Detroit Auto Show 2016: Top pickup trucks at the annual vehicle exhibition

The new four-door Ford Raptor, Honda's completely reimagined Ridgeline and a rather aggressive Nissan concept were among the pickup truck stars at this year's North American International Auto Show.

For car fans that live beyond North America's borders, it can be easy to see why owing a pickup could be ‘cool' but hard to comprehend exactly how popular or important the pickup truck is to the American way of life. Ford's 2015 sales figures show that it sold 780,354 F-150 pickups in the US alone. That makes it America's most popular vehicle of any type, for 34 years running.

1. Honda Ridgeline

This love is why Honda chose Detroit, the F-150's heartland to unveil its new pickup, the Ridgeline. It promises to challenge conventional thinking in the sector and bring new features to the US mid-size four-door pickup truck.

"We are bringing our unique technology and original thinking to the market in a new and challenging concept for a Honda pickup," said John Mendel, executive vice president of American Honda Motor Co., Inc. "We think we've got a better idea, a truck that uses its unibody construction and Honda packaging magic to deliver more of the things that many of today's truck customers want and need with none of the things they don't."

According to Honda, those things include an in-bed audio system.

But, away from the gimmicks, the truck boasts a lot of cabin space and the widest load bed in class; plus some serious performance in terms of acceleration, handling and off-road performance -- at least it did until Ford did some unveiling of its own.

2. Ford F-150 Raptor

Ford's new F-150 Raptor SuperCrew takes everything that's unbelievable about the Raptor -- remarkable speed and off-road racing performance -- but adds enough space so that four, rather than two, can enjoy the spills and thrills.

"F-150 Raptor means superior off-road capability, from rock crawling to sand running," said Dave Pericak, Ford Performance global director. "With the addition of SuperCrew, F-150 Raptor customers can leave the pavement behind -- without sacrificing comfort and space."

3. Nissan Titan Warrior Concept

At last year's Detroit show, Nissan unveiled its Titan XD pickup and a year later, it's back as the base for a new show car -- the Titan Warrior Concept -- that suggests it wants to give the Raptor a run for its money.

"Truck buyers have a seemingly insatiable appetite for more content and more unique offerings," said José Muñoz, executive vice president, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. "We are already exploring new territory where Titan might go in the future."

The Warrior offers huge amounts of torque thanks to a 5-liter V8 turbodiesel engine and the exterior is designed to look and behave like a suit of armor. Under that protection is a custom suspension system with performance ball joints and even coil over shocks.