Ratio of pickup trucks to sedans

[Andrew Falconer]

If you take a look at the amount of Trucks and Tractors versus Sedans and Wagons in 1960's and 1970's photos of farmland you will see mostly trucks and tractors.

If you look at railroad stations and trackside industry photos from the 1960's and 1970's you will notice many Sedans and Wagons.

It depends on when and where you look.

Are you modeling the subburbs or the area next to the railroad right of way?

Results will vary.

Andrew

[Anonymous]

The ratio of cars to small trucks is definitely higher for trucks these days then it has ever been.  50-60 years ago the truck percentage was small given that trucks were generally used as commercial vehicles and SUV's were almost non-exisitant ( OK, there was the Willy's Jeepster).  I guess it matters what era you're modeling and how prototypical you want to be when it comes to populating your layout with vehicles.

Bruce Webster

[cbq9911a]

In my neighborhood (NW Chicago suburbs) the ratio is about 1 pickup truck/SUV to every 4 cars/passenger vans.

Both BMWs and Mercedes-Benzes outnumber Cadillacs by about 4 to 1.

[palallin]

The ratio is not constant over time:  the high numbers of pick-ups is a modern phenomenon.  In the transition period, the sight of a pickup in an urban or suburban area would have been quite rare.  Even in rural areas, light-duty pickups were not as common as cars.  Earlier, pick-ups were almost non-existant (compared to cars) in any but rural areas.  The sport truck was an innovation of the late '60s, but even as late as 1969, Chevrolet built fewer than 5,000 4x4, 1/2 ton pickups in a model year.  Recently, the best selling car has been a truck, but that trend is by no means an old one.

[Roger Bielen]

It is probably a function of location, rural vs urban, and size of the town.  In a modern urban setting suv's and pick-ups would probably dominate, with a Benz in the driveway, since they are a current yuppie trend rather than a work vehicle.

[CSXect]

Here in Columbus Ohio just about every house has at least two pickups. Does your layout reflect the real life ratio of trucks vs. cars in your area or is it a matter of preference of one over the other?

As I have no layout yet I can only guess at about 7 trucks and a dozen cars in 1:64 and 1:43 combined.