The American Spectator : The Pickup Artist

Text Size

The Pickup Artist

About that special bond between pickup trucks and their drivers.

After "the people's seat," the most memorable line from the Massachusetts Senate race came when Scott Brown took umbrage at President Obama's disparaging comments about his truck: "Mr. President, you can criticize my record, you can talk about the positions I have, but don't ever start criticizing my truck."

As in all campaigns, there was a surfeit of throwaway lines, but truck lines are always keepers. Brown's retort was more evidence of the continuing importance of cultural artifacts like the pickup, which the Republican candidate made one of the focal points of his campaign -- even endowing his GMC Canyon with Hollywoodesque star power. "I love this old truck, it's brought me closer to the people of this state," Brown said in a popular television commercial. One result was that Canyon sales have soared as high as Brown's poll numbers.

So when President Obama came to Massachusetts in the 11th hour of the campaign, and said Brown's "truck may not get you where you want to go," it caused one wag to quip: "Like Teddy Kennedy's car?" Meanwhile, television host Neil Cavuto excoriated the president for "badmouthing" a "hardcore" truck made by one of the companies he had recently rescued with taxpayer money.

All of this came after Sen. John Kerry had warmed up the Prius and Volvo-owning crowd with more anti-pickup rhetoric: "I've got news for you, Scott: George Bush drove a truck, too, and look where it got us." Probably not something you want to say to a substantial and loyal percentage of the voting public. (That special bond between pickups and their drivers was mirrored in a 2009 poll of truck owners, of whom 64 percent said their truck is a reflection of their personality.)

Sen. Kerry was right about one thing: George W. Bush did indeed tool around his Crawford ranch in a "Texas Cadillac," a white Ford F-250, not infrequently with Tony Blair or Vladimir Putin riding shotgun, and doubtless a cooler of Lone Stars on the seat between them.

No wonder some Republicans and Independents believe pickup truck ownership is a prerequisite for good leadership. Sen. Fred Thompson once charged his Democratic opponent was out of touch because he hadn't "spent enough time in a pickup truck."

OUT-OF-TOUCH CYNICS maintain the pickup is a symbol of male virility, or a lack thereof, though, in fact, pickups are the automotive equivalent of the old workhorse or mule. Our neighbors' pickups come equipped with truck bed rail-to-rail toolboxes. Often the beds are full of engine parts, scrap metal, or firewood. In other words, they are used to haul things. I am reminded of the scene from the movie Paper Moon when the flim-flam man, played by Ryan O'Neal, is fleeing the cops and attempts to swap his fancy roadster for an old rusted pickup. What good is a car, the yokels ask, when you "can't haul nothing with it?"

The pickup's place in American cultural history is noteworthy, in particular its supporting role in a number of iconic films. Who can forget the pickup-driving crackers in Easy Rider who send the hippies Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda to hell? Or the old pickup Sonny and Dewayne take on a road trip to Mexico in The Last Picture Show? Country music would be even more depressing without the pickup. Imagine Tom T. Hall's bittersweet classic "Pamela Brown" without the lines: "I guess the guy she married was the best part of my luck. She dug him 'cause he drove a pickup truck"? Or the Steve Goodman/David Allen Coe hit "You Never Even Called Me By My Name," where the ex-con narrator pulls out all the country clichés, including driving his pickup to the train station to meet his mother, only to find that she'd "got runned over by a damned old train." As for great American literature, there is novelist Larry Brown's entire oeuvre, while Michael Perry's idyllic Truck: A Love Story is an inspirational tale of midlife crisis, late-blooming love, deer-hunting, farming, country music, Roland Barthes, and, if that weren't enough, restoring a 1951 International Harvester pickup.

Just who gets credit for creating the first pickup remains a matter of conjecture and intense drink-fueled debate. The top contenders are Gottlieb Daimler (1896) and Henry Ford (1900). Of course, few American pickup owners want to accept that a foreigner invented the pickup, but upon further consideration one remembers that Germans also invented beer and the world's best acoustic guitars, and what good would a pickup truck be without beer and guitars? I say, we let the Krauts have it: when you drive an American-made pickup you can afford to be generous.

About the Author

Christopher Orlet writes every Thursday from St. Louis.

Letter to the Editor View all comments (57) | Leave a comment

Ryan| 2.3.10 @ 8:05AM

There are days I would have my '94 GMC Sonoma back. Early-mid-90s GM trucks were among some of the best. If I ever get back to where I own more than half an acre, I'll probably wind up with another pickup (probably a Ford or just something nice and old).

JohnMD1022| 2.7.10 @ 6:37AM

My 1987 GMC S-15 lasted 330,000 miles befor succumbing to rust and age. My 2003 (purchased in August, 2008 with 40,028 miles) now has a bit over 51,000.

Paul| 2.3.10 @ 8:27AM

I must love pickups because somehow I have managed to end up with four of them. Three of them are registered and driven regularly, the forth, a 48 Ford, is slowly having newly rebuilt engine transplant.

BillClinton| 2.3.10 @ 8:29AM

I owned an El Comino. Does that count?

Ryan| 2.3.10 @ 10:31AM

One of the more underrated vehicle styles out there (including the Ranchero). If I ever get the cash and space, I'd like to drive an old one for a few years.

chris pedersen| 2.3.10 @ 12:35PM

Sure does! Look at your title. Also, Registration for licence plates, it's is common for them to display truck plates and inspections in different local areas of the country state, county, and city stickers. They have a "Bed" it's a truck.

Texas Patriot| 2.3.10 @ 8:45AM

In Texas everyone owns at least one pickup truck. Of course Obama and Kerry don't come down here much.

Mike M| 2.3.10 @ 8:48AM

It's El Camino...
Obama now has 2 taxpayer paid 747's and several C-5's, That's his pickup. Sadly, he don't know how to drive.
Evidence? He is driving us off a cliff.

ModjCyn| 2.3.10 @ 6:58PM

Ha! Quite right...

Louis Jenkins| 2.3.10 @ 9:15AM

You own a car. You have a relationship with your pick-up. There's something American about hauling fire wood or car parts with your dog hanging his head out the passenger window with his jaws flapping in the wind. Have had several makes and models (a 72 GMC three speed 350 cubic inch was my favorite), in various conditions of disrepair. Without a pick-up truck a man is just Hugo owner.

Raymond McLane| 2.3.10 @ 9:59AM

Best truck I've ever had is the Ford 150 Supercrew. I can haul all my grandkids and the brush and it rides like a Grand Marquis. No wonder they didnt need a bailout.

bluecollarbytes| 2.3.10 @ 10:00AM

Well, I know for a fact "I'm making a difference" driving 2 trucks. Being able to haul around materials and tools is much better than requiring homeowners to provide them on-site. Homeowners seem to like the 'convenience'.

heshtesh| 2.3.10 @ 10:07AM

Bought my truck new in 1990 in 2002 bought a Saturn to save gas,just can't bring myself to drive it. You'll know my truck when it go's down the road my Jack Russell will be the one with his head out the drivers window. My dog perfers the truck.

Jabberwok| 2.3.10 @ 10:10AM

I have earned many beers over the last 20 years hauling things for friends who didn't have the wherewithal to have a truck. Couldn't drive anything else.

Don in Maumee| 2.3.10 @ 10:35AM

If you love your P/U, you should drive the full sized '90 Ford Bronco. Turns on a dime and give 9 cents change. How did I ever turn loose of it?

Hydraulic Tools| 2.3.10 @ 10:40AM

Manufacture Hydraulic Tools, offer from hydraulic crimping tool, cable cutter, pipe bender, gear puller, hole digger and hand pumps.

S Kemmer| 2.3.10 @ 11:37AM

"Mr. President...... don't ever start criticizing my truck."

Criticizing a man's truck is an assault on his character. It's an assault on baseball, hot dogs, apple pie, and a work ethic most folks only read about.

Unless, of course, your truck sits on 20" wheels, low profile tires, and has a chrome ornament in the receiver. Than it's just plain fun.

Al Gore| 2.3.10 @ 3:50PM

Mmmm. Apple pie!

pugsley| 2.3.10 @ 12:28PM

Got two myself. 02 F-250 4wd diesel with 380K miles (drove it to work this morning) and a new 2010 F-150 4door platinum. That F-150 drives like a car with all the comforts of a Lincoln but it just doesn't feel right. I love that old F-250. My wife sure likes the F-150 so I guess we all know how that will go, good thing I like the F-250.

Ryan| 2.3.10 @ 4:12PM

That generation diesel in the F250 is, as I understand it, one of the best ever. My dad has one with 150k+ miles, with only some tranny problems.

JustJim| 2.3.10 @ 1:17PM

Mine is an '89 Dodge Ram short bed in bright red with the Ram's head hood ornament. I bought her when I sent my kid off to college with my last car. My wife still doesn’t understand why I prefer to drive around in the old girl rather than her new Pontiac. The last time she told me that I should trade in my old truck, I came home with a new Harley Davidson. I kept the truck to drive on rainy days.

Grudaire| 2.3.10 @ 1:21PM

Beer was not invented by the Germans or anyone close. Brewing was an accidental discovery 2,000 years before the birth of our Lord in Mesopotamia. Ninkase was the goddess of brewing and beer was made by brewsters:female brew masters. Beer is the main reason man became a farmer. The Germans developed lager beer(from lagern-to store)along with using hops for bittering and preservation. In my pick up driving days I kept a cooler of Molson Ale in the back and judged the mileage by the number of six packs consumed. My last pick up had over 30,000 cases on it.

Grudaire| 2.3.10 @ 1:23PM

Correction: I did not intend to imply Jesus was born in Mesopotamia,the beer was. (Gotta stop drinking that cheap beer for breakfast.)

Rebel Without A Pause| 2.3.10 @ 1:49PM

I have owned a 73 Chevy, a 88 Nissan, and two GMC's. I loved them all, but I won't own a GM product again. I won't put any more money into the union's pockets than I have to since they own a large part of GM.

In about a year I plan to buy a Ford F 150 with all the bells and whistles.

Dan| 2.3.10 @ 2:04PM

I'd be interested to see some talk on how not only was poking fun of truck owners a dumb move in the eyes of people like us who use them, but also, specifically, in the eyes of women.

Around our area, we now see a lot of women now driving big trucks. Not that all of them are likely to be contractors and have stuff to haul around, but there are plenty of side-benefits I can see women liking:
*They're built like tanks.* Unlike a lot of the midget cars on the road, you don't have to worry too much about your safety in an accident. If someone rear-ends you, I can tell you anecdotally that where you might have a scratch on your bumper, but the little honda that hit you has their fiberglass front end smashed to bits.
*You've got a better view from up there.* You can see much further on the highway, and see what's coming ahead or from behind. Not to mention, there are fewer headlines in your face.
*Junior being dirty after sport's practice is no problem.* It doesn't matter if your dog or kid's soccer cleats are covered in mud. Just put 'em in back!
*Competent Driver Image.* Anyone car drive a little car, but it takes someone who is experienced and attentive while driving to handle a truck. That actually affords respect in civilized places.
*No waiting for a tow.* Trucks break down less often, and don't get stuck nearly as often. What woman likes to wait in distress? My wife surely doesn't.

Yeah, parking lots designed for little beamers take a few extra turns to get into a space, and even coming in at 22mpg, my 60+ miles/day commute to a desk job ends up costing a little more, but I sure like having the FREEDOM and INDEPENDENCE to get whatever home improvement task, landscaping job, or move whatever I want whenever I want.

There's no need to ask to borrow someone else's truck, no need to worry about the weather, and no shame in families where every man owns a truck.

To look down on truck owners makes one look like a person who doesn't do the work themselves, seeming incompetent or lazy. It's a dumb move all around.

Leon| 2.3.10 @ 2:32PM

First truck was a used 1963 Ford stick shift. The paint had worn down to the point that it would come off on your clothes if you leaned up against it. It still hauled lots of firewood and got me out hunting grouse and deer. We moved almost everything we owned 100 miles with this truck. Then it lay down and died and I was without a truck for a while.

Second was a used 1980 Chevy Luv 4X4, stick shift. Also hauled firewood and several deer home from the woods.
Had to sell it when we had more kids and couldn't all fit in the Luv. It was on its last legs by then too.

Third was a Ford F250. I didn't keep it that long but enjoyed driving it. My kids liked hearing the V8 rev up on a long hill outside town.

My current truck is a 1993 Dodge Dakota. AlGore seems to be kind of worried that I haven't scrapped it. But, it's been paid for since I signed the papers and is running so I am planning to hang on to it no matter what Al thinks.
I quit burning wood so the Dakota has mainly hauled furniture. It has brought trout, small game and deer home.

Don't insult my truck, eh?

Curtis| 2.3.10 @ 3:04PM

my first vehicle, was my grandpappy's old farm truck.

1984 Chevy Silverado long bed with a 350 V-8 and twin tanks. My birthday? Jan 1984, the truck was just as old as I am. I loved the truck like no other vehicle I've owned since. my parents sold it and gave me thier old car when they bought a new one.

After that I bought a 1986 Chevy S-10 with 200K miles and factory original everything. I stacked an additional 20 thousand on it, and sold it to a local teen when I left for basic.

I later got a 2002 GMC Sonoma. Still a good truck, but it didn't quite have the romance. I'm particular to late seventy-early eighty vintage Chevy trucks.

Marc Jeric| 2.3.10 @ 6:49PM

That phony self-proclaimed "hero" Kerry, then that drunken womanizer-killer Ted Kennedy - what kind of Americans live there in that state of Taxachussetts?
Not only pickup trucks but generally all cars are the only guarantee now for the freedom of Americans. The ideal public transportation is the one 1) that is available 365/7/24; 2) that serves door-to-door; and 3) that is never on strike. See what that looks like in Paris!

Tbone| 2.3.10 @ 7:08PM

A truck is not just a vehicle, it is a relection of what kind of man you are. I remember my dad always driving a pickup, hated cars, even had a Jeep Wagoneer as the family car. I learned how to drive in a truck, how to work on cars - in a truck, how to make out with my girlfriend - in a truck and how to teach my own kids how to drive - in a truck.
I still have my dad's 71 Chevy. I LOVE driving that truck. No power steering, heater doesn't work, radio is spotty and rust has invaded the rocker panels, but on a sunny weekend afternoon, I am 16 yrs old again, innocent, free and don't have a worry in the world. When I drive my wife's mini-van, I'm stressed, probably picking up a kid or two and not even thinking about freedom or innocence.
I've owned the 71 Chevy, a 90 Chevy , a 96 Chevy Silverado and currently have a '06 Chevy Colorado (Chevy version of the GMC Canyon).
God Bless the American Pickup Truck!!

JmsA| 2.3.10 @ 8:08PM

Long live my '97 Silverado.

Richard Baker| 2.3.10 @ 8:16PM

Pickup trucks are man's best friend. The dog is a verry close second.

Margie| 2.3.10 @ 9:43PM

A couple of years ago I met for the first time in decades with an old Jr, High & High school best friend. I was to wait for her in the parking lot of the diner. She came hauling in in what I considered a gigantic and I mean huge pick up truck. I think it was a Ford F-150, rather new looking. She is about 5'4 if you're lucky. Never was a timid girl. :^)

Keith I| 2.3.10 @ 10:06PM

I learned to drive (10 yrs. old +/-) on my grandfather's 1947 Chevy 3 window on their farm outside of Topeka. Floor starter, three on the tree, half rotten wood bed boards. Didn't stop it from haulin' the row boat down to the creek to sein for minnows to set the limb lines. My only regret is that my daughter will never get to experience such simple joy.

I'm on my second 4wd F150 Supercrew. It's going to take a lot to ever get me back into a car. Lord knows there are plenty of Architects drving BMWs. There is room for one in a truck.

The only thing that could have made Scott Brown better would have been a 4wd F150. It's hard to look at a GMC and not think of Ocarter.'

Erica Brigid| 2.3.10 @ 10:47PM

Both of these former Presidents are teetotallers.

Erica Brigid| 2.3.10 @ 10:49PM

(quote): George W. Bush did indeed tool around his Crawford ranch in a "Texas Cadillac," a white Ford F-250, not infrequently with Tony Blair or Vladimir Putin riding shotgun, and doubtless a cooler of Lone Stars on the seat between them.

Both of these former Presidents are teetotallers.

Dave| 2.4.10 @ 8:15AM

Sorry, guys ... just testing here.

Michael| 2.4.10 @ 4:28PM

Ah, the good old Ted Kennedy joke. Always a knee-slapper, even when he's just died.

Apparently all is fair in politics too. Sad people.

Tex Expatriate| 2.5.10 @ 3:10PM

Ted Kennedy belonged in jail instead of the U.S. Senate.

truckdrivin man| 2.4.10 @ 4:53PM

I agree, wholeheartedly with Scott Brown, out here in Montana if some chicago gangster lightskinned or not, critized any of me or my wife's trucks, we'd fire him up. we got three F250s, 71, 86, and 2003, a 78 toyota which hauled harleys from the east coast and back again, plus a good ole International Scout, with the original 345 v8. I love to drive my 03 7.3 diesel crewcab through liberal areas, all they see is that big Tex grillguard on their rear end. Run Liberals Run

Tex Expatriate| 2.5.10 @ 3:16PM

A Great Essay!!!
When I was 13 My uncle showed me how to clutch and shift a 1931 Ford truck, put me in the pasture, and told me not to drive off in a wash. By noon I was a pickup driver. I drove a 1949 all over the high plains when I was fourteen. One of my favorite trucks was an '80 Chevy Diesel whose engine blew up. I replaced the engine with an Oldsmobile 496 (I believe) gas engine that made that truck fly. I won a good bit of money in drag races on the streets of Corpus Christi. Right now I'm driving a '95 F-150 that still does the work. I'll be replacing the engine soon, or buy an F-250.

Allister| 2.6.10 @ 6:11AM

Looks like he loves his truck very much!!
http://ezinearticles.com/?Supe.....id=3100384

James Howell| 2.6.10 @ 12:59PM

Of COURSE liberals hate pickups and their owners. The combination implies a taxpayer with a job.

Dennis| 2.7.10 @ 12:15AM

I have a mestizo truck. It's a '68 Chevy with a Dodge transmission, a Detroit Diesel engine and a bed off a '75 International. The seats are out of a Porsche 928 and the rear end is a Ford. It has a VW speedometer, a Jaguar tach and oil pressure and temp gauges out of a WWII bomber. The steering wheel is a rare Austin Allegro "quartic". Headlights are off an eighties Caprice and the taillights a junked ambulance.

Hydraulic Cylinder| 2.8.10 @ 4:08AM

Fivestar Tools,a professional china Hydraulic Cylinder manufacturer,we can offer hydraulic cylinders,hydraulic jack and double acting hydraulic cylinders.

explosion proof light| 11.15.10 @ 9:08AM

Actually, Abraham Lincoln was just as radical but in a different way. Ditto FDR.

Converse| 8.12.11 @ 4:07AM

is good

gavin1| 9.20.11 @ 6:25AM

A good post.
Do you know tablet computers . Need a tablet pc ? We supply kinds of tablet pcs, google android tablet, windows tablets. Wholesale tablets from China.

rechie| 10.24.11 @ 10:56AM

I really love how it's easy on my eyes and the facts are well written.

balcuizar62| 10.13.11 @ 4:28AM

Hello. Well done. I didnt expect this for a Wednesday. That is a great story. Thanks
yaz class action

shia| 10.18.11 @ 10:04AM

It is my pleasure that I have the unique opportunity to comment on this awesome post.
It is a very nice message and I have pretty good understanding of the subject.

mesothelioma lawyer

creamer| 10.20.11 @ 3:10AM

Moreover , i really like your template and how you have organized the contents of your site .
Actos Attorneys

abominable putridity| 11.5.11 @ 4:43PM

it was like in the movie twilight saga and they also have dogs not blue but its wolves like that..but this is interesting blog thanks..

L Tod Schlosser

wow| 11.13.11 @ 10:04PM

i'l found the solution about this blog its all about effort and the kindness its awesome to be here to read and searching for you were to be long thanks..

zoloft lawsuits