Pickup trucks, SUVs rule global market
Grande Prairie, Alberta is a petroleum and agriculture-dominant city about 300 miles northwest of Edmonton. Winter driving is brutal. Citizens and seasonal oil field workers mostly rely on pickup trucks or sport utility vehicles. A few years ago, when visiting the city for several days during the late summer Tour of Alberta, the now-defunct professional cycling event, I re-enacted a version of the old family vacation game. But instead of counting license plates from different states, I counted vehicles. On two early morning runs with temperature in the mid-30s, I categorized the first 25 vehicles viewed. Combined, 43 of the 50 were pick-ups or SUVs. The roads were icy and muddy, potholes plentiful. Driving a heavy, all-wheel-drive vehicle made sense.
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