Pickup truck Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
A pickup truck is a light truck with an open-top cargo area with fairly short rigid sides and an opening rear gate. They are known in Australia as a "ute" or "utility" (from "utility vehicle") and in Israel as a "tender".
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 with Inline 4 or V6 engines. In the rest of the world, only compact pickups are available. In some countries, such as Australia, car-truck hybrids are common.
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2 The cultural significance of the pickup 3 Miscellaneous 4 See also 5 External link |
The compact pickup (or simply pickup, without qualifier) is the most widely spread 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. Examples include the Toyota Tacoma, the Ford Ranger and the Nissan Frontier.
North American full-size pickups are larger, heavier versions of their compact counterparts. They feature bigger V6 and V8 engines, and come in half-ton, 3/4-ton and one-ton sizes.
Until recently, only the big three American automakers (Ford, GM and Chrysler) built full-size pick-ups. However, the introduction of the Toyota Tundra and Nissan Titan marked the entry of Japanese makers in the market. Both these trucks are assembled in North America. As of 2004, five pick-ups are sold as full-size in North America:
The two Australian-built utilities 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 is the only car-based pickup sold in North America.
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 are deliberately marketed 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 Australia, two common forms of ute exist. The normal type of ute which is popular with farmers, etc is usually a Japanese or Australian built pickup, 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. 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, and possibly unique to Australia - a 2-seater sporty version of typical saloon cars, featuring a ute-type integrated tray back. A typical 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. Such vehicles are often customised and are popular with young drivers; however, their use as genuine utility vehicles is somewhat questionable as most feature very low ground clearance, wide road tyres and so forth. Also, many owners would likely be unwilling to scratch the paintwork on anything so utilitarian as carrying a useful load.
Since about 2001 hybrid SUV/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.
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 tyres and high ground clearance, and thus have all-terrain capabilities similar to SUVs. SUVs developed from pickups with permanently attached cabs.
Pickup trucks have been used as troop carriers in many parts of the world, most notably in Somalia, Chad, and by the Taliban and Northern Alliance forces in Afghanistan.
Pickup trucks have also been used as fighting vehicles: see Technical.
This is an Article on Pickup truck. Page Contains Information, Facts Details or Explanation Guide About Pickup truck Types of pickups
Compact pickups
North American Full-Size pickups
Other pickups
The cultural significance of the pickup
The Pickup in American Culture
The Australian Ute
Miscellaneous
See also
External link