been used as fighting vehicles, often equipped with a machine-gun mounted in the bed. These are known as technicals.

Other uses

Fire chief’s vehicle

In the United States pick-up trucks have been used as response vehicles for fire chiefs. These pickup trucks will mount emergency lights and sirens, and sport color shemes similar to the one used by fire trucks in the department.

Law enforcement

Pickup trucks have also been modified for use by local police agencies in areas where a cruiser is ill-suited for terrain requirements, such as in the Pacific Northwest and Southwest of the United States. The United States Border Patrol relies almost entirely on a fleet on SUV’s and pickup trucks for use along the United States–Mexico border. Pickup trucks have also found a role in Search and Rescue operations, since they are designed to handle the rugged outdoors.

Miscellaneous

Since about 2001 hybrids of sport utility vehicles and pickups have appeared, which are similar to an SUV except that the 3rd row of seats (or enclosed cargo area) is replaced by a short open truck bed. The Chevrolet Avalanche is the most well-known example of this.

Whilst pickups are commonly used by tradespeople the world over, they are popular as personal transport in Australia, the United States, and Canada, where they share some of the image of the SUV and are commonly criticised on similar grounds.

Many pickup trucks have four wheel drive, aggressively-treaded tires and high ground clearance, and thus have all-terrain capabilities similar to SUVs.

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