10 Pickups You May Have Forgotten About

Pickups have long been among America’s most popular vehicles, with the Big Three unsurprisingly winning the hearts and minds of those who’ve needed the ability to haul stuff around over the years. In among the Rams, F-150s, and Silverados, though, there are quite a few models, variations, and brands that have been forgotten along the way. Here’s a quick peek at some interesting bed-ridden vehicles you might not have thought about in a while, if ever.

1969-76 IHC Series D Pickup

For 1969, International Harvester Company redesigned their pickup truck for the first time in a decade. The new pickups took much of their design from the IHC Scout SUV, featuring more car-like interior appointments. They could be configured in a whole host of ways: two doors or four, wheelbases ranging from 115 to 164 inches, and both six- and eight-cylinder power on offer. But IHC’s smaller, more rural dealer network couldn’t match Detroit’s reach, which hit IHC hard when sales slumped during the OPEC Oil Embargo. IHC started losing money on its pickups, and would axe them altogether by 1976.

1971-87 GMC Sprint/Caballero

Essentially a Chevrolet El Camino with a different grille and emblems, the GMC Sprint was built atop GM’s rear-wheel-drive A-Body car platform, and employed the same pickup bodyshell. Power choices over the years ranged from a workaday 250-cubic inch inline six to the 454-cubic inch V-8 offered from ’70-75, with plenty of small-blocks in between. Three-speed and four-speed manual transmissions were offered, along with a Turbo Hydramatic automatic transmission. When General Motors downsized the A-Bodies in 1978, the Sprint was renamed the Caballero, a name formerly used on 1950s Buick station wagons. The El Camino and Caballero were dropped after 1987, when the A-Body platform switched to front-wheel drive.

1974-87 Jeep J-10 Honcho/Golden Eagle

Jeep’s full-size traditional pickup, the 1963 Gladiator, was a spin-off from the Wagoneer. The name would last through 1971, after which it was known as either the J-10 (119-inch wheelbase) or the J-20 (131-inch wheelbase). Either could be fitted with Honcho, Golden Eagle and 10-4 trim packages. The J-10 and J-20 shared their cab designs with the Wagoneer and Cherokee, with the Honcho sporting ’70s-era gold-striping, off-road tires, and a Levi’s denim-trimmed cab. The Golden Eagle was every bit its flashy equal, with a grille guard, driving lamps, pick-up bed roll bar, eight-inch wheels, an eagle decal on the hood and a Levi’s interior. 

1979-84 Volkswagen Rabbit Pickup

With the Volkswagen Rabbit being built in New Stanton, Pennsylvania, the American executives in charge at Volkswagen of America thought it would be a swell idea to hack off the back half of their front-wheel-drive hatchback and add a small pickup bed. Under the hood lurked a 52-horsepower 1.6-liter diesel engine or an optional 78-horsepower 1.7-liter gas unit. No, it wasn’t quick as a Rabbit, but payload for the tiny pickup was 1,100 pounds. It only lasted through the end of the first generation in 1983. Then, Volkswagen shipped the tooling to South Africa where it was reborn as the VW Caddy, lasting through, believe it or not, 2007.

1982-84 Dodge Rampage/Plymouth Scamp

Good artists copy and great artists steal, or so they say. These pickups were based on Chrysler’s L-Body platform that was largely developed by France’s SIMCA, with assists from Chrysler and Britain’s Rootes Group. They spawned the Dodge Omni and Plymouth Horizon, along with the Dodge Omni 024 and Plymouth TC3 coupes, which donated their front ends to the Dodge Rampage and Plymouth Scamp pickups. A 2.2-liter four-cylinder engine generated 84 horsepower and mated to a three- or four-speed manual transmission, or a three-speed slushbox. Payload was rated at 1,145 pounds. While the Dodge was produced all three years, the Plymouth was offered solely in 1983.

1989-91 Dodge Dakota Convertible

Larger than a Ford Ranger or Chevrolet S10, but smaller than an F-150 or Silverado, the Dakota wasn’t setting the world on fire. To stoke sales, Chrysler added a droptop version in 1989 as the Dakota Sport convertible. It was powered by a 125-horsepower 3.9-liter V-6 mated to a five-speed manual or four-speed automatic, and a four-cylinder was offered the following year. But the Dakota Convertible didn’t look all that great with the top down, and no one really knew what to make of a convertible pickup, so a mere 3,759 were built over three years. The convertible pickup idea would be revived, similarly unsuccessfully though certainly more artfully, as the 2003-06 Chevrolet SSR.

1992-2004 GMC Sonoma GT 

While GMC had fielded the Syclone high-performance pickup truck in the 1990s, it also fielded the 1992 Sonoma GT, which is best described as all hat, no cattle. Yes, it sported the high-performance look of its fast turbocharged all-wheel-drive forebear, along with factory Bilstein shocks, B.F. Goodrich Comp T/A tires and a rear limited-slip differential. But things turned mundane under the hood, where resided GM’s 180-horsepower 4.3-liter V-6 mated to a four-speed automatic that sent power to the rear wheels. A second-generation debuted for the 1994 model year, powered by a 2.2-liter four-cylinder or the 4.3-liter unit. It lasted another decade before being dropped. 

1996-99 Chevrolet S-10 Electric

Sold only to fleet customers, the Chevrolet S-10 Electric pickup had two doors and a 16.2-kWh lead-acid battery pack under its six-foot bed. Power came from a revised GM EV1 powertrain delivering 114 horsepower (85 kW) to the front wheels. Weighing 1,200 more than typical gas models, the S-10 Electric required an agonizing 13.5 seconds to reach 50 mph. Top speed was 70 mph. Range was EPA rated at 33 miles. A nickel-metal hydride battery was optional later on, increasing range to 59 miles and dropping the 0-50 run to 10.5 seconds. Payload was 951 pounds. A full recharge took eight hours with the lead-acid batteries, five hours with the nickel-metal hydrides. It cost $33,305, or $66,386 today.

1998-2001 Ford Ranger EV

Great artists copy, well, you know the saying by this point. Not to be outdone by the S-10 Electric, Ford unveiled a Ranger EV, also using lead-acid batteries and providing a Ford-estimated 50-mile driving range. With 90 horsepower, the Ranger delivered a 12.5-second 0-50 mph run, a 70-mph top speed and a payload capacity of 700 pounds. Range was rated at 50 miles, dropping to 35 if the mercury dipped below freezing. Recharging took about six hours. Ford switched to nickel-metal hydride batteries in 1999, increasing range to 85 miles, and raising payload to 1,250 pounds. Charging times remained unchanged. Offered only in 22 states, Ford built the Ranger EV through 2001.

2002 Lincoln Blackwood

Lincoln’s baffling luxury pickup truck came to market wearing a bed lined with carpet and LED lighting, and topped with a non-removable bed cover. It also lacked a traditional tailgate, opting instead for swing-out barn doors. Using bits from the Ford F-150 SuperCrew and the Lincoln Navigator, the Blackwood had a 300-horse 5.4-liter V-8 and a four-speed automatic transmission feeding the rear wheels—four-wheel drive was not offered. Better for hauling polo mallets than garden pallets, Lincoln pulled the plug after one year and 3,356 units. Lincoln started over with the more-conventional 2006-08 Lincoln Mark LT—and failed again.