Since the late 1990s, dekotora have been heavily influenced by the art of Gundam. In those days, ready-made parts for trucks were not easily available, so these trucks freely utilised parts from sightseeing buses or US military vehicles.
It is possible that the movie was an attempt to popularise these kinds of trucks. While dekotora were present throughout the 1970s, before the movie they were restricted to the north-eastern fishing transport trucks. This movie was a big hit with both old and young, and caused a wave of dekotora popularity to sweep the country. In 1975, Toei released the first entry in a series of 10 movies called Torakku Yaro (Truck Guys) that featured as the protagonist a trucker who drove his garishly decorated truck all over Japan. They are sometimes also referred to as Art Trucks.
Dekotora may be created by workers out of their work trucks for fun, or they may be designed by hobbyists for special events.
Commonly having neon or ultraviolet lights, extravagant paints, and shiny stainless or golden exterior parts, such decorations can be found on both on the exterior and the interior. The Dekotora or Decotora, an abbreviation for "decoration truck", is a type of extravagantly decorated truck in Japan.