It Is Alarmingly Easy to Spend $100k on a Stock Pickup Truck
It’s no secret that pickup trucks are getting wildly expensive. Between the inventory issues of COVID paired with the onslaught of brand new flagship electric truck models, there is no shortage of six-figure pickup trucks. This is strange. For most of the segment’s history, stock pickup trucks were largely owned by folks who used them for specific work. These days, a large, optioned pickup truck is a status symbol. For the first time ever, spending $100,000 on a pickup truck is alarmingly easy.
Why are trucks so expensive now?
Trucks are useful machines. Because of this, they support a wide variety of hobbies, jobs, tasks, and lifestyles. Not only do trucks do a great many things, but they are specifically helpful in one of the fastest-growing industries in the automotive world, overlanding/camping. As we know, an increase in demand while supply remains the same, or in this specific case, lowers, the price of the item in demand will likely go up. This is one of the major factors in the rising cost of pickup trucks.
There is also another answer to why trucks are so expensive now. The EV industry is booming. Every company with a car factory is busting its tail to put out an electric car or 10. This is also true for every company that makes pickup trucks. While there are some electric cars that eventually became somewhat affordable, that has not yet happened in the electric truck industry. Every electric truck that has come out is loaded with performance and luxury features. These are flagship models, not working models for regular people. Hell, you can spend over $100k on a Chevy Silverado now. Think about that.
Part of what makes the electric trucks so expensive is that the tech is new, and these automakers have invested billions of dollars in R&D, and the companies are trying to recoup some of that expenditure. There will likely be a cheaper electric Silverado someday, but not today.
What are the most expensive stock pickup trucks you can buy in 2023?
While some of the most expensive trucks are EVs, not all are. Some of these trucks are just part supercar, and you know you gotta pay for that. For instance, the Ford F-150 Raptor R starts at $107,350 before you get hit with markups. While it is a factory-tuned dune jumper, this is still just a stock model, not some speed house custom build. The Ford F-150 Raptor R earns its dinner with its 700-hp supercharged 5.2-liter V8. It’s one hell of a pickup truck, of which you will be reminded every month when you send your payments of an arm and a leg.
On the other spectrum, there is the GMC Hummer EV SUT Omega Editon. Not only is this a flagship EV for GMC and the Hummer brand, but it is the reboot of the Hummer name. GMC went to the mat on this one. Packing 830 hp and basically endless torque (11,500 lb-ft to be exact), the GMC Hummer EV in this limited trim starts at an eye-watering $149,995. It’s the stock pickup truck of the future.
Going back to the current century, the Ram 1500 TRX Lunar Edition starts at $106,445. Like the Raptor, the Ram justifies its silly price tag with a roar of its 702-hp supercharged 6.2-liter Hemi V8. The Lunar Edition is the model’s top trim with specific design cues and is loaded with luxury and performance features.
The Chevy Silverado EV RST is the one that will curl your hair. The electric Silverado in its top trim starts at $105,000. It makes an increasingly normal (strange to say) 754 hp and nearly the same in torque. This model will launch as a 2024 MY, but if you have need for fleet vehicles, Chevy is offering a standard work version with no frills, but still electric, for $39,900. Still, $40k for the absolute bare-bones cheapo further proves the point that truck pricing has reached critical mass.
Is there any hope that truck prices will go down?
Gear Patrol shows even more pickup trucks that cost over $100k. The list is long and strangely upsetting. For someone who grew up in the South in the ‘90s, it feels like an episode of the Twilight Zone or something. While the trucks listed here are the top tier of many of these models, it is still hard to stomach that you can spend this much on a pickup truck. The world has changed, and we are left to figure out what to do with it.
