The Average US Pickup Buyer Doesn't Need A Truck, Just A Cowboy Outfit

People and their money will buy what they want.

LMAO, so true.

This is the aspect of being a car enthusiasts that drives me up a wall. You may not like someone's ride or choice but its their choice and they are totally happy with it. It fills some inner need of theirs, not yours. The correct answer should always be "If it makes you happy, great!" The above headline is arrogant, elitist, self absorbed, self centered and demeaning. It reflects the small mindedness of the person making the statement. Live and let live, particularly in the auto enthusiast arena.

I rarely question a person's choice of vehicle.

However, I will often question their "justification" that led to the choice OR how they choose to operate the vehicle.

My issue isn't that a ton of drivers have SUVs & trucks. I hate that most of them have no clue how to drive them properly in differing conditions. And when it's raining hard or snowing, these are the folks spinning their wheels or driving like 5mph on the highway b/c they're terrified.

I'm normally in your camp, overall. But I still question the logic of their decisions.

I try not to "judge", but what is "judgment" if not making assessments of a person's character based on their actions and choices? In that case, I'm afraid I do judge, however privately.

I rode on a super crew F150 Uber the other day and it was very comfortable and nice inside. Much better than a MB S500. It had the 3.5 ecoboost engine which felt very powerful. For me these are work cars, to hauls stuff so I can't imagine having one as a daily driver but to each its own.

Nicer than a M-B S500 huh? Have you been in a new S-class?

not to say that the F150 isn't a comfy, luxury-like ride. but comparing that to the S-class makes one question your personal standards for luxury. ijs

That is...not correct.

You can cram as much leather and (fake) wood in to a mainstream pickup as you want. It's still a work vehicle.

It's not as nice as an S-Class. Period. This is one of the few points in the automotive world that is not a matter of opinion.

Pickup trucks are pretty bad about this. I'm from Texas, and can attest.

If you need a pickup, great. They're very good at what they were designed to do. But most people never put anything in the bed, they just want to feel like a cowboy. At lot of these same people walk around in a ten-gallon hat and boots. They aren't ranch hands or cattle drivers, they're dentists and sales associates. It's a costume; you might as well walk around dressed as Batman.

SUVs are almost as bad. If you go offroad, great. If you regularly haul things and need the space, great. Otherwise, what's the point? Just admit it, you want to ride up high and feel like a big boy, don't you?

One of the few trends in the automotive world that actually gets my dander up is vehicles being purchased with intent to use them in a manner outside of, or even entirely antithetical, to their intended purpose.

Buy a good Stetson (a real one) and some Tony Lama boots and call it a day. I have been to a few rustic charity events when tuxedos are paired with jeans and cowboy boots. You will at least get some use out of them. Not cheap, but much less expensive than a driving around in a full size pick up truck all week.

I read the article and while it makes valid points I don't get the customer profiling it sets up. There's no reason to believe that the average truck buyer is some sort of insecure ranch hand. People buy trucks for all sorts of reason that matter to them personally.. half of my friends have a car and a truck, but so what? and while the writer seems to suggest that there's some ego-feeding irresponsible excess provided by a truck there's the other end of that spectrum. Whats' the point of owning a supercar that goes faster than anyone needs to go while guzzling more fuel than any pickup truck you can name?

I drive a full size van with extended wheelbase and high roof. This is my daily driver because of the type of work that I do. If I had a choice, I would be driving around in a 4cyl economy car.

I cannot understand why people would pay more to transport themselves then absolutely necessary? Someone help me out with this please.

So the average buyer who buy high performance cars should just wear racing suits??? Last I checked America is not a communist country so I buy what I like. If the author of the original article likes to play dress ups, that’s his/her/their choice. If you want to save the earth and walk/bike/take public transit to work, please do.

Love the vicious bigotry of some of the comments:

"Trucks compensate for penis size more than clothes."

"Not cheap, but much less expensive than a driving around in a full size pick up truck all week."

The article was asinine.

pot calling the kettle black