Pickup trucks they’ve certainly come a long way over the past century. What started out as a vehicle for hauling goods and occasionally towing something has morphed into a truly lucrative automotive segment. Today, you can buy almost any type of pickup truck that suits your needs. There is literally something for every truck buyer, even those who don’t really plan on using it as a truck. From sizes, to powertrains, capacity, colors and trim levels. Today’s truck buyers are spoiled for choice.
Of course, the pickup truck segment as a whole went through a lot of changes before getting to this point. Many of the pickup trucks you’re buying today owe their existence to a handful of trucks from the pages of history that completely changed the trucking game.
10 GMC Sierra C3
The GMC Sierra was, for the most part, a variation of the Chevrolet Silverado. However, since GMC is General Motors’ slightly more luxury-focused truck and SUV maker, they thought they’d see what would happen if they gave a pickup truck some luxury features. The end result was the GMC Sierra C3, which arrived in 2001 during the truck’s first generation.
In addition to slightly different exterior styling that got rid of most of the standard Sierra’s utilitarian features, the C3 added stylish features like leather upholstery and power seats with heated and memory functions, along with a additional soundproofing. The Sierra C3 eventually became the Denali, a trim level that’s still going strong, and thus the luxury pickup truck was born.
9 Dodge Li’l Red Express
Based on the D150 Adventurer, Dodge released the Li’l Red Express in the late 1970s, even though the oil crisis was still going strong. Factory performance pickups started right here, as this was the first pickup to focus on total performance, rather than just utility.
Power came from a 360 ci or 5.9-liter V8, which generated 225 hp and 295 lb-ft of torque. Sure, you can get the same numbers and the same 6.7-second 0-60 time from a hot hatchback these days, but those numbers for a pickup truck in the late 70s were completely otherworldly. The Li’l Red Express also became America’s fastest accelerating vehicle to 100 mph. not pickup truck vehicle
8 Toyota Tacoma
From the beginning, Toyota has done pickup trucks right. The Hilux, or Pickup as it was known in the US, was a great pickup truck for old-school buyers, combining all the things they love about pickup trucks into one endlessly reliable package. Some of them even became campers. In 1995, Toyota set the pickup truck market on fire in North America.
This was the first model year for the Tacoma, their midsize pickup truck that retained all the best aspects of the Hilux while catering more to the American public with more comfort-focused features. The Tacoma opened the floodgates for the midsize truck segment and automakers started jumping on the bandwagon, and now the just-announced 2024 Tacoma is about to change the game.
7 Ford Maverick
For a long time, no automaker went wrong with the idea of the compact pickup truck or mini truck. This kind of thing was bigger in Asia. Ford saw the demand for a new compact pickup truck that was very capable for most buyers, while being more affordable and also dedicated to making a fashion statement.
The resulting Maverick is already a runaway hit, garnering tons of interest left, right and center the moment it debuted. The base model uses a hybrid powertrain that can get up to 42 MPG, and while the Maverick is similar in size to a midsize sedan, it can do most things a pickup truck can do. In addition to being the cheapest new car on sale in the United States, it’s no wonder it’s been so popular.
6 Hyundai Santa Cruz
A highly unlikely entrant into the newly re-heated compact truck segment is Hyundai. The Korean automaker is now comfortable being very close to, or depending on how you ask, on top of the automotive world right now. Like Ford, Hyundai also saw the appeal in a compact pickup truck, and its take on the formula is the Santa Cruz.
Like the Maverick, the Santa Cruz is also based on a crossover platform, in this case the Hyundai Tucson. While the Maverick takes a more utilitarian approach, the Santa Cruz is arguably the more fashion-forward of the two, aimed squarely at younger buyers. In some ways it’s even more capable than the Maverick, it probably looks cooler and one of the powertrains has almost 300bhp. Not to mention, it’s packed with cool features.
5 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor
Before the original Raptor, automakers weren’t really interested in offering a super-focused off-road version of their pickup models, simply because they felt there wasn’t that much interest. The F-150 SVT Raptor, incidentally one of the last vehicles to wear the SVT badge, proved everyone wrong.
It was an F-150 at its core, but in addition to offering a massive naturally aspirated V8, the Raptor also featured some serious off-road upgrades. 4WD, of course, but also long-travel suspension and big mud tires as standard. This was a pickup truck that could handle a jump or two and also maintain great speed no matter what terrain you drove it on. Needless to say, the Raptor craze took off, and now almost every automaker offers a Raptor equivalent. Even Ford offers a smaller Raptor, with the recently announced Ranger Raptor.
4 Rivian R1T
Some people still haven’t gotten used to the idea of electric pickup trucks, but the Rivian R1T made almost everyone wonder why anyone bothered with gas-powered ones in the first place. Although the R1T comes from an upstart brand, it is one of the few amazing examples of a very successful first attempt and certainly put all the rivals on notice.
The R1T can do just about anything you throw at it. It can leave most Wranglers in the dust (literally) on off-road trails, has more storage space than a van, but also has nearly 800 hp and can accelerate faster than most exotic cars, though it’s surprisingly affordable No wonder it’s so popular, and no wonder why many pundits crowned it Car of the Year.
3 RAM TRX
While the Raptor showed the world that off-road pickups can be downright badass, the RAM TRX proved they could be downright crazy. As the TRX name clearly indicates, it is a direct competitor to the Ford Raptor. However, it has an added element that until very recently was missing from the Raptor: raw power.
Just a couple of years ago, people made fun of Stellantis, because they were trying to see how much of their products they could squeeze out of the Hellcat V8. The TRX ended up being one of those vehicles. The supercharged 6.2-liter V8 under the hood made 702 hp, easily making the TRX the most powerful gas truck ever. Pickup truck capability, supercar acceleration, dirt racer off-road skills. It’s a win-win.
2 Ford F-150 Lightning
While the F-150 Lightning didn’t become the first mass-market electric pickup truck, it did in some ways. The Rivian R1T was technically the first electric pickup truck to go on sale in North America, but it’s aimed at the younger lifestyle crowd. The F-150 Lightning, which arrived soon after, was the first electric pickup truck to bring battery-powered trucks to the masses.
Ford did it perfectly. They didn’t make an electric pickup truck for the sake of making one, they just made an F-150 that happens to be electric. All the advantages of an F-150 and its capabilities, combined with electric power, for better and greener towing. Plus, it can power your house! It has great potential to become a bestseller, just like its gas brother.
1 Dodge Ram SRT-10
The Hellcat wasn’t the first time Dodge tried to squeeze a crazy engine under the hood of one of its standard models. They did it in the 2000s, too. The Viper was doing very well, and Dodge wanted to fit the 8.3-liter V10 under the hood of one of its other models.
The only Dodge model at the time that had enough room for the V10 was the RAM. While the RAM TRX is crazy even today, a prospect like this was even crazier in the 2000s. The end result was the RAM SRT-10, a pickup truck with cheap Chrysler interior trim, a manual transmission (in models of single cab) and a massive, angry 500hp V10 engine from a sports car. It definitely shook up the pickup world in the 2000s.
