I'd buy three

P

Petrol & Powder

Well-Known Member
richhodg66 said:
if they were available here.
Click to expand...

Yep, there's the rub. From the article:
"....And no, there are no plans to sell this truck in the United States,......"

The base model has a 2 liter 4 cylinder and manual gear box driving the rear axle.
Diesel and 4WD are options, along with just about everything else.

It's a great concept and not availble in the U.S.A.

Sort of like the diesel Hi-Lux, great truck, can't get it in the U.S.A.
 
Tomme boy

Tomme boy

Well-Known Member
Thailand has HIGH import fees and taxes. It is like 200% of what the price it is. Thats why they keep production there. And there are not a whole lot of different vehicles there.

The truck market is HUGE! Most are all diesels. Racing is very popular there and the Thai people race just about anything. I mean it it is crazy. They race garden tillers!!!! They stand a skid and let the auger pull them forward.
 
hporter

hporter

Active Member
Could you imagine what this one might do to the Jeep market? I see jacked up Toyota 4 Runners and Tacoma's all over Houston with the snorkels, climbing ladders on the headache racks and the huge tires. The off-road crowd would go nuts over something like this.

Screen Shot 2023-11-08 at .png
I was sad that Toyota let the FJ series die. I might have bought one, but I still love my old 1988 FJ62 too much to let it go.

But something like this would interest me very much. I think of the increasing size of the base Toyota Tacomas as an evolution of the product line in the wrong direction. I bought a new double cab Tacoma in 2001, and it got around 16 mpg. My Tundra gets 15 mpg. It seems absurd that the "small" truck can't do better than that.
 
Last edited:
P

Petrol & Powder

Well-Known Member
The complexity required for the U.S. market is a big part of the problem. And my use of the word “required” is correct because there’s a lot of legislation that gets between the manufacturers and the customers. The manufacturers are happy to build simple vehicles and there is unquestionably a customer base that would buy those simple vehicles, but mountains of regulations stand between those two groups.
 
Axman

Axman

Active Member
We’ve got a 2020 Hyundai Tuscan,
My wife’s mom passed and her dad gave it to her.
It’ll alarm when you stop fast.
Radar for passing cars.

The other day I was driving and something dinged and a coffee cup picture took the place of the digital speedometer and said Maybe need a break.
It never came in on my 16hr drive to Oklahoma a while back though.
I swear that’s why more wrecks occur as people are trying to figure out all the damn buttons.

Give me a brand new 84 Toyota long bed and I’d be So happy.
 
R

richhodg66

Well-Known Member
Petrol & Powder said:
The complexity required for the U.S. market is a big part of the problem. And my use of the word “required” is correct because there’s a lot of legislation that gets between the manufacturers and the customers. The manufacturers are happy to build simple vehicles and there is unquestionably a customer base that would buy those simple vehicles, but mountains of regulations stand between those two groups.
Click to expand...
OK, honest question, could you expound on that please? Other than safety and emissions requirements, what regulations get in the way of selling simpler vehicles? I have always figured the reason we don't have things like this here is that Americans, by and large, are hedonistic status seekers and they simply wouldn't sell. It never occured to me that governmental legislation might be to blame (though it wouldn't surprise me, government seems to screw up everything).
 
P

Petrol & Powder

Well-Known Member
Third brake light

Child seat anchors

Air bags – dozens of them

Emissions controls, and not just exhaust. Look at the fuel system.

Crash test requirements

Low speed bumper crash requirements

A/C refrigerant requirements

Marker light requirements

Door latch crash worthiness requirements

Corporate Average Fuel Economy [CAFÉ] standards

Warning labels – everywhere

Anti-theft systems whether you want them or not

The list goes on for pages

Look at a basic Toyota truck sold in Africa or Asia and you'll see what can be made to work without a lot of extra stuff.
 
Last edited:
T

Thumbcocker

Active Member
My first new vehicle was a 1990 Nissan truck. 4 cylinder, 5 speed, 27 mpg, haul 1000 pounds pretty well. When I was truck shopping in 2020 I asked multiple car dealers whatever happened to the basic trucks like my Nissan. To a man they said they could sell a boatload of basic trucks if they could get them.
 
Rick H

Rick H

Well-Known Member
I remember reading, way back when the average cost of a new car was $20K, that over $10,000 of the cost was due to government mandates. Now many of those mandates might be desirable and you might want them on your car/truck but you don't have a choice.

That said, I have never understood the appeal of a Toyota Taco, the only truck ever confiscated by dealers because the whole frame rotted away in record time. I drive a Chevy Colorado 4x4. Not great but, it gets 5 mpg better mileage than the Taco and I can blow the doors off of them. Ride comfort is better too. I am not a hard core off roader/rock climbing guy, but it gets me into the two tracks/snow and ice covered mountain roads of Michigan's UP just fine. If all the Taco's get is 15 mpg, I get that while towing a 3000lb boat and trailer. 22-24+ on the highway at 75 mph depending on weather, 18 around town. Did I say it has 306 HP without a turbo? So far I have owned the Colorado for 8 years. Just put the first set of tires on it (originals went 63000 miles), had one brake job, one AC compressor and replaced the original battery (just in case) Monday.

Yes the new trucks are too darn complicated to work on myself. I am sure there is a market for a less expensive smaller truck. Ford can't build Maverick's fast enough.

I wanted to like the Taco. Test drove two of them, priced them. I was really disappointed. I couldn't see spending more money for 2/3 of the truck.
 
Last edited:
Bret4207

Bret4207

At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.
Rick H said:
That said, I have never understood the appeal of a Toyota Taco, the only truck ever confiscated by dealers because the whole frame rotted away in record time.
Click to expand...
Because you didn't own any of the much earlier ones before the frame debacle came along. I had 2 early 90's, a '90 and '91. Put over 300K on both in an era where a US brand would die at 150K, if it lasted that long. Those were the vehicles and the era that made Toys rep. I put a (1) cast radiator pipe on one of my Toys and outside of bakes and tires that was literally the only needed repairs I made. Rust finally killed both of them, but that was a NYS issue and the fact that while I tried spraying old motor oil onto the underside I didn't know to get inside the frame and body panels and the oil wasn't that great in the first place.

I'd but one of these $10K Toys if I could get 4wd, preferably and auto for my old knees and a diesel for the economy. But you can't sell a new common sense truck like that here due gov't mandates another poster listed above. Just as you can't sell any of the "Kei" mini pickups for on road use in many states. It's sheer stupidity IMO.
 
Last edited:
RicinYakima

RicinYakima

High Steppes of Eastern Washington
Also, get rid of the oversized fat tires, reduce the height 12 inches, never put "accessories" on your truck and two wheel drive with posi-trac. My 2006 Ram Hemi gets 20+ MPG going down the road at 55 MPH and 15 around town with 188,000 miles on it.
 
P

Petrol & Powder

Well-Known Member
I have owned, operated, and worked on both full-size American trucks and the smaller Japanese imports. My current truck is a 20-year-old Tacoma with a 4 cylinder, 5 speed manual and 4WD. I wouldn’t sell that Toyota for twice what I paid for it.

When I needed full sized American trucks, I owned them. I no longer need all that truck and much prefer the smaller Tacoma. I don’t tow boats and trailers. I don’t haul firewood, gravel, or huge amounts of lumber anymore. I just don’t need or want all that extra truck. It isn’t the fuel mileage (although the Tacoma gets 20-22 MPG). It’s the economy and convenience of a small workhorse. It’s cheap and easy to maintain. It’s easy to park. It fits in places in the woods that a big truck can’t go. The off-road and snow capability is top notch. It’s super reliable and the taxes on it are low (Virginia charges a yearly personal property tax on vehicles).

The older, little Japanese trucks are NOT for everyone and I’m OK with that. If you need or want a full-size truck, you’re in luck – there’s no shortage of them. But don’t disparage the little Japanese Freightliners, they are far more pragmatic than you think. I’ve seen plenty of Toyota’s go 300K and do it with little effort.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.