North Americans are obsessed with large vehicles. Pickups got enormous because of a loophole in the fuel mileage laws that allowed vehicles over a certain size to be exempt. Pickups got larger to meet that standard so they didn't have to meet the standards for smaller vehicles. When the standards were passed, they were only thinking commercial vehicles would be that big. Then the really large trucks became popular and got even bigger. In the suburbs and rural areas all "real men" drive big pickups. All the houses within 4 houses of ours has some kind of truck or SUV. And on the entire block I think there are only two houses (ours is one of them) that doesn't have an SUV or truck.
My partners law office partner got a Dodge RAM Hellcat pickup in 2018 or 2019. The thing had 1000 hp and got 8 mpg. It was very unreliable and he flipped it in 2021 when prices for used cars were insanely high. He actually sold it for more than he paid for it. But he was just a lawyer who rarely hauled anything. If any work had to be done on his house he'd hire someone. He barely knows which end of a hammer is the working bit. My partner drover herself nuts as the general contractor on their office remodel, but he was completely useless. He's about the last person in the world who needs a pickup, but he got a Silverado to replace the Hellcat.
I do know people who have pickups for recreational or work purposes and actually use them. My sister has had horses and has done trail riding for 40 years. She has a horse trailer and a 1 ton pickup to haul it. But the truck sits most of the time and she drives a sedan as her daily driver. A neighbor is a manager for a commercial electrical contractor and he has a truck too. He could probably drive a smaller car as a daily driver, but he does sometimes has to haul equipment out to work sites from the office. He's thinking of replacing his Ford F150 with a Rivian R1S for the next vehicle.
But at least half the people who drive pickups as daily drivers never haul anything that requires a pickup.
