QOTD: What Chevy Truck Was Truly the Heartbeat of America?

Besides delivering bedfulls of cash to Bob Seger’s front door, Chevrolet trucks have spent the last century burrowing into the very core of rural American identity. Sure, Ford sells more F-150s, and has for decades. There’s more competition now, including full-size pickups from two Japanese automakers — something unheard of in Detroit’s heyday.

Still, the Chevrolet pickup, now 100 years old, seems perpetually positioned as a more honest, more Middle America offering than its domestic rivals. Its advertising campaigns, often serving as a new salvo in its bitter rivalry with hoity-toity Ford, make this clear (Yep, those F-150 power running boards really help a fellow avoid scuffing his slacks while loading up at Whole Foods). Remember Chevy’s sputtering incredulity over Ford’s “Man Step”?

And who can forget, two decades on, the famous “ Like a Rock” campaign? Rocks last billions of years, guys. Ford’s aluminum beds can be punctured by rocks (well, cinder blocks, anyway).

So, with Chevy’s big truck birthday upon us, let’s take a tally. Which Chevy pickup was the best one?

It probably wasn’t the 1918 Series 490, based on a car chassis and featuring a four-cylinder engine with horsepower in the low 20s. No, you’re probably thinking two things: C/K and Silverado. Minus the S-10 and Colorado and El Camino, that’s all we’ve been offered for over 55 years.

Having gone to high school in a rural area and off-roaded more than once in an Oldsmobile 88, Chevy trucks were a common sight in my youth. My memories of that time seem filled with late-80s/early-90s C/K regular and extended cabs, rear wheel wells rotted out from road salt, that none of my friends drove. Not a one. The only truck in my family was a mid-70s Ford F-150 SuperCab that I was too young to remember riding in.

This isn’t to say there isn’t a Chevy truck that captures my eye. Recently, as high-tech truck options pile up higher than factory incentives, I’ve found myself longing for that true, honest, plain-Jane old truck. The kind you remember from childhood, long before crew cab, ultra-lux pickups became the ride of choice for ordinary families.

There’s a clear winner. The third-generation C/K. Running from 1973 to 1987 with only one minor styling refresh (1981), the first half of this generation gets it completely right. It’s the quintessential “truck.”

On appearance along, it’s hard to deny the simplicity and subtle style of this generation, which certainly didn’t carry over into the fourth. That pronounced character line (curving down ahead of the front wheel arch for a little bit of fender-defining brawn), that sturdy, weighty-looking grille, that pleasingly curved roofline and window frame. As close to perfection as a pickup can be, in my opinion. You may disagree. Also cool about this era in Chevy trucks is the availability of snazzy paint jobs on high-end trims. This truck’s lines were made for an extra shade of paint.

I could go on objectifying old trucks all day, but it’s your turn to pick up the torch, if indeed there’s any home fires burning for the Chevrolet brand. Which Chevrolet truck hits you right in the loins?

[Image: General Motors]