Member-only story
Are Americans Approaching Pickup Truck Valhalla?
For those of you who remember the Toyota/Datsun small 40 mpg pickup invasion in the 70s, you are probably wondering (like me) how pickups became the gas-guzzling behemoths we see today. Sure modern pickups can seat more people, tow larger loads, and climb the stairs of Tibetan Temples, but wouldn’t the modern uber-male prefer more economy and child-friendly features?
THE THREE BEARS OF PICKUPS: Apparently, pickup manufacturers (including the Japanese ones) learned about 25 years ago that “bigger was better”, since no American male wanted to drive a little wussie pickup without mudflaps for fear of being a weenie. Together with smog restrictions employed in the 70s and 80s, the “masculinization” of pickups conspired to drop mileage to about 16 mpg along with insane amounts of towing capacities (enough to tow a Boing 747 in one commercial). While all this was happening, many normal males were increasingly being asked to ferry the kids around (including infants), with little drop in repair and furniture moving requests. As MPG-guilt was increasing, pickup manufacturers came up with face-saving “in-between” pickups, that generally were big enough to look manly, yet ran on 4 cylinder Japanese engines (still only getting about 23 mpg). As you dropped your loved-one off at preschool, you could point to your large “tool-box” (probably now filled with diapers and…
