US pick-up trucks increasing in popularity, annoying many Australians

Many Australians have taken to social media to vent their frustrations at the monster US pick-up trucks for crowding lanes and taking up multiple parking spaces.

Pick-up trucks are models produced by US companies such as Ram and Chevrolet, that are significantly larger than the average Australian four wheel drive.

Models such as the Ram 1500 are about 20cm taller and wider than a Toyota Hilux, and nearly 50cm longer than the large ute, according to some sites.

In recent years, sales of these trucks have been rapidly increasing down under.

According to carexpert.com.au, in 2016 Ram sold just 292 pick-up trucks in Australia, but by 2021 the American manufacturer sold over 4,000 units to Australian buyers.

While this suggests there is an apetite for the four-wheel monsters, their presence has outraged many commentators online.

There is even a Reddit Australia thread titled 'American trucks hate', where posters vent their frustrations at everything from the number of car parks the vehicles take up, to how unsafe they are for pedestrians, and their role as a midlife crisis accessory.

Some have even nicknamed them ESVs or 'emotional support vehicles', implying their owners may be compensating for something.

But, carexpert.com.au founder Paul Maric said Australians would have to start getting used to their presence on our roads.

In fact, he said a number of manufacturers including Ford have announced they will join Ram and Chevrolet in supplying pick-up trucks to the Australian market.

According to Mr Maric, the vehicles are a popular choice for people who need to tow large loads such as horse floats and caravans, some of which were too heavy for smaller utes to carry.

While he said the size of these trucks was a problem for Australian parking lots, he believes it's time for these spaces to be updated to meet the current demand for larger cars.

"We need to be focusing on making car parks bigger for these vehicles, whether we like it or not," he said.

"Australia doesn't even have car parks that are big enough to accommodate our current dual cab utes, let alone these bigger American trucks."

"Bay sizes were mandated to be a certain size decades ago ... when today they actually need to be far bigger to accommodate some of the vehicles people are actually driving."

While changing key infrastructure to meet the needs of these larger vehicles may seem extreme, Mr Maric believes people will continue to buy the vehicles regardless.

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"It's like anything in life, you don't need to drive an enormous SUV if you have one kid, but people choose to do it," he said.

"It's the same story with dual cab utes, some people may not need them, but a lot of people are actually using them for their intended purpose."