Safety and image are big draws, too. Regardless of what you've heard, size matters. When you drive one of these big pickups, you feel invincible. Visibility is excellent, a throaty V-8 responds to your right foot with eagerness, and with 4WD, almost any trail or task becomes a challenge. When behind the wheel of a pickup, you feel more like a rugged country boy than an overweight middle manager.
Trucks can look good too.
Each of our trio wore attractive sheetmetal, and all but the Chevy sported alloy wheels and some snazzy styling details. These days, a pickup looks as comfortable in front of the Biltmore as it does in front of a barn. Best of all, when the day comes to drag the mountain bike in for repairs, or to FedEx an old IBM computer to colleagues in New York, or to move a friend into a new apartment, a full-size pickup makes life easy. Just toss whatever it is into the bed, and off you go. No bike racks to mount, no wrestling a heavy box into the trunk or back seat, and instead of 10 trips, a move can be made in only two.