Talk:Pickup truck

I removed:

Typically, trucks with a load capacity of one tonne or less are regarded as pickups.

because vehicles larger than 1 ton capacity are considered pickups in the United States at least. —Morven 19:10, 21 Apr 2004 (UTC)

South African Utes

I know that the Ford Bantam compact (Fiesta-based-IIRC) ute is very popular in South Africa and has been for decades. Perhapse someone who knows more about South African utes could add that info to the article: like what other manufacturers make them? (AFAIK Mazda used to when the Bantam was a 323 clone). -- stewacide 05:01, 14 May 2004 (UTC)[reply]

This article needs some history. The first pick up was actually an Australian invention, but the idea rapidly spread to the US and has become mostly thought of synonymous with the US. I have some details about this somewhere but not sure if it's enough to write authoritatively. I will do so if no-one else feels better qualified though. Graham 00:25, 11 Jul 2004 (UTC)

I'd imagine that 'first pickup truck' depends on one's definition of pickup truck. Daimler's first truck in 1896 looked somewhat pickup like, for example.

I would suspect that the definition in use for that Australian claim is first car-based pickup, which is a possibility. Some cites would be nice. —Morven 06:20, Jul 11, 2004 (UTC)

here's a page that actually contradicts the australian origin: [1]. I' e had little luck tracking down much evidence to supporting the australian claim - i read about it in a popular science book (published in australia) so it may well have got its facts wrong. The other thing is that it may be drawing a distinction bewteen what the australians calla "ute", and the pickup. As far as I can see in modern forms they are the self same thing, but earlier on they might not have been.Graham 01:50, 15 Jul 2004 (UTC)

The modern day ute design is indeed based on the Australian design first manufactured at Ford in Geelong. But yes Ford offered a number of light utility trucks such as the Ford Models T and A. But the modern design came from Australia. Yeah it would be good if someone could write something... im quite tired. Something needs to be added about Australian Ute culture as well.... its huge (even though I detest it myself ;)) and I would presume larger than the American Ute culture. Check out Australian Ute Musters. Utes are considered as Australian as Apple pie is considered American. Some articles on Ute history are [2] [3]. - UnlimitedAccess 16:09, 26 May 2005 (UTC)[reply]

History is definitely needed. I have heard Buick invented the pickup as we know it in 1912, 1913, or 1915 (I can't recall which). The Oz utes seem to have inspired the Ranchero and Camino, which could (should) also be mentioned here. --squadfifteen

International CXT

I've removed the International CXT from the full size pickups section. I believe it's too large and too heavy to be considered a proper pickup, as its size is closer to that of a Mitsubishi Canter or Toyota Dyna. While these, like the CXT, have pickup beds, they are actually considered medium-duty or heavy-duty trucks. --Pc13 18:46, 24 October 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Australia reference

I removed the reference to Australia being the birthplace of the pickup truck. Australia was the first to have the ute, which at that time meant a car-like vehicle with a (pickup) bed in the back. However, PicupTruck.com's history page shows that pickup trucks were produced by American manufacturers even earlier. - Slo-mo 07:48, 30 January 2006 (UTC)

Keeping in line with Slo-mo's comments and sources and what Graham and UnlimitedAccess added, I have altered the introduction somewhat. I hope it fulfils everyones expectations. Bobby1011 13:17, 30 January 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Unfortunately, the reference is back: "The basic modern design of the pickup truck first appeared in Geelong, Australia in 1934." This 1934 date is actually referring to the Coupe Utility, but Roadster Utilities were seen earlier than 1934, and even regular pickups were available in America prior to 1934. So it seems this should be removed, or better yet replaced with the more correct details. Ddgonzal 23:27, 19 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

1-ton + a "pickup"?

Morven, are you sure? As a US citizen and car & truck fan, I cannot think of any truck with bigger than 1-ton rating that people generally call a pickup. 1-1/2 ton and bigger, even if they have a pickup-style bed, are considered medium-duty or heavy-duty trucks as with the International CXT discussion above . Ddgonzal 23:17, 19 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Coupe Utilities

Since Coupe Utilities are not generally called "pickups" I think this article should reference the Coupe Utility article.

In the US, they previously were not generally called "pickups", but instead called "car-based trucks" (so could go in the Truck article) or "passenger-car based pickup trucks" or "El Camino-style" cars or trucks or "Ranchero-style". Let's face it, there is no standard phrase used in USA like "Coupe Utility" or "ute" as used in Australia. Although the VW rabbit coupe utility was marketed as the "VW Pickup" if I recall correctly. I've asked several older americans from the 50's what El Caminos or Rancheros were called, and they tell me they don't recall hearing them called a plain "pickup", at least not without some kind of car-related qualification. This agrees with my memories of usage of the word "pickup" during the 70s and 80s.

Are they a car, like most Americans would say, or a truck like some other Americans would say? It seems to me that they are neither, but it can be shown historically and production-wise that they are closer to cars than trucks. So while this pickup truck article should refer to them, I don't think the details of Coupe Utility belong in this article. The details should be in the Coupe Utility article.

What do you Aussies say? Were coupe utilites called "pickups"?

I'd always thought of "pickup-truck" as a purely American term. As the article says, the term 'Ute' applied first to the Coupe Utility, but now encompasses that and light trucks. The Holden Rodeo, now qualifies as a ute, but was advertised as a 1-ton truck when it first came out here. I also know, that if I should go shopping for a "Ute", what I really want to look for is a "Coupe Utility" (changing language, mutter, grumble... =) --Martin Rudat(T|@|C) 12:22, 18 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]

What do you Americans that actually owned new El Caminos or Rancheros back in the day say? Is this most appropriate for the Pickup Truck article, or as a "car body style"? Ddgonzal 23:37, 19 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]