Trend-Spotting: New 2020 Trucks Meet, Exceed, and Set New Expectations

Here’s a prediction that will astonish absolutely nobody: pickup trucks are going to be around for quite a while. Like, a good, loooong while. Longer than the new Scorcese movie’s running time. Longer than Billy Ray Cyrus’ glorious 1992 mullet, the ends of which flirted with entanglement in his belt buckle. Even longer than the line for a 2019 Popeye’s chicken sandwich.

But that’s not to say that the pickup truck is a static character in our national automotive story. Far from it. Styles change, demands change, and trends keep the pickup’s DNA in a state of perpetual mutation. Sometimes we see these sea-changing trends coming. Sometimes we’re completely blindsided. And sometimes, we can get a little ahead of ourselves, a little too riled up about something that may never really come to fruition.

But ultimately, all this really tells us about ourselves is that we’re obsessed with our trucks.

We’re nuts about what the new ones will be able to do better. We lament the stagnation that some of our favorites are languishing in. And we wring our hands about how they will pay homage to the models that came before them.

Past is prologue. In a generation or so, the idea of Apple CarPlay may carry with it the same hilarity as an 8-track in the dashboard does for us now. But never forget, our aunts and uncles couldn’t wait to pay extra for that high-tech sound system, pop in a Bay City Rollers tape and cruise to the Dairy Queen with wind in their feathered hair, thumping “Shang-a-Lang” all the way down the block loud enough to make the neighbors shake their heads and weep for the future.

There are a few trends on the horizon that give us that same kind of excitement for the lineup of new 2020 trucks. Because no matter what next year’s trucks look like, simply being new will never go out of style.

A Trend We’re Expecting: Midsize Redesign of 2020 Nissan Frontier

The Nissan faithful (who are an increasingly nervous bunch these days) have been looking to the horizon for any news about the 2020 Frontier. Whoever coined the phrase, “No news is good news,” clearly did not own a Nissan pickup truck. Because year after year of no news has left them without a full redesign since the 2005(!) model year, and without a legitimate refresh since 2009.

Yet despite a lapse in innovation, and the retirement of its popular platform-mate, the Xterra (R.I.P.), the Frontier has managed to remain competitive in sales, even nipping at the heels of the reborn Ford Ranger. But 2020 promises to be the big year when things finally happen, as executives vow that a total redesign is coming—and it’s coming now.

The 2020 Nissan Frontier will usher in the third generation of the popular midsizer. With the return of the Jeep Gladiator and the aforementioned Ranger, along with the sustained success of trucks like the Honda Ridgeline, Toyota Tacoma, and Chevy Colorado, it is imperative that Nissan bring its A-game to a segment that grows more crowded with each passing model year. And the A-game is just what Nissan has planned: a shock and awe of a redesign that will go far beyond an upgrade or a carryover from last generation.

Healthy Competition

Some automakers may plan to stay the course with their successful pickups this year, like the Toyota Tacoma, for example. Don’t get us wrong—there’s plenty new to be excited about on the 2020 Tacoma. The tech updates are substantial, with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay newly available, a power-adjustable driver’s seat and power lumbar support. Amazon Alexa capability, multiple camera systems, and larger touchscreens across the board are all useful touches as well.

There are even some minor changes in the way of styling, with new grille designs, and new LED headlights available with some models. Substantial changes, indeed, but not a wild departure from last year’s offering, and no big news for the powertrain. You would probably need to be pretty well-acquainted with the tribe of Taco-faithful to notice the newness.

Mum’s the Word

The Tacoma brand is still riding high off of that heavy 2016 refresh, which is fair enough. But the Nissan Frontier has no such recent innovation laurels upon which to rest. So, this year, expect a swing for the fences in terms of new looks, tech, and ideas.

We’re not quite sure where or exactly when the 2020 Frontier will reveal itself to the world at large. Everything from styling to engine offerings, is still a mystery. But an upgrade from the current power sources is a relative certainty. And, whatever happens in 2020, we’re ready for a full-size shakeup in the midsize truck world when it does.

Trends Exceeding Our Expectations: Volkswagen Atlas Tanoak Concept

What started as a concept vehicle might, just might, become Volkswagen’s first production truck in decades. With the VW Atlas crossover SUV as its base, real consideration has been given to the Tanoak to compete with the flourishing Honda Ridgeline, at a price point more feasible to everyday drivers who need a pickup in their day-to-day lives.

It is quite possible that there’s never been a better time to be a truck borne of a concept vehicle. In 2015, Hyundai brought the Santa Cruz to the Detroit Auto Show as a concept, and in 2021 it will go into production, available for purchase sometime later that year.

This must have served as some sort of inspiration to the minds at VW over the last 18 months. Not because the Tanoak and the Santa Cruz are so similar. They don’t look very alike at all, in fact. But because Volkswagen and Hyundai dealerships are non-conventional places to go looking for pickups. (And smaller, unibody jobs, at that.)

But as the Gladiators and the Rangers of the world continue to make the standard pickup trucks of the world less and less financially attainable for the average American, are we looking at the future of the real working man’s truck?

Thinking Outside the Box

“Life, uh, finds a way”, says Jeff Goldblum’s rockstar scientist character in Jurassic Park. Trucks as we know them will live on, despite new fiscal hurdles to ownership. But do you know what else always finds a way? Red-blooded, blue collar construction workers. And natural selection will be favorable to those smart enough to save ten grand on a pickup truck, even if it means going with a smaller one from a less-lauded truck brand and using the aftermarket to make up the difference in capability.

At any rate, the Volkswagen Atlas Tanoak could be a very big deal if we see it come to fruition. If it does, it will almost certainly be sporting a brand-new power source (the original concept was a diesel).

A spokesperson for VW asserts that should the Tanoak’s production get a thumbs up, the starting price would have to be at or below $28,000. That’s more than $3,000 less than a bone stock Ridgeline (which can be over 40k when well-equipped), and nearly $4,000 below the base-level Atlas S, with which the Tanoak would share a platform. Easily done? Of course not. Possible? We certainly hope so.

Trends Setting New Expectations: F-150 Electrification

Elon Musk’s new Tesla Cybertruck garnered every single headline on the entire internet for a week in November for its now-infamous debut demonstration. And also, for the fact that it looks like an evil roller-skate designed by a neo-brutalist architect with a mescaline problem. Jokes and memes and gifs and reaction videos tore the poor thing to shreds for a fortnight. And yet, the line to buy one wraps clear around the country.

Why? Because electric vehicles aren’t going anywhere. There are dogs that have learned this fact by now. And Ford is an automotive giant among automotive giants, so it’s no surprise to anyone with a semi-functional frontal lobe that they would be jumping headfirst toward hybrids and electric vehicles, the clear-cut future of the industry.

The surprise is not that Ford Trucks would be messing around with electric and hybrid powertrains. The surprise is what they’re choosing as their jumping off point: the world-beating Ford F-150.

Ford cares about trucks. A LOT. Apart from the iconic Mustang, trucks and SUVs are the only vehicles that they produce these days. The success or failure of Ford Trucks is, for all intents and purposes, the success or failure of the Ford Motor Company. So, we can be certain that Ford is completely sold on the electrification of the future of their brand when they’re using the year-after-year best-selling vehicle in the entire country (by an enormous margin) to get the ball rolling.

Bipartisan Vehicle Design

We think that there is some line in the sand, and that modern-day truck makers are on one side or the other. Over here we have the Teslas and the Rivian R1Ts and the automotive hippie-elite, with their compostable trucks that run on air and used Birkenstocks, eating vegan cheese in tiny houses and doodling Elizabeth Warren’s name on their binders. And over there are traditional trucks, the Fords and Chevys and RAMs, guzzling fossil fuels at breakneck speed while their owners yell at televised auto races and spit Skoal juice into a Mountain Dew bottle.

But the world isn’t really like that. Some people want to yell at sporting events and eliminate their carbon footprint as much as they can. And some hippies love a cold 2-liter of Code Red. And in the real world—where we all actually live—that is who these upcoming F-150s are going to be for.

Ford’s Betting Big

We can expect to see a hybrid model by the end of 2020, and Ford brass has hinted that we could have a fully electric F-150 as soon as 2021. Stalwarts needn’t worry, though. There are no plans to give gas and diesel versions the boot at any time in the future.

Ford could have easily created a whole new model with a whole new name, and built its company’s electric future from scratch. But the fact it chose the F-150 and the iconic Ford Mustang to be the at the forefront of this new technology shows a commitment to integrating electric vehicles into the lineup for the foreseeable future, while tying them into the brand’s legendary past. And quite simply, that’s a great place for an age-old favorite to get a brand-new start.

What do you think about the new 2020 trucks? Yes, no, maybe so? Let us know in the comments.