The Texas State Fair media days are going on right now, and the event's become synonymous with big truck launches. Big, shiny, pretty, luxurious, twin-turbo launches. It begs the question: Are trucks getting too fancy?
When the Ford F-150 Platinum debuted atop the already comfy-to-the-point-of-obnoxiousness King Ranch Edition (which itself usurped the Lariat) we asked one of the Ford product planners if this was the most luxurious truck they'd ever build. He laughed and told us there was no top-end for luxury truck buyers. They're called "Lawyer Trucks" and if you build it fancy, they will come all over their $1,200 custom alligator boots.
But there's another side to this. People who do actually need trucks to haul livestock and equipment and have families often can't afford multiple vehicles, so the truck also has to be the family car and, in the past, this has meant long benches in the back with no seatbelts. For them, a new F-350 or Denali HD with comfortable seats and a rear-seat entertainment system is giving them something they want and arguably need.
For the accountant in the F-150 Harley Davidson edition who doesn't even own a Harley, these trucks probably aren't fancy enough. For everyone else, trucks seem to have reached the point of comfort and are slowly sliding towards a point where ability is sacrificed for luxury. We'd rather everyone just stop before it goes too far.
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