Originally the F-150 was a perfect vehicle for most of non-urban America. It was very inexpensive (not a joke), simple to fix (also not a joke), dependable (I swear I’m not trolling), and very utilitarian. Eventually it became an icon and the default purchase for many, even though the more popular models have lost all of the features that made it attractive to begin with.
I don’t think the article specifically addresses it, but I’d guess that their numbers account for fleet purchases, which are always going to skew the numbers a bit
There are many lists of “most popular vehicles” out there. The F-150 tops some of those lists and doesn’t even appear on others. There are a lot of games one can play with specificity to make something more prominent (“Ford F-series”) or less prominent (“Ram 1500 Rumble Bee”) in a list like that.
But the point – that we have more pickup trucks than can reasonably be justified – stands.
US auto makers failed at making 4 cylinder engines compared to Japan. So they consolidated around the v8 which they did really well. Everything else is a result of marketing and affordability over the years.
I don’t agree they failed - there are plenty 4 cylinder and hybrid cars available.
The thing is- people want trucks, and either they can afford them, or dealers and banks gaslight them to believe they can afford them. So that’s what people buy.
I always find it funny when people explain the American auto market’s characteristics by shitting on how stupid American auto industry can’t even make cars. That is irrelevant, a bunch of people drive japanese or european cars if that’s what they want, it’s not like there aren’t imports available. People buy big ass trucks (including Toyota btw) because that’s what they want to drive. It’s that simple.
Manufacturers make what people want, for the most part.
Not quite. There has been a systemic push to grow the size of US vehicles. Why can you not find ANY small trucks? It’s NOT because every American that wants a truck wants a big one.
This isn’t a conspiracy in the loonie sense. It’s completely true, though it was a conspiracy to manipulate the market, which succeeded. It started with the Chicken Tax.
Poorly executed vehicle efficiency requirements based on vehicle footprint ended up as a pressure for larger vehicles as well, which led to the rise in SUVs and oversized puckups.
“car”
And the following question is “Why?”.
Originally the F-150 was a perfect vehicle for most of non-urban America. It was very inexpensive (not a joke), simple to fix (also not a joke), dependable (I swear I’m not trolling), and very utilitarian. Eventually it became an icon and the default purchase for many, even though the more popular models have lost all of the features that made it attractive to begin with.
It also used to be a reasonable size. Larger than sedans, bit not by nearly as much.
Oh yeah, and not five foot tall at the hood by default.
I saw an OG F-100 truck the other day. The roof of its cab is about the same height as the hood of these new monsters.
Standard issue in the toxic masculinity starter pack.
I don’t think the article specifically addresses it, but I’d guess that their numbers account for fleet purchases, which are always going to skew the numbers a bit
There are many lists of “most popular vehicles” out there. The F-150 tops some of those lists and doesn’t even appear on others. There are a lot of games one can play with specificity to make something more prominent (“Ford F-series”) or less prominent (“Ram 1500 Rumble Bee”) in a list like that.
But the point – that we have more pickup trucks than can reasonably be justified – stands.
Small peepee
US auto makers failed at making 4 cylinder engines compared to Japan. So they consolidated around the v8 which they did really well. Everything else is a result of marketing and affordability over the years.
I don’t agree they failed - there are plenty 4 cylinder and hybrid cars available.
The thing is- people want trucks, and either they can afford them, or dealers and banks gaslight them to believe they can afford them. So that’s what people buy. I always find it funny when people explain the American auto market’s characteristics by shitting on how stupid American auto industry can’t even make cars. That is irrelevant, a bunch of people drive japanese or european cars if that’s what they want, it’s not like there aren’t imports available. People buy big ass trucks (including Toyota btw) because that’s what they want to drive. It’s that simple.
Manufacturers make what people want, for the most part.
Not quite. There has been a systemic push to grow the size of US vehicles. Why can you not find ANY small trucks? It’s NOT because every American that wants a truck wants a big one.
This isn’t a conspiracy in the loonie sense. It’s completely true, though it was a conspiracy to manipulate the market, which succeeded. It started with the Chicken Tax.
Poorly executed vehicle efficiency requirements based on vehicle footprint ended up as a pressure for larger vehicles as well, which led to the rise in SUVs and oversized puckups.