[jstnjosepht]

This analysis isn't particularly quantified but it's interesting to see how many of these cars are on the practical end of the spectrum (240sx and s2000 notwithstanding) I for one miss basic 4wd trucks and cargo vans for under $25k

[shiftpgdn]

Cash for clunkers brought an end to the "beater truck" era. All of the cheap used trucks vanished, used truck prices shot up and therefore manufacturers figured out they could raise the price of new trucks.

[stinkytaco]

I still see plenty of large beater trucks on the road. However, the midsized and low frills pickups (read: cheaper) were largely killed by CAFE standards:

http://jalopnik.com/5948172/how-the-government-killed-fuel-e...