Out here in Wonder Lake, an hour-and-a-half from Chicago, for many, the essence of cool is a pickup truck. It’s been that way for years. But is it still true? Are pickups still the ride of the in crowd? 

Of course, pickups make sense out here in what some from Chicago would call, “The Sticks.” The bed of that truck does more than come in handy; it’s a downright necessity for many owners of pickup trucks. 

Often, the pickup is one of the tools that a tradesman relies on in the performance of his/her job. Materials for the job are carried in back. Tools are often found in locked boxes back there. And it’s entirely feasible that they would have a ladder rack installed so they can get the ladders they need out to the job with them.

Farmers in the Wonder Lake and McHenry County area carry all kinds of things in the backs of their pickups. A tractor breaks down in the field and they run out to get parts to get the tractor running again; you’ll probably find those parts in the back of the pickup.

Of course, we’ve all seen pickups carrying bails of hay. They don’t usually carry that much hay, but they’ll do in a pinch, won’t they?

If you’re son or daughter is moving into a new apartment, no doubt, you’ll be loading up the pickup for multiple trips with furniture and more. You order an appliance from an area appliance store, and you’ll probably load it up in the back of your pickup.

These are all jobs that a good pickup can handle with ease. And it’s darn cool that you can use the same pickup truck for carrying any number of things during the day, and then go out to dinner on a date night with your wife/husband, girlfriend/boyfriend. 

Pickup trucks come with all the comforts of a car today and have done so for quite some time. The suspensions are better than in pickups from days gone by. In some ways, if you closed your eyes, you’d find it hard to tell the difference between the family car and a pickup truck going down a moderately rough road.

There’s no doubt that you’re stylin’ in a pickup. You’re making a fashion statement. And yet pickups are cool in other ways – towing stuff.

Your pickup can tow a trailer with a tractor, or they can tow a tractor with snowmobiles or jet skis. They can pull a horse trailer or a boat. They can even tow a motorhome if you want to get away.

There are only two ways that a pickup truck may not prove the coolest of the cool in your Wonder Lake neighborhood; gas mileage isn’t exactly a strongpoint for pickups. Of the 2021 pickups listed in fueleconomy.gov, the best gas mileage you’ll see is 24 mpg. Some only get 12 mpg. The rest are somewhere in between.

The only other drawback to owning a pickup is the tradition of having friends ask to borrow your pickup to move a sofa, a washing machine or simply to move. And when it’s simply to move, how often will they assume you come along with the pickup to help?

Still, in Wonder Lake, it’s tough to beat a pickup for pure cool.