Chevrolet is celebrating this year’s State Fair of Texas in the heart of truck country with a new survey revealing America’s love of pickup trucks.
While sales figures have long shown Americans’ affinity for trucks, Chevrolet’s study highlights the connection between owners and their trucks in a new way.
Chevrolet worked with Harris Poll to ask 1,012 pickup truck drivers across the U.S. how they feel about their trucks, how they use them to help others in their communities and even what they name them.
This focus on understanding truck customers is integral to Chevrolet’s success and helps fuel the most successful truck business in the industry. Chevrolet’s devotion to truck customers has shaped everything from the all-new 2019 Silverado 1500 to the creation of the Chevrolet Truck Legends program.
Survey highlights:
What’s in a name?
- According to our survey, 27% of U.S. pickup truck drivers love their truck so much that they name it.
- The most popular pickup truck name in America is Betsy. The second most popular truck name is Big Red*. *“Big Red” encompasses variations of “Big/Little/Old Red”
Truck people look out for others
- 89% of U.S. pickup drivers have used their pickup truck to help others.
- 33% have helped tow a friend or family’s car.
- 33% have used their pickup truck to support a school, community or charitable cause.
A family affair
- 57% of U.S. pickup drivers consider their pickup truck a part of the family.
- 45% plan on passing their pickup truck down to a child or loved one.
- 38% say they love their pickup truck more than any other object they own.
- 60% say they “can’t live without” their pickup truck.
Significant life events that happen in a pickup
- 26% learned how to drive in a pickup truck.
- 10% have brought a baby home from the hospital in a pickup truck.
- 9% had their first kiss in a pickup truck.
Positive image
- 38% think driving a pickup truck makes them more attractive.
- 37% believe driving a pickup truck makes them more popular.
Chevy truck sales have fueled the success of GM’s overall truck business. Since 2014, GM has been the only manufacturer to offer mid-size, light-duty and heavy-duty pickups. As a result, the company has sold more pickup trucks in the U.S. than any other automaker for four consecutive years, with 2017 sales totaling 948,909 units.
In 2018, Chevrolet introduced three new pickups:
- An all-new Silverado 1500, offering the most functional bed of any full-size truck, weighing up to 450 pounds less and offering a broad range of trims and engine/transmission combinations
- An all-new Silverado 4500-6500 HD, the first-ever Silverado Class 4, 5 and 6 chassis cab trucks
- And the Colorado ZR2 Bison, a new performance variant of the midsize truck and Chevy’s first collaboration with American Expedition Vehicles (AEV), a premium off-road aftermarket manufacturer
Harris Poll surveys how Americans use, adore and even name their trucks
