Detroit's small, sprightly trucks are the fastest-moving vehicles
Question: Which is the best-selling vehicle in the U.S.-the Chevrolet Cavalier, Ford Escort or Honda Accord? Answer: None of the above. A pair of pickup trucks, the Ford F-series and Chevrolet's C-series, outsell every passenger car on the market. Indeed, Americans are increasingly turning on to trucks. Says Chrysler President Harold Sperlich: "Car sales are good; truck sales are dynamite." U.S. automakers announced last week that some 3.8 million trucks have been sold this year, an increase of 33%, while car sales have risen 14%.
The strongest-selling models are not 18-wheelers and big commercial carriers, but small trucks, vans and other vehicles that share some features with passenger cars. Many suburban housewives have fallen in love with minivans (estimated 1984 sales: 225,000), and thousands of yuppies are hooked on such off-the-road vehicles as the Chevrolet S-10 Blazer (sales so far this year: 130,727), the American Motors Jeep (79,807) and the Ford Bronco II (91,651). The fastest-moving truck of all is the small pickup. The nine different models of the compact carrier will have combined sales of 1.1 million this year, more than twice as many as in the record year 1978.
The new trucks are a breed apart from their clunky forerunners. They are easier to drive and more comfortable to ride in. Says Lynette Maker, a nurse in Burlington, Wis., of her new Cherokee Chief Jeep: "It has enough room for hauling and doesn't drive like a truck." The vehicles can also be purchased with air conditioning, power seats and expensive stereo equipment. Says Ed Rikess, owner of Southview Chevrolet in St. Paul: "The biggest option is the fanciest music system we can get." One out of four small pickups is sold with four-wheel drive, which provides greater traction on slippery roads and the freedom to gambol across beaches and hills.
Pickups have also developed a sporty, no-nonsense image. Larry Burrough, a Los Angeles newspaper editor who owns a four-wheel-drive Toyota, admits he some times feels "kind of strange pulling up to a nice restaurant with Rolls-Royces and Mercedes in the parking lot, and me in the pickup." But, he quickly adds, "nobody seems to mind." Says AMC Chairman Paul Tippett: "People are finding trucks a reasonable and sophisticated alternative to cars." The vehicles are particularly popular in Western states, where they are viewed as a fuel-efficient, inexpensive way to carry skis and surfboards. One out of every five compact pickups is sold in California.
Truck buyers are young-the median age is around 33-and about one-third of new owners between the ages of 20 and 30 are women. Joan Cheek, of Simi Valley, Calif., passed along her 1972 Oldsmobile Cutlass to her son, and now commutes to her job at a hospital in a 1984 Chevy S-10 pickup. Says she: "A lot of women are driving trucks now. It's the thing." Cheek finds her truck handy for carrying groceries and hauling tree trimmings to the dump. She plans to add a metal cap (average price: $270) to cover the open back of the truck so that she can shelter her belongings and use the vehicle to sleep in on camping trips.