| Pickup truck haulers are the more sturdy, practical | | | | to church on Sunday, and my pigs to town on |
| alternative to sport utility vehicles, and many people | | | | Monday?"; and so the utility vehicle was born, and it |
| are now making the switch. They are certainly a | | | | has gone from strength to strength since. Nowadays |
| growing market, but a number of obstacles stand in | | | | they can be used to move far more than pigs or |
| the way of sales. Rising gas prices and environmental | | | | people, but with their increased size has come an |
| pressure influence many people's decisions of | | | | increased consumption of fuel, with damaging |
| whether or not to buy, as well as the current | | | | consequences. |
| dominance of sport utility vehicles on the market. Can | | | | Fuel Consumption |
| they oust the competition and find their place in an | | | | The larger the vehicle, the more fuel it consumes, |
| over-crowded marketplace, or will they fall by the | | | | and the greater the effect on the environment. sport |
| wayside as practicality gives way to political | | | | utility vehicles have received widespread criticism |
| correctness? | | | | over the last few years from environmental pressure |
| Uses | | | | groups, and rising gas prices have shaken the market |
| Pickup truck haulers have a variety of uses, and in | | | | considerably. Polls in the summer of 2006 suggested |
| fact the phrase can mean a number of things. The | | | | that most people wanted to move away from utility |
| hauler can be separate, like a trailer, or even an | | | | vehicles and into the smaller car or hybrid sector. |
| add-on at the back to hold motorbikes. Mostly, | | | | Nonetheless, the opposite appears to be happening, |
| though, pickup truck haulers are elongated pickups, | | | | with sales of utility vehicles rising while car sales fall. |
| designed to carry much larger items and cope with a | | | | Pickup truck haulers are definitely at the |
| heavier workload. Apart from motorbikes, jet skis, | | | | higher-consumption end of the market, but they fill a |
| powered parachutes, canoes, snowmobiles, rafts, and | | | | niche that cannot be otherwise filled by cars or |
| balloons can be transported to their destinations, and | | | | smaller vehicles. If you need to move large items, |
| they are frequently used as mobile skips and organic | | | | then you need a large vehicle. Period. |
| waste disposal units. They are getting larger and | | | | The Future |
| more versatile by the year, and are so reaching | | | | Pickup truck haulers have a large role in the utilitarian |
| broader markets and appealing to a wider range of | | | | market today, and will no doubt continue to do so in |
| users. | | | | the future. The main criticism of sport utility vehicles |
| History | | | | is that they are are very often used by those who |
| The humble pickup truck has been around since 1925, | | | | don't actually need them, such as couples or small |
| when Henry Ford introduced the "Ford Model T | | | | families. So the question to ask yourself is: do I really |
| Runabout with Pickup Body". Selling at $281, they | | | | need a pickup truck hauler? I cover this topic and the |
| quickly established a new market in motor vehicles, | | | | different varieties of haulers in my webpage, so I |
| which was seized upon by the general public. Farmers | | | | won't go into it here, but at the end of the day only |
| found them particularly useful, but during the Great | | | | you can answer that question, based on your career |
| Depression banks would not lend money for luxuries | | | | and lifestyle. One thing is for certain, though: pickup |
| such as cars, but they would for utilitarian vehicles | | | | truck haulers are here to stay, and the time is right |
| such as pickups. This changed when a farmer sent a | | | | for them to overtake the competition and move into |
| letter to Henry Ford asking, "Why don't you build | | | | the fast lane. |
| people like me a vehicle in which I can take my family | | | | |