Rarely in the history of trucks have we had much reason to question the word’s definition. Indeed, for much of that time, trucks have been simple machines, tools. At times, though, we’ve been forced to consider the breadth of their genotype. This is one of those times, and it’s directly related to the annual arrival of MotorTrend’s Truck of the Year award.
From the first horse-drawn wagon fitted with an engine, the entire truck concept has been relatively simple: a sturdy frame and stout suspension propelled by contained and exploited explosions meant to move heavy loads from one point to another, more quickly and for longer durations than any animal could achieve. It wasn’t until the 1950s that vehicles like the Ford Ranchero and Chevrolet El Camino asked us to consider whether a car could … be a truck? The entire notion was something of a technicality, what with nearly all vehicles of all types using body-on-frame construction, but it fundamentally questioned what a truck is, its purpose, how it should look, and for whom it should be largely intended.
The question arose again in the late 1970s with the birth of the minitruck. Vehicles like the Ford Courier and Chevrolet LUV asked us to consider how small a truck could be without losing the usefulness that made it a truck, how small its engine could be, and what amount of brute capability was necessary to do the job.
For the full story, check out this article from Motor Trend.
