5 Surprising Facts About Pickups and Their Owners
Pickup trucks are more popular than ever. In the U.S., their sales surpassed passenger cars for the first time this year.
In order to shed more light on consumers’ passion for pickups, Ford recently commissioned a survey of 2,000 American owners. This led to some surprising revelations. Here are five:
- Also: U.S. Pickup Sales Top Passenger Car Sales For the First Time
- Also: GM, Ford Electric Pickups Beat Tesla Cybertruck, Rivian R1T in New Survey
Diverse Demographics
The classic image of a pickup owner is a man in his forties or older, but the reality is much different. First of all, according to the survey, women represent 46 percent of customers. That’s mostly due to the fact that modern pickups have become multi-purpose, family-friendly vehicles instead of mere work trucks.
Also, sales are split fairly evenly among the various age groups: 18-34 (27 percent), 35-44 (17 percent), 45-54 (19 percent), 55-64 (20 percent) and 65+ (17 percent). That’s right, youth prevails!
Sizable Sacrifices
How many pickup owners would be willing to give up life’s guilty pleasures for a whole year before letting go of the keys to their vehicle? The answers are shocking.
Apparently, streaming services like Netflix (82 percent), alcohol (79 percent), coffee (71 percent), their smartphone (47 percent), meat (44%) and sex (38 percent) could all be sacrificed.
Like a Family Member
Many people like their pickup so much they basically consider it as a family member. Want proof? The Ford survey reveals that a quarter (25 percent) have given their truck a name, including Betty and Big Bertha, while 15 percent have a tattoo of their truck or something related to their truck on their body.
Transcending Icons
Pickups are not just everyday stars; they’re also a big part of pop culture and fiction.
Ford models alone have been featured in over 3,000 movies and TV shows, and mentioned in more than 180 songs. An old Ford pickup even appeared on a U.S. postal service stamp in 2016.
An Electric Pickup?
Ford is currently developing an electric F-150, but are current pickup owners excited at all about this type of truck? The survey says 40 percent of them are.
Among the top reasons why owners would make the switch, 38 percent say if they had assurance an electric pickup didn’t compromise on power or capability, 37 percent say if they had assurance there are enough places to charge the vehicle, and 35 percent say if an electric truck had lower projected maintenance costs.