A pickup truck or pickup is a light-duty truck having an enclosed cab and an open cargo area with low sides and tailgate. In Australia and New Zealand, both pickups and coupé utilities are called utes, short for utility vehicle. In South Africa, people of all language groups use the term bakkie, a diminutive of bak, Afrikaans for "bowl" or "container".
Once a work tool with few creature comforts, in the 1950s US consumers began purchasing pickups for lifestyle reasons, and by the 1990s, less than 15% of owners reported use in work as the pickup truck's primary purpose. Today in North America, the pickup is mostly used as a passenger car and accounts for about 18% of total vehicles sold in the United States.
 |
| Ford F150 |
Full-sized pickups and SUVs are an important source of revenue for GM, Ford, and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, accounting for more than two-thirds of their global pretax earnings, though the vehicles make up just 16% of North American vehicle production. The vehicles have a high profit margin and a high price, with 40% of Ford F-150s selling for US$40,000 or more.
The term pickup is of unknown origin. It was used by Studebaker in 1913 and by the 1930s, "pick-up" (hyphenated) had become the standard term.
Uses
In the US and Canada, pickups are used primarily for passenger transport. Pickup trucks are often marketed and used for their hauling (utilizing cargo bed) and towing (utilizing body on frame design and long wheelbase) capabilities.
Equipping pickup trucks with camper shells provides a small living space for camping. Slide-in truck campers, though, give a pickup truck the amenities of a small motor-home, but still allow the operator the option of removal and independent use of the vehicle.
 |
| A pickup truck with cargo. Courtesy of cargocatch.com |
Modified pickups can be used as improvised, unarmored combat vehicles called technical s.
Pickup trucks are used to carry passengers in parts of Africa and Southeast Asia. In Thailand, most songthaews are converted pickup trucks and flatbed trucks. In Haiti, Tap taps are also converted pickup trucks.
