I’d have agreed around the turn of the century but it’s really hard to believe that’s driving the current sales boom. I see new trucks all the time - as part of the morning commute, loaded with frills which wouldn’t hold up in a work environment, and in pristine condition. The actual tradesmen are driving vans and older trucks because those cost half as much. There’s a huge construction sight near me, and the actual workers are arriving on bike, bus, or carpool in a sedan – except for two fancy trucks parked near the foreman’s office, which are pristine (not even mud) and always parked in the same spot morning, lunch, or afternoon.

Now, I live in a city so I’d discount that except that we’ve spent a lot of time driving through rural areas (my son loves railroads) and the same trend holds there, although less intense. You see the pretty rancher cosplay trucks in the rich exurbs, and then when you cross into actual farm or mining country you see a lot fewer of the $70+k new ones and more beat up old trucks which are clearly heavily used, and almost 90s levels of smaller cars because they’re so much cheaper.