Thread by @JaMtoka

2021: The revolutionary year in pickups — With more and more Americans buying trucks, companies like Ford, Stellantis and even Hyundai started looking for yet unexplored niches in the search for customers who never knew they wanted a truck. Via @CNN

The great American pickup truck has been basically one thing for quite awhile now: a big -- and always getting bigger -- gas- or diesel-powered lane-hogging beast with a big open bed.

Trucks like the Ford F-150 and GMC Sierra have gotten more comfortable with added luxury options like heated seats, foldout work desks and high-end stereos, but the basic formula has held steady.

There was a time when pickups came in a wide variety of shapes and sizes from Chevrolet El Caminos muscle trucks to cute little Volkswagen pickups and even flat-faced "cab forward" trucks.

Over time, though, full-size and somewhat smaller midsize trucks of traditional size and shape have taken over. In the past year, though, some of that old breadth and creativity is returning as more Americans ditch cars for trucks.

About a decade ago, cars -- meaning not trucks or SUVs -- made up more than half of all vehicles sold in America, according to data from Cox Automotive, a company that owns various automotive websites and auto dealer services firms.

Now only about 20% of Americans buy traditional passenger cars. Pickups, on the other hand, have gone from less than 14% of the US market to now having just as much market share as cars. The remaining 60% of the market is mostly SUVs and some vans.

Even for mid-size trucks, like the Toyota Tacoma and Ford Ranger, competition has been getting tougher.

Hyundai designers had no problems breaking design tradition with the new Santa Cruz. In fact, the Korean automaker's executives insist the Hyundai Santa Cruz is not a pickup truck but rather a "sport adventure vehicle." OK, but it's really a pickup.

2021 also saw the first of an expected wave of electric pickups. Rivian started delivering its first few R1T pickups to customers and it's already won MotorTrend's Truck of the Year award. Just last week, General Motors started production of the GMC Hummer EV pickup.

In 2022, electric truck competition will start getting really heavy. The Ford F-150 Lightning will go into production. A few days into the new year, General Motors will unveil its new Chevrolet Silverado EV electric truck, which CEO Mary Barra has called "unmatched."

That truck is supposed to go into production in 2023. By that time, the wedge-shaped Tesla Cybertruck might also be in production at a new Tesla factory in Texas.

Tesla reportedly has taken over a million refundable $100 deposits for its Cybertruck. Ford stopped taking such deposits for the Lightning after collecting 200,000 reservations.

Ford also recently announced it would double its planned factory output for the Lightning given unexpectedly strong customer demand.

Many of the potential customers, according to Ford, are not even current pickup truck owners. After this year and next, the world of pickups, loaded up with tradition and towing heavy expectations, will never be the same.

The Ford F-150 Raptor hi-tech has hi-tech suspension that checks the terrain 500 times a seconds and softens or stiffens automatically. amp-cnn-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/amp.cnn.co…