During the 1950s, pickups were purchased for their utility. But by the 1990s, less than 15% of pickup truck owners actually used their trucks for work. These days, the majority of truck owners will use it as a regular passenger vehicle.
As people increasingly used their trucks for the daily commute, school runs, grocery shopping, and soccer practice rather than using them for the utility aspects, they also wanted their pickups to look more elegant and stylish.
Car manufacturers were quick to get in on that action and started manufacturing pickups to meet the customers' demands. This led to some pickups looking exotic while others were powerful enough to beat a Ferrari in a race. Most of these were never produced in huge numbers though, they're quite rare and valuable.
15 Lincoln Blackwood
The Lincoln Blackwood was one of those pickups manufactured to look pretty, so it had zero of the utility features we expect of a pickup truck. Coming from a premium company, it was made from the finest materials, and the covered bed might be good for security but it was bad for cargo capacity. It was also offered only as a two-wheel-drive.
14 Chevrolet K10 Sno Chaser
The 1984 Chevrolet Sno Chaser is amongst the rarest of Chevrolet pickups, and only available in red with golden stripes. It was sold exclusively in northern states where the climate is colder and the roads could get icy. There's a reason why snow tires and all-wheel drive were standard.
13 GMC Sierra California Sundancer
With the colder states getting the Sno Chaser, the Sundancer was sold exclusively in Southern California. This special edition truck was painted in bright yellow, to reflect that it was made for the Golden State. It even had a sunroof to make it more appealing to the southern California market. Only a handful of Sundancers were sold in 1987.
12 Dodge Shelby Dakota
Only 1,500 units were built of the Shelby Dakota, which were special editions that had been fettled by Shelby. Of those 1,500, 640 were painted white while the rest were red. The engine was a 175 hp 5.2L Magnum V8. It had some work done in the looks department as well, such as 15-inch 5-spoke hollow alloy wheels, special bumpers, and a fiberglass light bar.
11 Mack Jr. Pickup
Mack is well known for its big rigs, but few people know that the company also tried their luck producing pickup trucks during the 1930s. Unfortunately, the pickup side of their truck business never took off, and as a result, very few of these pickups were manufactured and even fewer of them exist today. You'd be right in thinking that makes them valuable and collectible.
10 Ford F-250 Bigfoot Cruiser
Only 300 units of the Ford F250 Bigfoot Cruisers were produced. They were powered by a 7.5L EFI Engine paired with an Automatic Transmission. The Bigfoot Cruiser had oversized wheels, a 2-inch lift, a light bar, and an awesome front bumper. However, there was a tiny problem. Some of the trucks caught fire, and additionally, they seemed to have a higher than average accident rate. Ford got sued by truck owners, so all 300 Bigfoot trucks were recalled and had their cool parts removed.
9 Jeep J10 Honcho
The Honcho did not compromise on looks at all. It was a special edition of the Jeep Gladiator that featured a striking paint job, bold striping, and decals. Oh, and there was a roll bar, as well as an interior designed by famous jeans manufacturers, Levi's. Only 1,264 Honchos were made.
8 Ford SkyRanger
Some genius over at Ford decided that a convertible truck with a name that sounds like a superhero would be just what the company needed. Enter the SkyRanger, a special edition of the extended-cab Ranger, featuring a 4L Cologne V6 and all-wheel drive. The American Sunroof Company performed the conversions... all 17 of them.
7 Chevrolet Blazer Chalet
The 4x4 Chevy Blazer Chalet had a cabin on the back and was given a pop-up roof, a tiny kitchen, and a bed. It would've been the perfect overland or expedition vehicle... except, no one did that kind of thing back then, so very few actually bought one - not that the extortionate price helped sales either. This is the rugged little 4x4 Chevy that could've been great - if only they made it today.
6 Jeep CJ 10
The CJ 10 was manufactured by AMC Jeep when they were in desperate need of money. The car came with three engine options and two transmission options with one being automatic and the other being manual. The truck was intended for Australia, but it ended up being too expensive, so it soon went away, never to be seen again.
5 GMC Crew Cab
The 1962 GMC Fenderside Crew Cab is unique not only in terms of availability but also based on its looks..GMC only manufactured six of these in 1962 and only one of them is in the United States today. The truck is a four-seater and its old retro look is refreshing, to say the least.
4 Dodge Ram 1500 Hemi GTX
The 1500 Hemi GTX was introduced in the year 2004. Only 443 units were manufactured in the first year and a similar amount was manufactured the following year. The car was available in eye-catching colors, such as Sublime green, Banana yellow, Hemi Orange and Plum Crazy Purple. Oh, and it packs a 5.7-liter HEMI V8 under the hood, so it has the go that'll match the show.
3 GMC Sierra Grande Olympic Edition
The Olympic Edition of Sierra Grande was sold exclusively on the Canadian market in 1976 to commemorate the Summer Olympic Games which were held there that year. Only 630 were made and all of them featured a white and red color scheme. Under the hood, there was a 350-ci V8 that produced 165 hp.
2 Chevrolet S10 EV
These days, GM claims to be focusing 100% on the future, and that means going electric. It's not the first time GM has experimented with electric vehicles though. Back in the late '90s, GM made 492 units of this utterly useless 72-mile range electric pickup, only 60 of them were sold, and the rest were leased. At the end of the lease, GM decided the trucks were junk and crushed them all.
1 Chevrolet C10 Big 10
The C10 was basically a regular half-ton truck, but Chevy marketed the Big 10 as heavy-duty pickups to bypass emissions regulations. The law stated that all vehicles weighing less than 6,000 lbs had to comply with emissions standards, so Chevy made Big 10 weigh in at 6,200 lbs. In 1975 they even made one weighing 6,050 lbs.
A 350ci V8 was the smallest engine, while the 454ci V8 was the most popular choice. It actually packed enough power to keep up with a 'Vette, doing the 0-60 mph sprint in just 8.9 seconds, while the 350ci Corvette did it in 8.1 seconds.