I used to work for a general contractor who did residential remodels and construction, and a little bit of commercial work. He exclusively used cargo vans. He would carpet the interior to protect the cargo and your knees. It made me question why anyone would use a truck. As you alluded to, it doesn't just protect from the elements, but also from thieves stealing tools out of the back of your truck.

My neighbor is a contractor. He just switched from a Ford pick-up to a Ford van and could not be happier.

I suspect it's the intersection of people cosplaying as farmers, and vans being stereotyped as vehicles for pedophiles and serial killers

Van's aren't sexy and cool, and there is no marketing as TOUGH and REAL MEN and COUNTRY MUSIC the way there is for trucks.

The bourgeoning Van Life movement that is picking up steam on places like TikTok and YT may do more for that, but in a lot of ways it's a statement about doing without, as opposed to being country rich and tough the way trucks are.

You are forgetting "soccer moms". For some dumb reason America decided there were two genders "masculine" trucks and "feminine" vans. It still makes no sense, but it certainly seemed to sell a lot of trucks to misogynists.

The auto industry has spent billions of dollars on propaganda to convince Americans they need a big truck for their self image.

They have done this because big trucks are by far the most profitable segment of vehicle, and emissions regulations reward vehicles for being large.

I always find this talking point so weird. Trucks are great and people want them. There is no ultimate truth here where people can't see the light and evil corporations are making us buy trucks. Theyre making trucks because we want them. I love mine, and admittedly don't really "need" it.

This is a fun reply because the easy flippant response is "okay then the propaganda got you." Something neither of us can prove or refute.

Pickup trucks are popular in the US and the Americas broadly where they are heavily marketed. Pickup trucks are less popular in places where they are not marketed as heavily. Even outside the auto industry, there is a general consensus that marketing works. Make of that observation what you will.

I mean I don’t doubt that marketing has some positive return for anyone selling something. But are they marketing me to buy a truck or to buy their truck. There’s a huge distinction.

People only want them because of the stupid loophole that lets vehicles over a certain weight bypass regulations.

If the massive cars cost what they should, people wouldn't buy them as much.

In Chicago there were a lot of major roads where driving a pick-up truck was illegal.

Such as?

If you mean the tax write down for certain weights then I didn’t even get that so I don’t how that applies.

Not everyone thinks like you. Some people like trucks so they buy em

Pick-up trucks aren't meant for work. Like, at all. They are inherently grocery/family vehicles.

Europeans don't use pick-up trucks even for cargo that is suitable for pickup trucks, because small flatbed trucks [0] let you open the bed from the side, making pickup trucks mostly an obsolete concept for work purposes.

[0] https://youtube.com/watch?v=sm7pMHTu_m0

I grew up on a farm, and I can tell you that some pick-up trucks are definitely meant for work, and used that way. Mostly older ones

I agree that they probably don't serve most people well.

But I know someone that has a huge truck with a cap on his bed (google "pickup truck bed cap" or "topper"). That solves the weather problem and makes you wonder why you don't see more trucks covered up. The answer is obviously it looks less cool and doesn't fit the image. But it serves him well because he works in construction and frequently has the bed full of materials, sometimes which are longer than the bed. And he uses the truck occasionally to tow trailers.

But he's not most people. And he has another car for getting around town when he's not working.

I don't have a full sized truck, but I do have a Tacoma (similar to the Hilux iirc for Europeans). The main reason I got it was because Toyota is well known for cars that last forever, but also to tow a camper and to do some offroad exploring and camping. It has also come in handy for helping move stuff for friends, I recently used it to carry a bunch of bags of sand and dirt for a friend. The utility it offers has come in handy compared to my old Ford Escape.