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DETROIT -- How high can prices for high-end pick-up trucks go?

Right now, there's no end in sight.

Over the past several years designers have continued to push the limit, elevating the price of high-end pickups past $50,000 and then past $60,000. And that's just for the full-size pickups. The average price for most high-end versions of the larger heavy duty pickups exceed $70,000.

Today's top-of-the-line trucks have heated steering wheels, heated and cooled seats, aluminum wheels, along with all of the latest high-tech features such as rear-view cameras and blind spot monitoring systems — not to mention enough chrome to blind onlookers on a sunny day.

Every time Detroit's Big 3 automakers -- General Motors, Ford and Fiat Chrysler -- roll out a higher-level truck they discover there is even more demand than they anticipated, leading executives to predict the industry will continue to push the limit.

"Have we found the ceiling yet? I don't think so," said Stuart Pierce, marketing manager for the GMC Sierra.

In 2014, what a consumer paid for a car or truck sold in the U.S. hit a record high average of $32,386 — a 17.5% increase compared with 2004, according to Edmunds.com, while the average transaction prices for the entire pickup segment has risen to $40,696 over the same period, a 41.3% increase.


Doug Scott, Ford's truck group marketing manager, said many of the customers who are paying $50,000 or more for a pickup are paying even more for the horses or horse trailers that the truck is being used to tow.

"I think we can go higher," Scott said. "The customer that wants exclusivity. I definitely don't think this is the limit or the ceiling."

With no apparent limit to demand or a ceiling for a top-end price, it's not surprising to see automakers continuing to pursue more sales with ever more luxurious trucks. The profit margin for the average pickup truck is about $10,000 and it's much higher for the higher priced models.

Scott acknowledged that it doesn't cost much, in terms of product development or engineering, to pick out higher quality materials and tech features and add them to the already existing manufacturing process.

Still, Ram CEO Bob Hegbloom said automakers must be careful. The trucks have to exude both toughness and quality.

"You can't just put a higher price sticker on it," he said.

What, exactly, is a luxury pickup truck?

Depending on who you talk to, luxury pickups are defined as a pickup truck that costs either more than $40,000 or more than $50,000.

Some take issue with the term luxury truck, saying the truck owners seek to maintain the tough image a pickup projects.

"What we've learned from them is they really don't view them as luxury vehicles, because luxury starts to sound soft. So they really want to define them as premium and refined trucks," Pierce said.

Whatever they are called, each of the Detroit Three's truck brands has at least one high-end model.

Ford said last week it is bringing back the top-of-the-line Limited trim level of the F-150 for the 2016 model year, describing it as the "most advanced and luxurious truck ever."

The truck, which will go on sale this winter, will sell for more than $60,000. It has unique 22-inch aluminum wheels, a special grille and badging in places such as the tailgate.

Ford's luxury truck models also include the Ford F-150 Lariat, which starts at $39,310 and the Ford F-150 King Ranch, which starts at $49,120.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles sells the Ram 1500 Laramie that starts at $39,275 and the Ram 1500 Laramie Longhorn that starts at $47,185.

In addition, Ram announced last month that an updated version of its Ram 1500 Laramie Limited starts at $50,675.

The Laramie Limited includes Argento wood, all-black, full-leather seating, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, real wood interior components and unique badges that the company describes as a "black-tie" luxury alternative to the popular southwestern-themed Laramie Longhorn edition pickup.

Hegbloom said about 29% of Ram's light-duty pickups sold for $40,000 or more in 2009. Today, 67% of the brand's pickups sell for more than $40,000.

At GM, the top-of-the-line trucks include the GMC Sierra 1500 SLT that starts at $46,810, the GMC Sierra 1500 Denali that starts at $49,665 for two-wheel drive versions and the Chevrolet Silverado High Country that starts at $45,100 for two-wheel drive versions.

So far this year more than 50% of the GMC Sierra models sold were either Denali or SLT versions, Pierce said.

The Detroit Three got into trouble back in the late 1990s and 2000s when they became overly reliant on customers who were buying big SUVs and "lifestyle" pickup truck buyers who bought the trucks simply because they liked them. Those buyers, who rarely used the capability of their pickups, fled the segment as gas prices spiked and the recession hit.

But today's luxury pickup buyers are different than the lifestyle buyers of yesterday. The people who buy today's luxury pickups tend to be ranchers, horse owners or small-business owners, Hegbloom said.

Often, the buyer might be the owner of a small construction company and is buying a small fleet of trucks for the business but wants a high-end truck for personal use to set his truck apart from the others.

"These people go outdoors and enjoy the outdoor space and they want a vehicle that also portrays what they have accomplished," Hegbloom said.

Pierce said more than 60% of the buyers of a GMC Sierra 1500 Denali or Sierra 1500 SLT live in farming or rural areas.

"These are people who are using trucks," Pierce said.

During 2008, when gas prices zoomed past $4 per gallon, pickup truck sales slumped as some people opted for smaller cars.

Over the past year, gas prices have been relatively low and stable. Those low prices have given American consumers more discretionary income and have contributed to a decline in sales of small and alternative fuel cars. The fastest-growing vehicle segment in the U.S. are small and mid-sized crossovers.

Automakers say luxury pickup sales are less susceptible than they were in the past to gas prices. That's partly because they are more fuel efficient and also because the buyers are different.

"These are people who can't live without a pickup truck. I can't see them, the largest majority are not going to switch segments," Pierce said.