Almost half of Americans drive a pickup truck. Most Americans who don’t drive one think they’re getting too big. Even many truck owners are concerned about growing truck size.
That’s one conclusion from a new survey by pollster YouGov.
YouGov asked “a nationally representative sample of 1,116 adults (aged 18+ years) in the U.S.” to fill out an online survey in February.
They found that 47% of respondents owned a pickup. “They’re distributed evenly across the regions of the country but are more popular among some demographics than others,” the researchers write. “In broad strokes, SUVs and trucks are most popular with consumers who are older, white, wealthy, and who have children.”
Related – Safety Experts: Tall, Blocky Vehicles More Dangerous
Fifty-five percent of respondents over age 55 drove a truck, while just 33% of those 18-34 said the same. “About half (52%) of white Americans drive a truck compared to 31% of Black Americans,” they note.
However, 41% of respondents agreed with the statement that trucks and SUVs “have become too large in recent years.” That group even includes many truck owners. Thirty-nine percent of truck drivers, the researchers say, “believe that the vehicle category has become too big.”
A recent Bloomberg study found, “Since 1990, U.S. pickup trucks have added almost 1,300 pounds on average.”
Fifty-six percent of non-truck drivers and 46% of truck drivers said today’s trucks “consume too much fuel” or “are bad for the environment.” Fifty-one percent of non-truck drivers and 50% of truck drivers said they were too difficult to park. One hundred percent of automotive journalists writing this article dread being assigned to test a full-size truck, at least a little, because of parking problems.
“Part of the reason that trucks are so popular among Americans is that they’re perceived to be safer for those in the vehicle.” The researchers write. “Among truck drivers, 68% believe this, 45% among others.”
Related – Safety Study: SUVs, Pickups More Likely to Hit, Kill Pedestrians When Turning
But 57% of non-truck drivers and 40% of truck drivers believe they’re less safe for other drivers on the road; 57% of non-truck drivers and 43% of truck drivers say they’re more dangerous to bicyclists and pedestrians than other types of vehicles.
Automakers have done nothing to reverse the trend of pickups growing larger. Today’s midsize trucks are often as large as the full-size trucks of a generation ago. Today, full-size trucks are the size of heavy-duty models from the late 1990s.
But they have begun recognizing a demand for small trucks. Ford, in 2022, reintroduced the compact truck to the American market with the Maverick. It was so popular that Ford sold out of orders for the truck in just a few days, both of its first two years on the market.
Hyundai has also introduced its Santa Cruz small truck. Ram has a small truck, now sold in South America, that could come to the U.S. Also, Toyota showed off an electric small truck concept last year that seemed very close to production-ready.
