The Evolution of the Pickup Truck

Ford didn't sell a complete factory-assembled pickup until the 1925 Model T Runabout with Pickup Body, which listed for $261. In 1928, Ford introduced a pickup based on its more-robust Model A. It featured unheard of luxuries such as an all-steel cab and roll-up side windows. Ford set a lofty standard when it added the flathead V-8 to its pickup in the early '30s.


Though Chevrolet began producing trucks as early as 1918, they were essentially automobiles with no rear bodywork. As with the Ford Model T, buyers had to add their own pickup coachwork. Chevy's first factory-built pickup didn't arrive until 1931. The first pickup offered by the Dodge Brothers Company was the mid-'20s 3/4-ton model, which was actually built by the Graham Brothers. The first 1/2-ton Dodge, which was also the first Chrysler Corp.-produced 1/2-ton pickup, was the '29.


Japan's first domestically produced truck arrived in 1922, built by the predecessor to Isuzu. The first prototype Toyota truck, the Model G1, was completed in 1935.


Well into the 1930s, many regular automobiles enjoyed the generous ground clearance and rigid chassis now associated with pickups. But the automobile was evolving to be lower and more pavement-oriented. No longer could pickups be simply automobiles with a bed rather than a trunk.

Post-War Revival
Also during the '30s, Art Deco-themed pickups hit the showrooms. Two excellent examples from the mid- to late-'30s are the Hudson Terraplane pickup and the Studebaker J5 Coupe-Express.