Sky's the limit for luxury trucks - Lima Ohio

DETROIT _ The Detroit Three continue to add chrome, leather, wood and high-tech features to their pickups to turn vehicles that were once viewed as workhorses into refined, luxurious vehicles that can still tow a boat or haul gear. Over the past several years designers have continued to push the limit, elevating the price of high-end pickups past $50,000 and then past $60,000. And that’s just for the full-size pickups. The average price for most high-end versions of larger heavy duty pickups exceeds $70,000. Today’s top-of-the-line trucks have heated steering wheels, heated and cooled seats, and aluminum wheels, along with all of the latest high-tech features... Every time automakers roll out a higher-level truck they discover there is even more demand than they anticipated, leading executives to predict the industry will continue to push the limit. In 2014, what a consumer paid for a car or truck sold in the U. S. hit a record high average of $32,386, a 17. 5 percent increase compared with 2004, according to Edmunds. com, while the average transaction prices for the entire pickup segment has risen to $40,696 over the same period, a 41. 3 percent increase. Doug Scott, Ford’s truck group marketing manager, said many of the customers who are paying $50,000 or more for a pickup are paying even more for the horses or horse trailers that the truck is being used to tow. With no apparent limit to demand or a ceiling for a top-end price, it’s not surprising to see. Source: limaohio.com