The mighty pickup

They have included such things as oil-price fluctuations, the earthquake and tsunami in Japan that dramatically slowed down auto production for a while, and a new government that led people to hold back on auto purchases until its automobile and energy policies became clearer. And of course much of the country is still in the grips of a great flood, which will prevent people from buying new vehicles.
But despite the obstacles, auto sales are still expected to exceed 900,000 units this year. This is a very high figure, reflecting exceptional growth.
The first positive factor for auto sales this year was the introduction of low-priced eco-cars, as well as the launching of many new pickup models. Even Toyota, which didn’t have a full model change for its Hilux Vigo, gave the truck a dramatic facelift and is spending huge sums on marketing and advertising to protect its market share.
The pickup market has not seen any changes in models for many years, but has always been able to grab more than a 50-per-cent share of the market from passenger cars. The market’s growth may have dropped over the past few years, when compared to that for passenger cars, and many say it is time that the popularity of pickups began to wane. But I still believe that pickups will remain popular in Thailand and other developing nations. This is due to their high engine torque, durability and longer life. Pickups also offer much more versatility than regular passenger cars.
With more and more natural disasters taking place in the world today, the need for pickup trucks is bound to increase. Just look at the situation in Chiang Mai. Flooding prevented the use of passenger cars, but diesel-powered pickups had no trouble whatsoever.
Pickups also respond to a larger number of chores, especially the double-cab type, which can be used to carry stuff in the tray, as a passenger car, and even as an SUV.
In the past, double-cab pickups had terrible rear seats because of the limited space, and the backrests were too vertical. The steering was heavy and riding in them was not as comfortable as in a passenger car. The performance was much inferior to that of passenger cars and so was the equipment.
But have a look at the specs today, for example those of the Ford Ranger or the Isuzu V-Cross (Chevrolet is launching its new Colorado today), and you will see that double-cab pickups are no longer inferior. It can even be said that they are creeping up to steal market share from 2,000cc passenger cars.
The Ranger is powered by a 5-cylinder Duratorq 3,200cc engine that produces almost 200 horsepower and a whopping 470Nm of torque. It is available with either a 6-speed automatic or 6-speed manual gearbox, and the steering is multi-function with controls for the audio system and cruise control. There is also a Hill Descent Control function among other features. Its price should be slightly over Bt1 million.
Meanwhile, the V-Cross comes with a 3,000cc VGS turbo engine capable of developing 177 horsepower and 380Nm of torque. It has a 5-speed manual gearbox and comes with traction control, rearview parking camera, automatic locking doors, a Kenwood entertainment system with eight speakers and a powered driver’s seat. It is priced at less than Bt1 million and qualifies for the government’s first-car buyer scheme.
As you can see, double-cab pickups are no longer the underdog to the passenger car. The improvements in the latest models are likely to be followed by other manufacturers, and these will affect the passenger-car market to some degree.