Thirty years ago, about the only “accessory” you might find in a pickup truck was an old Coke or Orange Crush bottle that would clatter around under the bench seat and might come in handy to fill the radiator.
The automotive world has changed dramatically since then and the plain, spare pickup isn’t what sets the blood racing in showrooms.
Contemporary full-size trucks may retain exterior similarities to their spartan cousins such as the cargo box. But the interiors are worlds apart, note marketing and sales executives at Chrysler Corp., Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp., which together delivered nearly 1.9 million full-size pickup trucks last year and hope to repeat that this year.
“We still sell `hose-out’ specials with vinyl seats and carpet,” says Larry Savage, marketing plans manager for the Ford F-Series pickup line, but Ford, like GM and Chrysler, also caters to personal-use buyers who want features such as premium seats and top-of-line sound systems.
Indeed, the vehicle etched into American lore and imagery with cowboys, cattle drives and campfires now can be ordered with lighted vanity mirrors on the passenger and driver side. Chrysler reports only about 3.6 percent of its Ram pickup trucks are ordered with the snowplow as opposed to 15.4 percent with “dual, lighted visors.”
Chrysler spokesman Mike Rosenau says the company paid an enormous amount of attention to the interiors when redesigning the Ram and Dakota pickups in 1996 and ’97, respectively. The instrument panel was upgraded and storage space added.
The Chevrolet Silverado, which at $21,000 is the expensive version of GM’s most popular vehicle, comes with AM/FM radio, power windows, air conditioning, tilt steering, custom seats–leather optional, cupholders, storage compartments and vanity mirrors.
Chris Cedergren, a consultant and analyst with Nextrend, a California-based firm that studies auto industry sales developments, says full-size pickups have changed dramatically since the early 1980s, when the Big Three sold the vehicles primarily as work trucks to farmers, contractors and tradesmen.
“The interiors of the trucks have evolved swiftly in just the past 10 years,” says Cedergren, who says manufacturers have paid attention to consumers on interiors. “They use better material, and instrument panels have changed dramatically to the point where they are comparable to those found on most cars.
“We would suspect there are buyers that have never even looked in the cargo box of the vehicle let alone put anything back there,” adds Cedergren. The personal-use buyers, however, put a great deal of emphasis on comfort, convenience and driveability,, he says.
“What they are is a real good alternative to the old, full-size car,” Cedergren. “They offer the buyer a nice package with power.”
“The interiors of trucks are very important,” says Michael Robinet, an analysts with CSM Forecasting Inc., Farmington Hills, Mich. The new interiors go hand-in-glove with the changes to spring and suspension systems to make trucks easier to handle and improve their ride, Robinet adds.
Jim Kornas, brand manager for the GMC Sierra sold by GM’s Pontiac-GMC division, says the truck evolution picked up momentum in the late 1980s, with the new suspensions. “We saw a nice uptick in the position pickups took in the household. People were not only using them for work but also for their recreational needs. You found people who had never owned a truck buying them, and they started expecting the same amenities they had on their cars. We got the message loud and clear that we had to pay attention to the inside of the truck,” says Kornas.
GMC added everything from premium sound systems to power windows and three power points. “It allows people to have more than one thing plugged in at a time,” Kornas says.
The Japanese, primarily Toyota and Nissan, also have moved to make their interiors more user friendly. Buyers can order the full-size Toyota T100, for example, with tilt wheel, pile carpeting, digital clock and a deluxe sound system with six speakers. The Toyota Tacoma offers such options as bucket seats, a leather-wrapped steering wheel and deluxe sound system with four speakers.
Nissan plans a major upgrade of its compact pickup truck with for the 1998 model year, which will include a complete redesign of the vehicle’s interior, says spokesman Fred Standish.
Ford’s Savage says pickup buyers emphasize function. “They don’t like a lot of electronics. Automatic fuel consumption readouts, for example, are not big sellers.” They like compasses, power windows and power points for their phones, says Savage.
“People are much more discriminating in their seats now. Years ago a seat was a seat was a seat. It was a bench with a solid back. Now they like tilt features and all the settings you find in passenger car,” he says. Along with more sophisticated seats have come new center consoles and other storage areas. “They want a place to put their `stuff,’ ” says Savage.
Ford offers four color packages–graphite or gray, red, willow green and tan–on full-size pickups, says Savage. Leather seats also have become more popular and, starting in 1998, a leather-wrapped steering wheel will be standard on the F-Series Lariat edition, says Savage. Chrysler and Chevrolet also offer a buyers a choice of color. The Chevrolet CK pick-up truck can be ordered in a neutral, blue, grey and red. while Chrysler uses dark green, camel and mist grey.
By and large manufacturers have been slower to refine the interiors of compact trucks, though most come with cupholders, bucket seats and cloth coverings as well as sleek more car-like instrument panels. “With the smaller trucks, you’re not going to put in a lot of the premium content without pricing yoursel out of the market,” notes Rich Asher of GM’s Pontiac-GMC Division.
Going forward, manufacturers are certain to include items such as heated seats and overhead storage consoles common on mini-vans and sport-utility vehicles.
Kornas says the consumer research still shows that about 85 percent of the primary drivers of full-size pickup trucks are men. Women, however, have a substantial influence on the purchase decision, he says. “It’s the man’s truck. But she approves it. She says, `You can get that truck, but I want a truck that makes me comfortable; I’m going to help you equip it,’ ” says Kornas.
