Americans say NO to pick-up trucks
America is home to all kinds of pick-up trucks ever since Ford started the rush back in the 1900s. To date, almost every family in the States owns or had owned a truck in a household. But, this year have seen a slump in ownership of such amphibious machines in that country. February and March recorded the sales volume of the pick-up truck segment come to a dwindling 10% compared to last year based on a report from Pickuptruck.com.
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The obvious factors in the decline are the falling of the US housing market and rising prices of crude oil. Even the used trucks have seen a fall in sales in the last six months. To put into scenario, the ailing construction sector had contributed in the lack of pick-up sales as contractors are not buying any new (or used) trucks. As for the average man on the street, the rise in fuel prices have been the problem.
Sales of the Ford T-Series and Chevy’s Silverado were down by 19%, and the Dodge Ram was down at 26% according to the VP of sales and marketing for General Motors North America.
On the other hand, foreign makes like Toyota continue to cash in and has seen a rise at 62%. It even have a large impact on Nissan with its Titan. The Toyota Tundra appears to have sustained its position in the US economic slowdown ahead of Ford’s Ranger. Both of these models are of the mid-sized trucks. The large trucks are taking the actual beating here (like Ford’s F-150 and Super Duty) as they are the major culprit in guzzling fuel, I presume.
The Ford Ranger Wildtrack in the Thai market
It is a good season for great bargains at local truck dealerships in the States now. There has been a surge in discount offerings to the customers in order to boost sales. Ford is giving away USD5000 (RM16,000) discounts to its customers according to Automotive News.
Now, I’d like to be in the States and get a few trucks to play with! 
Source: BusinessWeek
