Have you seen a new pickup truck recently? Or even better, been inside one? For many of us, our eyes have grown accustomed to what pickup trucks have become. When your friend says they’re coming by in their pickup, you might imagine that a massive, space-ship-like thing will arrive. However, if you look back throughout history, pickup trucks were not always the large and luxurious things they are today. In fact, the earliest ones were very much focused on utility. They were almost all pickup and very little, well, vehicle. In other words, they focused heavily on the bed, and the cab was an afterthought.
Pickups have been around since the 1920s, but it wouldn’t be until 1975 – a whole 50 years after the first pickup truck came out – that we finally saw a crew cab capable of carrying more than three passengers. Having so much passenger space was so rare for a pickup at the time that Ford – the creator of the first crew cab – had to acknowledge how large the cab was by naming it the “Travelette,” implying it was made for commuting. Over time, more manufacturers added more seating. Frames got bigger. Tires got heftier. Today, when you sit inside some pickups, you wouldn’t know you were in a truck if you hadn’t seen the exterior. The Ram 1500 Classic is a great example of this, and if you go to a Ram dealer and check out the 2023 model, you’ll see what we mean.
The Passenger Space Is Massive
For decades, if more than two people rode inside a pickup, it meant that everyone was going to be squished. One bench seat across the front used to be the standard seating. Pickups really weren’t meant to transport many people – just the one or two needed to get to work on all of the materials in the bed once they arrived at a work site. Now, the 2023 Ram 1500 Classic is a good representation of what’s out there.
In the crew cab configuration with the 5’7” box, you can comfortably seat six people. Rear seat passengers will be swimming in space, with over 40 inches of legroom, over 63 inches of hip room, and over 65 inches of shoulder room. Truth be told, the rear seats of many pickups today are even more spacious than those of many three-row or full-size SUVs today. They’re simply enormous, and there’s been a clear shift toward better passenger capacity in pickups.
There Is Interior Storage Everywhere
At one point, it was understood that the pickup bed was for transporting stuff – and that was that. The cab was just meant to transport one to three people, with very little stuff beyond maybe some water bottles and hats. Now, the interiors of pickups have cubbies – obvious and hidden – everywhere, which is really a nod to these being family-friendly and road-trip-ready.
The 2023 Ram 1500 Classic is a great example. It has under-seat storage in crew cab models for stashing valuables you don’t want onlookers to see. It also has bin storage and two glove compartments for keeping things like sunglasses, maps, snacks, and tissues. But here’s the feature that really takes the pickup into a new category: the 2023 Ram 1500 classic has a center console that’s large enough to fit a full-size laptop.
Somewhere in the Venn diagram of when pickups and laptops existed, there was an era when we had both, but nobody thought pickups would be made with laptops in mind. That speaks to the fact that an entirely new clientele is purchasing pickups. People who work on computers, rather than with their hands (or at least, not only with their hands), are turning to pickups. Corporate professionals are buying them, and so are students. At one point, you would have never seen anything that belonged in an office inside of a pickup. There are also a lot of beverage holders in many new pickups, which is typical of commuter vehicles (like SUVs) that people spend a lot of time in.
Interior Power Options
It’s not abnormal for pickups to have onboard power, but this is usually found in the bed, and it’s usually made for powering massive, energy-sucking exterior appliances like power tools or box lights. Now, you’ll find smaller, device-friendly power ports inside the 2023 Ram 1500 Classic, like USB ports and 120-volt and 115-volt outlets. Again, these are affiliated with things you’d typically find in an office and not on a construction site.
Better Sound Systems
Pickup trucks used to be all business and no play. It was understood that if you were in a pickup, you were probably with a coworker or your boss on your way to a work site. This wasn’t the time to kick back or have any fun. Now, things are different, and the premium audio systems you find in new pickups are evidence of it.
The 2023 Ram 1500 Classic has an available nine-speaker Alpine Premium Audio System. That’s a sound system you only get if you will be riding with people and enjoying some tunes with friends or family. Terrific audio systems are a waste if you’ll just be riding with coworkers and don’t feel comfortable belting out at the top of your lungs along with your favorite song. Audio systems like these prove that more people are using pickups for road trips or everyday activities – they’re more than just reliable workhorses.
Hands-Free Calling and Texting
The Ram 1500 Classic also offers hands-free calling and texting – a feature found in many new trucks today. This is another feature that shows that a more diverse demographic is buying pickups. Pickups like the Ram 1500 Classic are excellent for towing and hauling, of course, but having the ability to do hands-free calling and texts also makes them ideal for people with corporate jobs or their own businesses who need to handle admin tasks and correspondence on the go. In the 1500 Classic, you’re equipped to stay connected wherever the road takes you.
The Ram 1500 Classic Is Not Your Father’s Pickup
If you could show your great, great grandparents a pickup truck today, they probably wouldn’t even recognize it for what it was. Pickups have come such a long way from the boxy, work-oriented things they once were. Their transformation speaks to the way that so many societal norms and roles have transformed. Very few people fit into just one box these days, and so many need a vehicle that can check many of them.
Busy parents also need powerful pickups for recreation or their businesses. Entrepreneurs might work part-time in the office and on a work site. And there are so many great things you can do with a pickup bed that has nothing to do with manual labor – like camping and tailgating. If you have wanted the capabilities of a pickup but need a lot of the convenience and comfort features offered by SUVs, the reality is that you don’t have to choose one or the other anymore. The Ram 1500 Classic is really the pinnacle of where pickups have been headed. It’s incredibly comfortable, spacious, and loaded with modern technology – it won’t have you missing your SUV.
