Pickup truck
A pickup truck is a 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. Typical North American pickups are large, heavy vehicles weighing upwards of 2500 kg (5000 pounds) and are fitted with exceedingly large, powerful V8 gasoline and diesel engines. They feature a separate chassis and body (as distinct from most modern passenger cars which use the body and its frame as the major structure in a design known as a unibody or monocoque).
Pickup truck with extended cabin and homebuilt lumber rack.
Japanese-built pickup trucks, by contrast, are considerably smaller, lighter, and fitted with smaller four or six-cylinder engines. Such vehicles (exemplified by the Toyota Tacoma) can be found around the world, unlike the US-built pickups which are regarded as too large and fuel-inefficient by most other markets. Small pickups have much lower cargo and towing capacity, while large capacity and power are the primary advertising points in America. Smaller pickups are also common in America. In recent years, Japanese automakers have started building large V8-powered pickups for the North American market; all these trucks are assembled in North America.
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.
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.
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.
The Pickup in American Culture
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."
The Australian 'Ute
In Australia, two common forms of 'ute exist. The normal type of ute which is popular with farmers, etc is usually the Japanese or Australian built type of vehicle, 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're 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.
See also forklift.
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