In the last fifteen years luxury vehicles have been scattered across almost every type of vehicle ranging from the sedan to the sports car and the SUV yet there's still one vehicle type that on face value seems to be light on luxury and that's the pick up truck. Our domestic “Big Three” surely have not been asleep at the wheel with luxury offerings in their trucks but is there really a true luxury pickup?
At a recent global auto show Mercedes teased the world with a pickup truck concept that lead many to think they are creating another first by venturing into this lane. The short answer is no they are not. Mercedes wouldn’t be the first luxury brand interested in capturing these buyers but they would certainly make the category more interesting if they move forward.
Lincoln tried and failed by essentially rebadging a Ford F-150 but let me be clear there’s your active lifestyle pickup and then there is your hardhat “work” truck that isn’t sushi eating or delicate cocktail sipping. I am talking construction zone, no kids allowed and capable of towing, clearing or pulling things out of the ground and afterwards wanting a domestic beer! Mercedes and even Cadillac to a certain extent won’t be playing in the big boy truck lane you can be assured of that. Interest in pickups fall into two categories, there is the “work” truck and then the lifestyle truck. The latter is more suited to active lifestyles like biking; camping, hiking and even an occasional run to Home Depot for garden supplies or drywall. That’s most likely the lane Mercedes will be in, lifestyle but we will see. In this world of copycat marketing strategies if Mercedes does swerve into the pickup truck lane you can be sure other luxury imports will likely follow as well.
There is one current domestic brand that can make the argument they are already producing luxury pickups and that’s GMC as they’ve considered themselves a luxury brand for many years having produced the full sized SUV Denali that at one time rivaled Cadillac’s Escalade. I’d argue their vehicles are more like near luxury but after a recent trip to a local GMC dealership I’d have to say they’ve got a vehicle or two that clearly classify as luxury especially when you look at the sticker. I am talking sixty thousand dollars large, ouch! You can get a nice luxury import for that kind of money.
One day I was headed out of the local Home Depot and as I ventured through the parking lot I am always amazed at the collection of cars parked as people drive anything from full sized trucks to fancy sport cars. There isn’t anything you won’t see. I once ran into a guy with a convertible Ferrari 430 (two seat sports car) who took the top down so he could bring home an item he had just purchased. It wouldn’t fit with the top up so he took it down and then secured his purchase. I told him it might have been easier and certainly safer to rent the Home Depot truck but he didn’t want to be bothered.
Okay so I digress. After getting over that sight I continue my walk to my car and another vehicle catches my eye. This time it’s a full sized nicely done GMC Sierra. There was something about this pickup that drew me to it similar to the way the exotic Ferrari did. It was not nearly as sexy but man this truck was nicely done. Upon closer inspection my instincts didn’t fail me and I was caught peeping into the driver side window like a twelve-year-old boy in awe of what he was seeing. The only difference is at 6’2” I clearly towered over the Ferrari but I found myself almost standing on tipped toes to get the bird’s eye view of this fine truck.
The interior was done all in leather and appeared to have the same shade of deep tan that the Ferrari had. This interior had luxury written all over it from the dashboard to the seats and was impressive. The exterior lines were sculptured and felt very masculine and business like as it had four doors and enough room for four. No luxury vehicle is complete these days without “rims” and the stock wheels were big and certainly not of the construction variety type but since it was a GMC you knew they were capable of “work” duty but these rims were made for double duty and boulevard cruising.
As fate would have it the owner happened to walk up and I am sure he was wondering what is this guy doing or about to do with my truck. I immediately disarmed his concerns by saying “nice truck” and that was the catalyst for a deep dive discussion about his high-end luxury vehicle. Notice I did not use the word truck. The interesting thing I found was his enthusiasm was on par with that of a person who owns what I’d consider a toy, which would be something like a sports car or motorcycle. He gushed and raved about the amenities, the comforting ride and good handling. The utility of the vehicle was obvious when you saw what he was loading and I was green with envy wishing my Home Depot runs could be done with such ease, comfort and style. I’d have to say the answer to the luxury pickup truck question has already been delivered and it comes in the form of a GMC Sierra. Mercedes better take note because the luxury pickup lane certainly isn’t crowded but you better bring you’re “A” game as I don’t think GMC is about to relinquish it’s title.
