Who buys these?

CHIEFTAIN PHOTO/CHRIS McLEAN The Toyota Tundra billboard is directed at the big truck buyer.

Large-cab pickups not just for work

By JAMES AMOS
THE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN

Gas, if you haven't noticed, costs a little bit more than a small trailer home. Parking, if you haven't seen, can be as scarce as quarters near a pop machine.

But on TV commercials and billboards around town, you'll see ads from several truck companies all saying they have the biiiiiiiigest truck around, powerful enough to tow a ship and with a back seat large enough to graze cattle.

So who is buying these trucks? The answer, according to Pueblo's truck dealers, is: everyone.

"It's a pretty broad spectrum" of buyers, said Sam Clementi, general sales manager at Freedom Ford on U.S. 50 West.

Ford offers two large-cab pickup trucks, the Super Cab (four doors, the back two are "suicide" style) and the Super Crew cab (four full-size doors) on F-150 bodies. The trucks range in price from about $30,000 to $45,000.

"You're getting people who are wanting to pull trailers and recreational vehicles," he said.

"And you get some people who want the amenities of a car, which a lot of the trucks offer now, and use them as the regular everyday driver."

And these folks apparently aren't worried about gas mileage?

"I guess not," Clementi said.

Dodge has been pushing the "We're Biggest" button in its marketing the longest, not surprising for an auto company that molds muscular lines into every truck it makes, and many of its cars.

Dodge has Quad Cabs (four-door and big) and Mega Cabs (four-door and bigger) and, according to Alex Trigg, general sales manager at Pueblo Dodge on U.S. 50 West, "everybody buys them." Trigg said the Quad Cabs have sold the most, about seven-to-one versus the Mega Cab models. Some people buy them to haul boats and other recreational supplies, and they are popular with farmers, ranchers and others who use their pickups for actual work.

CHIEFTAIN PHOTO/JOHN JAQUES Jared Erickson (right), a salesman for Pueblo Dodge, shows a Dodge Ram 3500 Mega Cab at the dealership.

But "Mega Cabs (buyers), it's a person who has a little bit more money to spend, but they're not using it for work purpose," he said. "You see Mega Cabs go for more luxury."

Quad-Cab Dodges sell for between the high $30,000s to the high $40,000s, Trigg said. Mega Cab models sell for $44,000 to as much as $55,000.

Large-cab trucks don't get any worse gas mileage than regular-cab models, Trigg said, and it seems large-truck buyers haven't been scared off by gas prices.

"Our business has been pretty steady as far as the Pueblo area," he said. "I guess we're lucky that we haven't seen the hit because of the rising gas prices."

Still, Dodge is changing its national marketing campaign this month to stress fuel economy and not cab size, according to Trigg.

Nissan is trying to break into the large-truck market, but it is Toyota that has pushed the hardest, bringing its famous brand to the table. The company has long sold thousands of small pickup trucks, and has legions of fans who love them for reliability.

While Toyota's smaller Tacoma has gotten bigger, becoming a mid-sized pickup truck, Toyota recently created the Tundra to really take on the large American models.

Mark Alcon, truck manager at Pueblo Toyota on U.S. 50 West, said the Tundra is selling quite well.

"Yes they are," he said. "The Tundra went on sale Feb. 12 and so far in our area, we've sold over 30 of them."

And who buys it?

"It's really strange," he said. "It's just across the board. It's suburban-ites, urban-ites, farmers, ranchers."

Offered in 31 configurations, the Tundra has a regular cab (with 2 feet behind the seat), the Double Cab (four-door) and Crew-Max Cab (four-door cab with more room).

The Crew-Max is 10 inches bigger than the Dodge Mega Cab, Alcon said.

A fully loaded Crew Max pickup will set you back $50,000. But Alcon said you'll be happy. He said Toyota has given its large-size pickup better mileage and more power than other brands.

"If you do the research, there's no way you'd buy another truck," he said. "We top out everybody."