Pickup Trucks

There are vehicles designed to carry people, vehicles intended to carry goods, and then there are pickup trucks, magnificent machines that manage to do both while suggesting their owners might, at any moment, need to transport half a building, three motorcycles or an unexpectedly large quantity of firewood. Few automotive inventions have captured the American imagination quite so completely, particularly among people whose actual hauling requirements extend to a weekly supermarket shop.

In Pickup Trucks (2003), Mike Mueller celebrates one of America’s most enduring automotive institutions, exploring the development, design and irresistible appeal of the humble pickup. Published by Motorbooks, this illustrated volume offers an affectionate look at machines that evolved from straightforward commercial workhorses into powerful symbols of independence, practicality and the deeply American conviction that bigger is generally better.

The pickup’s origins lie in the practical demands of farmers, tradesmen and businesses requiring affordable vehicles capable of carrying equipment and materials over considerable distances. Early examples were relatively simple affairs, combining passenger-car mechanical components with open cargo beds and an admirable disregard for unnecessary luxuries.

Naturally, American manufacturers soon discovered that a working vehicle could also be attractive, comfortable and surprisingly fashionable. Ford, Chevrolet, Dodge and their competitors developed increasingly distinctive trucks, transforming the pickup from a modest agricultural necessity into a machine capable of attracting admiration outside both a building site and a suburban country club.

Mueller’s exploration of pickup history captures the changing styles, engineering developments and personalities of these remarkable vehicles. From beautifully rounded vintage designs to the enormous, chrome-laden creations of the late twentieth century, the pickup became an unmistakable feature of American roads and popular culture.

There is something wonderfully appealing about the traditional pickup’s honesty. An engine at the front, passengers in the middle and an enormous empty space at the back into which practically anything can be thrown. It is a splendidly straightforward arrangement, although modern examples have occasionally become so luxurious and expensive that their owners seem understandably reluctant to place anything dirty in the cargo bed.

Of course, the pickup has also become a symbol of a particular American lifestyle, associated with wide-open spaces, rugged individualism and the freedom to travel anywhere, provided the destination possesses a petrol station capable of accommodating an exceptionally enthusiastic appetite for fuel.

For classic vehicle enthusiasts, these trucks offer an appealing combination of distinctive styling, mechanical character and industrial heritage, recalling an era when vehicles were expected to earn their living rather than merely demonstrate their owner’s financial arrangements.

Condition: Very Good. This is a previously owned copy dating from 2003, displaying only modest signs of age and handling. Unlike a hardworking pickup of similar vintage, it requires no replacement suspension, rust treatment or expensive investigation into suspicious noises coming from the rear differential.

Published by Motorbooks in 2003. ISBN: 9780760315132.

Offered by Crappy Old Books, where we appreciate magnificent American machinery, particularly when owning a piece of its history does not involve purchasing a vehicle too large for the average British parking space.

An excellent addition to any collection of American motoring history, classic commercial vehicles or automotive photography. Particularly recommended for enthusiasts who appreciate that the pickup truck remains one of civilisation’s most practical inventions, even when its principal occupation is transporting its owner to the shops for a pint of milk.

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