Pickup trucks increase appeal for family use

Today's pickup truck attracts a much different clientele than its blue-collar past suggests.

While job-related buyers still make up a significant portion of customers, analysts say they're joined now by families, luxury buyers, and a growing number of women. That's mostly because of the changing nature of regular-duty pickups such as the Ford F-150, Chevrolet Silverado, Dodge Ram, and Toyota Tundra. Some versions of those trucks now offer family-friendly features and premium options that were unheard of 15 years ago but today draw a wider selection of buyers.

The trend is evident in two pickups that were redesigned for the 2007 model year: the Chevrolet Silverado and Toyota Tundra. Both have been reworked and are available with new features and options. The Tundra can have a backup camera that can display an image of the tow hitch on an interior monitor, useful when connecting a trailer. Bluetooth hands-free phone connectivity is also a first for the Tundra. The Silverado's new gadgetry includes an auxiliary jack for MP3 players, heated windshield-washer fluid and rain-sensing windshield wipers.

Both the Silverado and Tundra crew cab models come with a standard electronic stability system, a feature that until recently wasn't widely available on pickups. Both have cabin storage compartments that can hold a laptop computer. On top of additional features, the pool of potential pickup truck buyers has widened largely thanks to two developments: dramatic refinement in handling and cabin comforts throughout the 1990s, and the introduction of the light-duty crew cab pickup at the end of the decade.

Ford's F-150 started the trend toward light-duty crew cab pickups in 1999. Crew cabs, which have four front-hinged doors, originated in heavy-duty pickups to ferry more workers to job sites. But when Ford unveiled the light-duty F-150 SuperCrew in 1999 -- with General Motors, Chrysler and Toyota following suit -- it created what Global Insight senior consultant Bruce Harrison describes as the family-friendly pickup.

"It represents in many ways the family station wagon," Harrison said. "You have the utility of a four-door pickup truck, the V-8 engine, the rear-wheel drive [and] seating for five or six." GM reports increases in marriage, education, and income levels among buyers of full-size, light-duty pickups over the past 10 years, suggesting family buyers are on the rise. Harrison said he expects that trend to continue as the segment sees further refinement.

Helping the cause are rear-entertainment systems for crew cab trucks, featuring DVD and audio controls separate from the front. All five best-selling pickups of January and February 2007 offer rear or flip-down screens for multimedia viewing. Another group showing elevated interest in pickups is women. GM reported that in 1995, the share of female buyers for large pickups was about 10 percent; today, the share is 12 to 13 percent -- a sizeable increase given the group's small initial size.

Chevrolet Silverado marketing manager John Schwegman attributes the increase largely to the abundance of crew cabs; he estimates 20 percent of today's crew cabs are sold to women. Attractive features include ride height, four-wheel-drive security, and the pickup's appeal as an alternative to SUVs and minivans, he said.

Midsize pickups have also joined the crew cab club, while full-size trucks such as the Dodge Ram offer extended crew cabs that rival large sedans in cabin volume. Short-bed configurations -- with beds between 5 and 6 feet long -- prevent unwieldy dimensions for the truck as a whole. The changes are part of a massive race to diversify lineups, said Paul Ballew, GM's executive director of industry analysis. Ballew estimates half of all light-duty pickups sold today have crew cabs, and with that comes a dramatic shift in buyers.

AutoPacific consultant Jim Hossack calls this the occasional-use prerogative. He said pickups such as the F-150 Harley-Davidson and Honda Ridgeline are magnets among the occasional-use crowd -- owners who load the bed or tow things infrequently, but still want the capability to do so. "It's like four-wheel drive in a sport utility vehicle," Hossack said. "You don't use it all the time, but occasionally when you do use it, you're glad you have it."

High-end crew cabs are equipped comparably to luxury cars: Low-volume models such as the Cadillac Escalade EXT and Lincoln Mark LT offer leather interiors, entertainment systems, and large chrome wheels. The Mark LT's luxury appointments include leather upholstery, genuine wood trim and chrome accents throughout the interior and exterior. The Escalade EXT can be fitted with 22-inch chrome wheels, while its interior amenities include LCD monitors mounted in each of the headrests, rather than one flip-down monitor. Harrison said buyers are drawn toward the luxury-car experience that, combined with occasional pickup capabilities, makes a perfect match for today's consumer. "We Americans like to play, and pickup trucks let us play," he said. "And until somebody says that we can't play anymore, I think the pickup truck market will be strong."