Will Toyota ever make a true 1/4 ton again?

Well, they are not full size either. In 2012 I went from a GMC (full size) to a Tacoma Access Cab. I drove the GMC for 13 years and 165,000 miles with no problems what-so-ever, but the paint was shot, the interior worn, AC mediocre, and I wanted 4WD. I like the Tacoma but miss the upright seating of the full size truck and actually got slightly better fuel mileage on the old GMC with the 5.3L V8 motor than the 4.0 V6 in the Tacoma. Of course I now have a lifted 4x4 instead of a tired 2WD.

Toyota cannot justify building a smaller truck unless they stop building the current Tacoma, and it is still selling like hotcakes.

 

I'd love it if Toyota'd come out with something along the lines of their 80's trucks for dimensions and stance, with modern styling.
Plus all the awesome bells and whistles you get today, like power windows, locks, air conditioning, etc. Not to mention locking diffs and electronic traction wizardry...

And while I'm dreaming, they could put a diesel engine in it, and stuff the glovebox with c-notes when you bought it.

 

The majority of people buy new Tacoma's because its a midsize 4 door with a bed. Its way more practical than getting a van or SUV. I would be the first to be in line to buy a retro anniversary 1st gen re-release, but the production cost would be way too much for Toyota to make a profit.

Scion is supposedly going to introduce a truck like model in 2015. More than likely it will look like a mini Ridgeline than a cab/bed on frame truck.

 

When I brought my '13 home, I still had my '04 in the driveway and everyone was telling me they destroyed the Tacoma by making it so much bigger... if you took a tape measure I think you'd be surprised how close they are. The front looks so much bigger because they boxed it out. I can tell you this... the beds are exactly the same length, but the 2nd gen is 4" narrower than my 1st gen. Really bummed me out for my canoe rack.

 

I was looking into the bed sizes as well. Like I said, the 2nd gens have grown on me over time but more because they have to. I was looking up specs trying to justify things and found myself saying that maybe a little more space would be nice for on the road and hauling things. Then I noticed people saying the bed size on the 2nd gen is actually slightly smaller than the 1st gen because of how it's molded inside. That seems like a real bummer to me. If I'm stuck with a physically bigger exterior than I would expect a bigger interior including bed space. My grizzly 700 barley fits in my truck now.

 

I would buy one as soon as they came out. I have a 1986 short wheel base 4WD Toyota truck and a 2004 Tacoma 4WD (crew cab). I love both of these trucks. When the 2005 Tacoma came out I was hugely disappointed that they had made them so big. So I looked for about a month until I found a 2004 like I wanted. It had 20,000 miles on it. Now it has 190,000 miles and is running like a top. However, I would like a new one, but I refuse to buy a big truck. I'll wait for a while and if Toyota doesn't come to their senses and release a smaller version then I'll buy whatever is out there.

I bought my old '86 Yoda in 1998. It only had 30,000 miles on it and was equipped with a winch, boat rack, and huge tires. That truck can go places in the river bottoms that no other 4WD truck can go because with those huge tires it almost floats. It has 90,000 HARD miles on it now and is still kicking.

 

its the NTSB safety regulations that are making the 1/4 tons obsolete, it would cost more to build them smaller because smaller lighter trucks cant meet the ridiculous crash test standards they impose on them