[renewiltord]

I would absolutely love a pickup truck that I can use in SF. All the modern ones are absolutely humongous. I had a Titan and that thing was enormous. Cost me absolute bags of money to offset the carbon.

Ultimately, I just want something with a bed that I can strap my bike down and take somewhere to ride. You can't really do that with the Forester I have now.

[rasz]

>strap my bike down and take somewhere to ride. You can't really do that with the Forester

you mean like $1500 folding Motorcycle trailer? or even cheaper https://www.uhaul.com/Trailers/Motorcycle-Trailer-Rental/MT/

[renewiltord]

Haha that's not a bad option. I suppose I wanted some multi utility. I generally dislike trailers but the bike trailer is actually easier to get bikes onto.

[EricE]

Hyundai Santa Cruz and Ford Maverick are two recent models moving in the right direction for those of us who would like to see true mini-pickups return to the US.

[thecrumb]

They are still huge compared to the original SR-5/Tacoma.

[waiseristy]

You know that is never coming back right? Safety standards do not allow vehicles of that size and profile.

There are multiple references to the 1st gen Tacomas in this thread and I'm having a hard time understanding why it keeps being brought up. It's a 20-25 year old vehicle

[EricE]

It keeps being brought up because there is a pent up demand for them.

Safety standards are BS. If Mazda can and does keep the Miata complaint with safety standards while preserving the bulk of the original Miata soul, then these other manufacturers could do the same with mini trucks.

The real problem is they don't have to. Bigger vehicles have better profit margins, and the chicken tax limits competition. Repeal the chicken tax and you'd see plenty of entrants. Mahindra was even making serious motions of bringing the parts in and assembling here in the US to get around the obnoxious chicken tax but ended up not following through :( They had all the certifications they needed - even from the EPA, so it's far from impossible to have a modern mini truck if the government didn't have their thumb on the market.

Heck Ford has had to do screwy things to try to get around that dumb tariff: https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-ford-tariff-c...

[waiseristy]

I think you overestimate this pent up demand. The Santa Cruz sells like shit. The Ridgeline is right there by it

New players don’t come into the US truck market with mini-trucks because they simply don’t sell

[Ancapistani]

Both the Santa Cruz and the Ridgeline are unibody. The 1st gen Tacoma was body-on-frame. HUGE difference.

[throwaway6734]

agree. The small pickups of the late 80s/early 90s were perfect. Just make one electric and id buy it in a heartbeat

[EricE]

Start lobbying your congress critter(s) to repeal the chicken tax. Otherwise it will never happen :(

[renewiltord]

What trucks could I get and then just pay 25% to import here? The new Audi looks massive too.

[throwaway6734]

Chicken tax?

[EricE]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_tax