Idaho Ranks Near the Top When it Comes to Pickup Trucks

A friend back east asked me once if there were a lot of pickup trucks on Idaho streets and roads.  She was asking rhetorically as she had already guessed the answer.  Idaho is number three nationwide when it comes to the percentage of registered vehicles that are trucks.  Wyoming is first and Montana is second.  States with a lot of pickup trucks are rural and with a lot of wide-open space.  You can see a list of the top 10 by clicking here.

The ten are mostly all landlocked.  The ten states with the fewest trucks on roads all have coastlines.  I guess they all drive wood-sided station wagons with surfboards strapped to the roofs.

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Pickup trucks work in places like Idaho, where farming and ranching remain the backbone of much of the rural economy.  As the linked story also explains, trucks are handy when you’re going hunting or fishing.  If you’re driving a mountain in winter, a four-wheel-drive pickup is often a better option than a smart fortwo, Civic, or Corolla.

Plus, a truck is still a great grocery-getter, the dogs like riding in the bed (the kids too) and you look the part of a modern western cowboy.

I wrote a piece a few years ago about the most popular model in the state.  It was the Ford F-150.  I grew up in a Dodge family but am impressed by the Fords and Chevys I see.  Modern trucks are all very versatile and the rides are much more comfortable than the old crates my dad used to drive.