The Coolest 80s & 90s Pickup Trucks
Totally Rad(wood)
There’s just something about a pickup from the 1980s or 1990s.
It felt like designers were simultaneously making them lighter and more capable while also integrating wild and occasionally bizarre elements that sometimes had them looking like a truck had a baby with a DeLorean. Today, car fans call them “
Radwood era,” due to the popular Texas car show of that era.
Here are some of the funnest, coolest, and weirdest trucks from the 80s and 90s.
1987 Ford F-Series Bigfoot Cruiser
The Bigfoot Cruiser was one of the results of a collab with Bigfoot’s Bob Chandler, meant to pay homage to monster trucks in all their glory. Sadly, a lot of these were recalled and had winches and roll bars taken out—but not all of them, and one with its OG features intact does occasionally come to market.
1991 Dodge Ram 250 LE Cummins Turbo Diesel
Talk about making a splash. Dodge considered a few collaborations for the '91 Ram before settling on a partnership with Cummins, hoping the inclusion of their turbocharged diesel engines would attract some new buyers.
They had no idea what they were in for. The trucks were so popular that they had to stop taking orders!
GMC Syclone (1991-1993)
While the Syclone didn’t really move the needle during its time in production, it’s since become something of an automotive cult classic. This sports car-meets-truck had big power. It featured a turbocharged 4.
3-liter V6, which produced 280 horsepower at 4,400 rpm and 350 lb-ft of torque at 3,600 rpm. GMC claimed the Syclone had a sub-five-second zero-to-60-mph time—nearly unheard of for the era.
1990 Chevrolet 454 SS
One design feature that is absolutely characteristic of the 1990s is the blacked-out special edition—and the 454 SS is one of the best examples of it. Not only was this truckonly offered in onyx black for its 1990 and 1991 models, it also featured a blacked-out grille…all the better to make that red logo at the center pop.
