Why US pickup trucks are cool (and ‘utes’ aren’t)

Does this make me un-Australian?

It might do, especially since I live in the land of the much-revered ute, which now seems to have transcended its work-a-day image and become desired by people who don’t know one end of a useful working tool from another ( the tray is for serious shopping at Ikea or Bunnings). So much so they’re amongst the top-selling vehicles in the country and, for the life of me, I don’t know why.

Battered old Hiluxes, and shiny, new VW Amaroks pass me all day long and not one of them provokes a flicker of desire. They are are just four-wheeled work tools, nothing more. And don’t get me started on what they are like to drive, let’s just say they are dull, with a capital D. The only exceptions might be those HSV V8 Holden utes (and equivalent FSV Fords) that are obviously very quick, but I don’t quite get why you need to carry lots of heavy stuff around at high speed. I mean just how urgent must an emergency plumbing job be?

Not that I imagine US-built pickups have ever been better to drive than their Aussie counterparts, they just seem to exude style in a way a ute just doesn’t, at least not to me.

Why old US pickup trucks are definitely cool?

Despite my antipathy towards Aussie, Japanese and European utes, I have long admired many old American trucks, even though to some they might appear to some to look like Australian-built vehicles, pumped up to a 50% larger size. They are much more than that.

A few stylish, sedan-like pickups appeared in the 1930s and 40s, but these were the exception. What really drove US manufacturers to introduce more stylish trucks was when they realised more style meant more sales, so Detroit gave their design departments free rein to be more creative. And, boy,  they didn’t hold back.

The style that boosted sales

Consequently, from the mid-fifties, we began to see pickups with fins, chrome, two-tone paint options, white-walled tyres, sleek rear trays with enclosed wheel arches, new V8 engines, automatic transmissions and, inside, stylized fascias that aped the latest sedans of the era. Later, came independent front suspension and optional more powerful V8 engines. The jet-age that initiated ever more outrageous family sedans had quickly filtered down to trucks, so even delivery drivers could drive around looking sharp.

And, since this was the time when hot rodders and customisers were producing evermore wild creations, pick up trucks were often restyled too. Bumpers were removed and front and rear pans blended into the body to produce a cleaner – look. Many were lowered and, under the hood, the engine would receive more chrome and other cosmetic enhancements, more to delight the eye than to improve power.

This era, up to around the mid-sixties, was the golden age of US pick up trucks. By the mid-seventies, they had just become regular work vehicles again. That is until the performance departments began to develop new, sportier trucks in the 1990s (an interesting fad I might cover at a later date).

The golden age that never went out of fashion

Today, most old US pickup trucks have become much-cherished collectibles. For some, it’s all about restoring the most revered trucks to better than new condition, complete with rare accessories that have become increasingly valuable over time. Then, there’s the hot rod and custom crowd that has never lost its enthusiasm for the best 40s, 50s, and 60s era pickups.

There are custom trucks, hot-rodded trucks, rat rod trucks, and even drag-racing trucks. Other than the drag racers, the essence of all these variants is about looking the part, ready to cruise. For proof, just look at the number of old pickups that feature so often in rock music videos, TV commercials, and movies. Like blue jeans and Coca-Cola, the best -looking pickups are now American icons.

What about US pickups in Australia?

There’s a decent following for vintage US pickups here in Australia, some are restored to their former glory and, sadly, a great many more are tastelessly ‘modernised’ with upgraded motors, suspension, and interiors that generally don’t come close to the exquisite restored and mildly customised examples seen in the US. And don’t get me started on the scruffy, old US pickups given a second-rate matt black paint job, for that so-called rat rod look. Not for me, thank you.

No doubt, buying and restoring an old US pick up truck is an expensive exercise over here and so very few are properly restored or tastefully modified here.

Clearly, I’m a bit of a pedant about these things. And, sorry, Aussie utes don’t make the cut here because, whatever anybody thinks, they just ain’t exude the pizzaz of the classic US pickups. Don’t agree? I give you the ‘Australian Ute Muster’ – ‘a celebration of the ‘laconically Australian ute.’ Some people seem to love them, but I really don’t know why. Most of them competing utes look like an accident between a tractor and Supercheap Auto store. A ‘roo bar’ decorated with 20 spotlights might be cutting-edge in Dubbo but elsewhere, not so much…

Cool and, sometimes, not so cool

Old American pickups are a bit like the fashion world in that some people ‘get it’ and others, well, they just don’t. A mild chopped roof and low stance can look perfect, or just horrible if it isn’t done right. Like with huge 22-inch chrome wheels, low-profile tyres and an all-digital dashboard – no thanks. Not my style.

On the other hand, a mild-custom ’56 Ford truck owned by one of the legendary Burbank Choppers Club members looks timelessly elegant, desirable, and slightly mean, at the same time. These guys were invited over to Japan recently (surely the epicentre for anything cool?), complete with their collection of hot rods, cars, and pickups.

It’s all about personal choice of course and since this is my article, I’ve curated images of a few US pickup trucks I like. Some are great restored original examples from the 50s and 60s, and there are a few tastefully modified or customised trucks both original and recent. Hope you like them.