I've happily carried plenty of lumber and even full sheets of plywood/drywall with my Civic. It fits 10' lengths inside, and sheets on the roof. What it lacks is capacity, and convenience for sheet stock. Recently I've gotten into towing trailers (on a light SUV), which seems like a great capability for the times that I need to transport more at once. If you're transporting large things frequently, I get the utility of a truck. But most truck owners aren't hauling anywhere near that much.

FWIW after reading the other thread specifically about home backup power, I was thinking this new F-150 sounds interesting. But then reading this whole product page and coming to "automatic software updates" I remembered why new vehicles are non-starters for me. I'd rather keep dealing with gasoline than resigning myself to surveillance culture.