Quote:
Originally Posted by GOPAPA
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With the introduction of the 1973 model year, we realized that 1972 was the end of an era for all American cars and trucks. The series of Chevy trucks that was produced from 1967 to 1972 was popular for many reasons.
These were real trucks. They didn't pretend to be big cars. (That came later.)
1972 was "the last of the all-steel trucks", since interiors were almost completely covered with plastic starting with the '73 trucks. The trend was for the industry to produce trucks that provided the comfort and luxury found in full-size cars, with power windows being offered for the first time in Chevrolet trucks.
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IMO, the late 70's was the end of an era. Post 80's was all about aerodynamics and efficiency.
72's actually started the trend in plastic inner door panels. IMO, the trend towards the popularity of car comfort and ease of driving features actually started in the mid 60's ( around '66 ). Ford came out with the "Ranger Package", GMC came out with the "Sports Trim Package" Chevy a year later with the "CST Package". It is common fare to find a '67-'72 pickup with power steering, power brakes automatic and air conditioning which were very rare just a few years earlier. Chevy pickup ads in '67 clearly state they have gotten away from the "truck look" , many styling hues of the '67 pickup came from the '66 Oldsmobile. IMO, '73 styling got back to the truck look that they lost in '66. Mechanically, there were several refinements during the '67-'72 era that got better with each passing year which added to durability and reliability.