It’s finally summer! Time to cook up some popcorn, turn up the music, sit outside, and enjoy a good movie. And there’s nothing better than enjoying it all in your pickup truck. If you don’t own a pickup truck and have been lusting for one like Marty McFly (see below), ask yourself, “Where can I find a used truck near me?” Once you’ve got the keys in your pocket, you’ll be able to enhance your summer mood with this magical mystery tour of sorts to fondly remember some infamous songs and movies that capture the spirit of pickup truck culture.
No one can disagree with Luke Bryan’s depiction of the pickup truck culture in his 2007 song “We Rode In Trucks.” From the beginning lyrics and opening sequence in the video, Bryan sets the scene for pickup truck owners. “Where I grew up, we rode in trucks,” sings Bryan. “That’s us with our tailgates down in the parking lot, that’s us with mud on our tires when it rained a lot.” Fans of the song praise it for reflecting their lifestyle and how they were raised.
If you’re looking for a beautiful moody anthem about farming and pickup trucks, set your dial to the 1987 Jethro Tull song “Farm On The Freeway” from the Crest of a Knave album. This is Ian Anderson song dedicated to the erosion of the American family farmer with a melodic guitar from the band’s long time guitarist Martin Barre and Anderson’s unmistakable flute work. “All I’ve got is a check and a pickup truck,” goes the song.
Joe Diffe’s 1994 ode to his beloved pickup truck is a must-listen on a warm summer night. This is a pure country, upbeat song dedicated to anyone who owns a pickup truck. You’ll soon be singing these catchy lyrics while you drive your own pickup truck. “You can set my truck on fire and roll it down a hill; And I still wouldn’t trade it for a Coupe de Ville;
I’ve got an eight-foot bed that never has to be made; Most Friday nights I can be found; In the bed of my truck on an old chaisse lounge; Backed into my spot at the drive-in show;
You know a cargo light gives off a romantic glow,” sings Diffie.
No list would be complete without the Grateful Dead’s praise of the open road: “Truckin’.” Ever since it was released in 1970, it’s been hailed as one of the best rock songs and was recognized by the United States Library of Congress in 1997 as a national treasure. No matter if you’re a long-haul trucker or a local pickup truck owner, this song captures your odyssey. Who doesn’t often repeat one of its most famous lines: What a long strange trip it’s been?
Mad Max pickup trucks
Who doesn’t remember the opening scenes of the anarchic dystopian science-fiction films Mad Max: Fury Road and Mad Max 2-The Road Warrior? Both movies use pickup trucks as primary vehicles to get around. In Fury Road, a black pickup truck’s lancer destroys the V8 Interceptor. Set designers chose a Ford F-100 pickup truck to be highly modified with a vast assortment of wheels. In the movie, it’s known as the Tire Medic, a vehicle that provides wheels and tires for The Citadel’s vehicular armada when needed.
In The Road Warrior, a 1972 Ford F-100 is weaponized to try to steal gas from the title character, Max Rockatansky, and his allies. Pickup truck enthusiasts will enjoy its wraparound, boat-style windshield, bed-mounted four-bolt crossbow-launcher, and non-Ford-SVT-endorsed cobras painted on the doors.
After watching either of the two movies, hopefully in your own pickup truck, you can purchase a miniature Mad Max pickup truck to put together on your own.
If you’re looking for a great action-packed movie with some of the best pickup truck driving ever caught on film, look up The Driver, which opened in 1978. Ryan O’Neal stars in this movie as an unnamed robber that specializes in getaways. And what’s his vehicle of choice? Of course, it’s a hot-rod Chevy short bed truck.
Don’t we all love to get a good laugh watching any of the movies from the Lethal Weapon series? But in one of the best involving a pickup truck, Mel Gibson, the comically reckless homicide cop, takes the wheel in Lethal Weapon 2, and drives a 1989 three-quarter-ton, heavy-duty GMC Sierra. In one of the most iconic scenes of the movie, Gibson tears down a house using the Sierra pickup truck powered by a 454 7.4l V8 engine with dual rear wheels.
Back to the Future in a Toyota pickup truck
While the star of the 1985 movie Back To The Future was the gleaming DMC DeLorean time machine with gull wing doors, a 1985 Toyota SR5 Xtra-Cab black 4×4 pickup truck also had a prominent place in the movie. It’s the vehicle that Marty McFly lusts after at the dealership telling Jennifer that he would like to take it up to the lake, throw their sleeping bags in the back bed of the truck, and make out. At the end of the movie, he finally gets to drive the black 4×4 of his dreams.
If you want to please your girlfriend with a romantic movie but yearn for a pickup truck to be included, look to any Nicholas Sparks movie. No worries, there will be a pickup truck. Whether you choose The Notebook, Safe Haven, or The Lucky One, all three feature this quintessential small town icon.
Finally, there’s nothing more exciting than watching the stars of Twister, Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt, run after tornadoes. Of course, their mode of transportation is a 1995 Dodge Ram 2500. The back-story about this pickup truck is that both Ford and Chrysler wanted to promote their latest pickup truck models in the movie. Chrysler won the battle after its PR firm relied on a personal relationship with the movie’s producers. You’ll howl with joy as the Ram evades flying cows and easily carries the group’s tornado chasing gear.
So, there you have it. The best way to spend summer in your pickup truck is to listen to some appropriate tunes or take in a movie in which a pickup is the starring role.
