Small pickup nostalgia and why they are gone

Ohhh, I forgot about the Scamp/Rampage. Good call. I used to work with a girl that had a Subaru Baja and a Harley Davidson edition F-150. The joke of did you drive your Subaru pick-up or drive your hog to work never got old... never got old to me at least. I think she hated me in retrospect.

 

This truck would need to hit 47 MPG to meet modern standards for sale in the US today. The CAFE standards are written by American auto maker lobbyists as a hidden import tax on small import vehicles to artificially force the market into larger vehicles where they can compete. It is artificial market protectionism written by and for large American auto makers.

 

Sounds about typical.

Isn't that how Harley Davidson managed to hang on to dear life instead of getting ran over by the Asian bike manufacturers

 

I wonder if it’s different for passenger cars? They’re are some pretty small ones out there.

 

I miss my small trucks...between two of them they lasted 38 years. The first was an '85 Dodge Ram (Mitsubishi) D50 4WD from 1985-2007. It only had 142k on it, but it was mainly a work truck and those were very hard miles. No real mechanical problems, but the body was in pretty bad shape and it's 2.0l started bypassing enough oil where I couldn't get it to pass inspection. The second from 2007-2023 was a 2004 Tacoma bought with 35k and ended up with 370k. Amazing vehicle. I've got a '23 now - thus far, great truck

 

IMO my second gen Tacoma is waayy too big. I only use mine when I need to do truck like things, the rest of the time it just sits. Then I discovered KEI trucks and I want one.

They are available to import from Japan after they are 25 years old. They are perfect for what I do which is run down to the local big box home stores and the dump. They have tiny engines and get amazing gas milage. The cherry on top is the bed is more usable than a Tacoma and the load capacity is about the same.

This will trigger some people so turn away if practical EV's bother you. I'd buy this in a heartbeat if it were available. (it's not likely to ever be made, but a guy can dream can't he?) Since it's electric the EPA requirements get thrown out the window. It's the only way I'm ever going to get a small, modern truck. However I'm not holding my breath.

 

My first "car" was a Rampage in the mid-80s. All-in, it lasted less than seven years IIRC. That thing rotted faster than any vehicle I have ever seen.

Black with black vinyl. Atrocious four speed manual. Crank windows. AM radio and heat.

 

Check your state and local laws before you buy a KEI truck. You cannot title and licence plate them in many if not most states and some will not even let you ORV sticker them. Really really greedy and stupid IMO, but "our" control freak so called lawmakers are owned by big money special interest groups. If you didn't need to use any 70+ MPH highways a KEI truck would be a perfect low cost option for millions of people. And they last forever. So of course, they're not allowed.



.

 

you should definitely read into the legal battles going on over kei trucks. this article is specifically about Massachusetts spontaneously banning them, but has links to the battles in other states as well.
https://www.theautopian.com/massach...s-from-japan-without-telling-enthusiasts-why/

specifically, i'm in indiana, which is one of the very few places that passed a law almost immediately after the trucks started showing up to be legal for road use, and has a dedicated 'mini-truck' plate. but the stranglehold the AAMVA has on the vehicle titling world has me more than a little gun-shy of plopping down even $4k on a a mode of transportation that very well could at any point in the next 0-5 years revoke my road-worthiness eligibility, and i end up with a large functional paperweight... i'd much rather spend $20k on random US-legal beaters that get me through a single winter season each than be stuck with something i really love and get it spontaneously taken away over what amounts to clerical issues.


i'm still trying to keep my ear to the ground on alpha. i'm definitely watching for the wolf. it looks like it's proceeding as it should, but being such a new start-up, anything is really possible. the good news is that they're still active.
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-rel...-introduces-base-model-details-302097989.html

the bad news is the reality that their base model is nearly $40k, likely closer to $45k-50k after all the fees and taxes needed for a new vehicle, and that's an extremely steep price to pay for a tiny two-seater vehicle, electric or not.

 

Yep, states are banning them without the grandfather clause so OK one day and illegal tomorrow. Total bullshit, but being in the formerly great state of Michigan I am used to living in a third world banana republic.



.

 

it's funny for michigan to even ban them, they'll likely rot out in another 4 years anyways...

 

My state allows them, for now. Lord knows my state legislature is for sale to the highest bidder. Out of one side of their mouth they'll make all the right noises to keep the voters voting for them. Out of the other side they lick the boots of our corporate overlords.

 

I could put that in my back pocket, lol. You're right, it would be cool for "errands".

 

Ford stopped selling the old Ranger, which was the closest thing to the compact trucks of the 90s, because people weren't buying them.

Everyone and their brother with a Tacoma that says they would rather have an actual compact truck are full of it, in my opinion. People like to blame government regulations and the EPA, but the money talks.

 

I sold my 2nd Gen Tundra and bought a 1st Gen Tacoma.
But I don't have any brothers...

 

I have the closest Tacoma to a compact truck (single cab) and am very happy with it, would definitely buy it again. The 2 times I've rented a larger Tacoma or similar vehicle in recent years I've said "nice to borrow but way more than I ever would use or need"

 

Yes, the requirements for passenger cars is significantly higher, like ~25% (higher or lower depending on footprint).

 

Kie trucks 10000%
Have had mine and used it for a daily driver for about a year and a half.
South Carolina is a lawless state when it comes to vehicles, so barring anything on the federal level (25 year rule), you can register anything.

 

I keep hearing some snippets here and there about Toyota coming out with a small pickup called Stout...
not sure if it's just a rumor...

 

Toyota Stout