Theres a reason first gen Tacoma’s are still over $20k for a decent one. and they usually have over 300k miles. Such a great sized, good driving, easy to work on little pickup. (Minus the stupid frame recall).
Everything made today is shit. So hold on to your 90s cars guys.
If you’re fine with a trailer, this would be a viable option. In Europe, almost nobody uses a truck and we still haul a lot of shit around. You’d be surprised what a sedan can pull.
This way you would only have the higher drag when really needing it and the low cost of a smaller car the rest of the time.
Lots of places like furniture, hardware and gardening stores will also just rent you a trailer. So you can just hook it up and carry your stuff home if you need to. And if you need it more often you can just buy your own trailer, they’re not even that expensive.
4 cylinder, 7ft bed, single cab with a bench seat. Gets around 20mpg, which honestly isn’t too shabby even by new truck standards.
Over the years it’s moved a lot of furniture, picked up a lot of bulky lumber and such from the hardware store, picked up a few decent sized loads of firewood, and generally done everything most normal people would need or want a truck for.
The bed is pretty low compared to modern trucks so it’s easy to load and unload, back it up to a curb and you can pretty step right off the sidewalk into the bed with the tailgate down
I have complaints about it, but they’re nothing most people couldn’t live with. It’s 0-60 time is probably best stated as “eventually,” especially if you’re carrying anything significant in the bed. And with no weight over those rear wheels it’s kind of shitty to drive on anything besides dry paved roads so 4wd would be nice. And of course after 30+ years it’s got some quirks and little things that are broken.
But if I could buy basically that exact same truck today, maybe as a hybrid or EV, I’d jump on it. I don’t need more performance, I’m not going to use it to haul a bed full of gravel or anything, we’ve never had to tow with it, and when I’ve towed with my own car it’s never been anything more substantial than a teardrop trailer that a Prius could probably just about handle if they came with a tow hitch.
I really like the maverick, it checks a lot of boxes for me and is overall pretty similar in size to my dad’s ranger but that short bed annoys me, I can’t fit a couch in that.
My brother had a 90s Toyota with a 5 speed and the full 8’ I believe. We did small town construction and it was perfect for general lumber/ladders/groceries/etc.
It also had suffered a bad repair job in a backyard shop at some point and would kind of shibby down the road a little sideways. Insanely reliable though.
That cab though lol I legit just want a single cab truck with no gimmicks, but “the market” all trends to “big car with bed” because they can mark up the price.
Much like seeing one of the new post trucks, it’s a fun game to point at “small” trucks and exclaim “look, normal-size truck!” It’s just sad that they’re getting rare enough to point them out.
Trucks started getting giant in 1991. The f350 was different than the f250 in one primary way, it was lifted 3 inches on blocks. The f series drove the height gain in trucks. The next super duty generation had like a 5 foot tall grill in 1998. And it was all uphill for truck sizing from there.
GM stayed smaller till ~2008. My 2001 3/4 chevy roofline is the same height as a new f150 hood. Its nuts.
I would like a small, pre-2012 truck that is just used for hauling shit I need to the house, like wood, pellets, feed, etc.
What I find are dick-measuring vehicles where you have to lean forward to ensure no pedestrians are in front.
Still searching…
This one is 2017, but I really like these. Probably don’t come with the driving experience of your dreams, but it’s a truck.
Theres a reason first gen Tacoma’s are still over $20k for a decent one. and they usually have over 300k miles. Such a great sized, good driving, easy to work on little pickup. (Minus the stupid frame recall).
Everything made today is shit. So hold on to your 90s cars guys.
If you’re fine with a trailer, this would be a viable option. In Europe, almost nobody uses a truck and we still haul a lot of shit around. You’d be surprised what a sedan can pull.
This way you would only have the higher drag when really needing it and the low cost of a smaller car the rest of the time.
Lots of places like furniture, hardware and gardening stores will also just rent you a trailer. So you can just hook it up and carry your stuff home if you need to. And if you need it more often you can just buy your own trailer, they’re not even that expensive.
My dad has a '93 Ford Ranger
4 cylinder, 7ft bed, single cab with a bench seat. Gets around 20mpg, which honestly isn’t too shabby even by new truck standards.
Over the years it’s moved a lot of furniture, picked up a lot of bulky lumber and such from the hardware store, picked up a few decent sized loads of firewood, and generally done everything most normal people would need or want a truck for.
The bed is pretty low compared to modern trucks so it’s easy to load and unload, back it up to a curb and you can pretty step right off the sidewalk into the bed with the tailgate down
I have complaints about it, but they’re nothing most people couldn’t live with. It’s 0-60 time is probably best stated as “eventually,” especially if you’re carrying anything significant in the bed. And with no weight over those rear wheels it’s kind of shitty to drive on anything besides dry paved roads so 4wd would be nice. And of course after 30+ years it’s got some quirks and little things that are broken.
But if I could buy basically that exact same truck today, maybe as a hybrid or EV, I’d jump on it. I don’t need more performance, I’m not going to use it to haul a bed full of gravel or anything, we’ve never had to tow with it, and when I’ve towed with my own car it’s never been anything more substantial than a teardrop trailer that a Prius could probably just about handle if they came with a tow hitch.
I really like the maverick, it checks a lot of boxes for me and is overall pretty similar in size to my dad’s ranger but that short bed annoys me, I can’t fit a couch in that.
My brother had a 90s Toyota with a 5 speed and the full 8’ I believe. We did small town construction and it was perfect for general lumber/ladders/groceries/etc.
It also had suffered a bad repair job in a backyard shop at some point and would kind of shibby down the road a little sideways. Insanely reliable though.
I don’t remember typing this today 🙃
Edit: read “absolutely 100% the main usecase”
Ford maverick, size of the old rangers with 40 mpg
That cab though lol I legit just want a single cab truck with no gimmicks, but “the market” all trends to “big car with bed” because they can mark up the price.
Only available with extended cab and short bed.
While true, they have a lot of issues and are way too techy, and fwd. Give me the ranger.
The current ranger makes my 85 F160 feel small. Or at least low.
Much like seeing one of the new post trucks, it’s a fun game to point at “small” trucks and exclaim “look, normal-size truck!” It’s just sad that they’re getting rare enough to point them out.
Slate truck. Ford Fathom. Only options I’m aware of in the USA.
Trucks started getting giant in 1991. The f350 was different than the f250 in one primary way, it was lifted 3 inches on blocks. The f series drove the height gain in trucks. The next super duty generation had like a 5 foot tall grill in 1998. And it was all uphill for truck sizing from there.
GM stayed smaller till ~2008. My 2001 3/4 chevy roofline is the same height as a new f150 hood. Its nuts.