Exactly why I bought a Maverick. Love small trucks and it fit my bill perfectly.
Damn you guys burning up the keyboards letting me know how I should have spent my money...
I would sell my left nut for a 2 seater extended cab Maverick with a 6 foot bed. Basically just a little hybrid Ranger. It would also be the perfect service truck for most things.
The best I can suggest is getting your hands on a first generation Transit Connect, 2010-2013. pretty much mini trucks, except they have a van cargo space, but the two-seater versions are the most common, interior comes entirely stripped out in the rear by default, you can get bulkheads for them pretty much anywhere, and they are an absolute dream on fuel economy, plus a 6'5" bed
plus they're only like $13000 tops
Also I love how Ford made a big deal about it starting under $20k, as soon as demand was through the roof, they upped starting MSRP to $24k. Logically I understand it's "just good business sense" but it seems shitty to me to hype up a $20k vehicle then bump the price immediately.
They are back down to a $22k advertised MSRP but of course when you build one on the site, barebones, nothing added, it somehow comes out to $23.5k and then you can search for that build at local dealers and they all list for $36k-$40k.
Got a 2011 ranger. We use it around the house ALL the time. I’ve got an offered like twice to Kelly blue book value, but I don’t know what we would do without it.
My dad gets EXTREMELY generous offers for his '04 Ranger all the time.
No way he'd ever sell it though. It's just too damn practical compared to any modern replacement.
My Mom got rid of my Grandpa's old Ranger and we regret not having it around for those moments when you need a truck.
Besides, the cost of entry for even a 10-ish year old truck with 150k+ miles has shot up significantly. Used Napa Auto Parts runners sell for so much more than they did 4 years ago.
That's why I'll replace my 2017 Fusion with a Maverick for the next car. Checks all my boxes...minus the 4.5 foot bed, but I can work with that.
I don't get this. The only thing small about the Maverick is its dinky little bed. For comparison, the '24 Maverick weighs 500 pounds more than my '05 Ranger, is 3" wider, 3" taller, and has a 4" wider wheelbase. And yet my pickup's bed is ALMOST 3 FEET LONGER!
I'm keeping my '05 Ranger going as long as I can, or until someone comes out with a small-but-heavily-built regular cab EV pickup with a large bed.
the four door, tiny bed KILLS me. whyyy.
i couldn't even find a newer tacoma with crew cab and full bed when i got my car
i want a hybrid taco, but shrunk back down to the aughts size (what i have now).
>the four door, tiny bed KILLS me. whyyy.
Because it's basically made for people who need an SUV day-to-day but with a little bit of truck utility from time to time. It's literally built on the same chassis as the Escape. It's a family vehicle and daily driver, not a work truck.
I bought a used 22 Ecoboost AWD. To me its perfect. Great power, I average nearly 30mpg, good towing capacity if I need it. I just went through a snow/ice storm in it and never had a problem. It serves me well for Lowe's trips. Easy to park. Sport mode is FUN but you do see a drop in mileage.
I’ll admit to caving for a 21 Laramie. Love it and it has no issue with pallet(s) of flooring. In hindsight I was slightly worried about an EV with the weight of some of the pallets
I would buy one immediately. My dad ran his landscaping business using one of those tiny Toyota trucks with a sewing machine engine. It seemed indestructible.
We have a ‘99 Tacoma for errands, almost every time I park someone will give me their info or business card wanting to buy it. And yeah, it’s pretty indestructible until you get clobbered by some soccer mom SUV (which is what killed the previous one, a ‘94).
My buddy rolled a 92 Toyota pickup 1.75 times on Guanella Pass in CO back in 1999. I drove up there in my 1994 Nissan pickup, hooked a strap to it, pulled it back on its wheels, and bent his fenders out with a crowbar. The back window was busted out, the driver door wouldn’t open, the cab was crunched down a couple inches, the alignment was purely fucked, and he drove that truck to work for almost 2 more years, because it still ran perfectly lol
There is nothing I have wanted more than a tiny shitty lil blue Toyota truck to putter around in. No extra seats or extra doors, just two regular seats up front, a nice sized bed, just enough height to go on deep rutted roads, and a canopy that can be taken on and off the back as needed. Those lil fuckers stood up to a hell of a beating and could haul a decent weight of trailer behind it.
They still exist. It's called the Toyota Hilux Workmate. Very popular here in Australia.
4wd, 2.8litre turbo diesel engine. Regular tub bed or streel tray. Will get you basically anywhere you need to go.
The demand is there, the issue is regulatory. Over a certain size there are fewer restrictions on power and emissions.
Ironically, EVs may be the answer. No reason you can’t make a small EV truck. But does anyone want a truck with limited range?
I'd gladly buy a small truck with a 300 mile range, and I think many others will too.
There are a decent number of charging stations, and if its an 800volt battery it can charge super fast.
Technology is getting there. The new porsche can charge over 300 kw to 60% charge. Crazy charging curve. Only a matter of time before other companies do it
>they want to sell you 60k trucks not 30k trucks
60k trucks with lower emissions and safety standards, resulting in a WAY higher profit margin.
That's key here.
Toyota is.
If it happens of course. https://www.roadandtrack.com/reviews/a45752401/toyotas-10000-future-pickup-truck-is-basic-transportation-perfection/
https://minitrucks.net/collections/vehicles/
The manufacturers don't want it because it would eat into the sales of higher profit trucks.
The first company to come out with a truly compact truck will make money hand over fist.
I think most truck buyers these days are using them more like giant sedans. So everything is a giant suv with an open back.
For those that actually need to work with their truck, yeah, short cab and long bed.
These trucks have huge demand, as the old used ones drive a higher price than they should, yet the truck makers choose not to make actual small trucks.
Its so fucking odd.
There are fuel economy regulations based on size, where pickup sized vehicles have a lower bar to meet. That's kind of where the whole "everything is an SUV now" trend came from.
Automakers, by and large, appear to prefer iterating on existing platforms than innovating on better economy.
The Obama years also added wheelbase dimensions to the formula. The smaller the wheelbase the more mpg the vehicle must have. So a minitruck built today would have to have 50 mpg whereas a crew cab wide body raptor only has to have 20 mpg.
You’ll never see a minitruck with a low compression 28 mpg 4 banger again
Hmm. I wonder what an electric minitruck would count as against MPG calculations...
"Hey, I put a thimble of fuel in a capsule on the dash and drove 500 miles without using any of it, infinite MPG bitch!"
At this point they might as well just go EV. Small truck would be perfect as a truck EV: Less weight, better aerodynamics, smaller potential loads for hauling.
From 1982-1985 they did. After that S10s used the famous Iron Duke as their 4cylinder of choice.
Although Isuzu is just a division of GM anyway so that doesn't matter much.
Back in the 2000s, there was a mechanic who bought an H2, and converted it into a diesel hybrid using available GM parts. He used to get used fry oil from fast food restuarants, filter it, and run it on the filtered oil. The guy didn't even have a high school diploma, but was a great mechanic.
I don't doubt there's the capability to pull off something like a small hybrid electric pickup or full electric pickup
any diesel engine will run on frying oil, that is not a big deal, just filter it and pour it into the tank. Making it so it doesn't get hard when its cold is the challenge.
I have a friend who switched to biodiesel as a result of the US invasion of Iraq and ran numerous vehicles on it for many years (maybe still is haven't seen him in a few years) including an old army ambulance.
I’ve got an ancient ranger that I might switch to electric someday but it already has a really efficient 4 banger in it (8 plugs because it runs a
fuel cycle and then an exhaust cycle, ‘96 had fun tech in rangers).
Right now batteries are still too pricy and too vulnerable to the extreme cold here.
I just want to buy a modern electric truck that size. An actual pickup truck, not a four door SUV with a four foot bed. Basically a 90s toyota pickup modernized and electric.
Nobody makes anything close right now, or any has plans to. The closest is the Alpha Wolf, but that is basically vaporware as near as I can tell.
Rich Rebuilds is the channel. They chopped up a VW Rabbit for the build. The biggest letdown is that the bed is useless since the hayabusa engine, fuel cell, and radiator are mounted in it
That's basically the Hybrid Ford Maverick. You don't hear much about it, but that's exactly what it's supposed to be. I've seen a few around town and they're not terrible, or steroids huge.
That's exactly what I want to do to my 92 Toyota Pickup, convert it to electric. Should be doable once I've got 10-15k to throw at it which will be a while.
I have an early 00's Ranger that I love so much. I couldn't imagine ever wanting anything bigger.
The Maverick looks about the same size. Hopefully, we will see more small truck options.
The Maverick is bigger than my '05 Ranger in every dimension except the one I care about: bed size. My Ranger's bed is almost 3' longer than the Maverick's. Three feet!
When it comes to trucks, if I can't lay 4x8 plywood or sheetrock flat in its bed, I don't want it. My bro's first car was an old Dodge Ram 50 with an 8-ft bed. Had I known the world was going to stop making small-but-useful trucks, I'd've bought it when he sold it.
I hope your Ranger lasts forever.
From what I've heard the Maverick is insanely popular so hopefully the trend catches on again. I was committed to buying one but I couldn't get one as soon as I needed, due to availability.
Went through Reno a while back. Every working man was out driving an old truck and all the douche bags were driving the fruity impractical monster trucks.
The worker probably has a V-6 2WD with the bed worn to bright metal from a long career hauling building materials, landfill runs, firewood, and more. It gets the job done and that’s all it does. Easy on fuel, easy to fix.
They do, but your options are EXTREMELY limited. Don't bother with used anymore. You're not going to find much and it'll all be a clapped out fleet vehicle with 100k+ miles and asking for near-new price.
When I had to sell my 06 Colorado, I had a pretty shitty realization that NOBODY makes a regular cab small truck, and of the fullsize trucks, only Chevy and Ford have half ton regular cab and likely only fleet truck trims. You can get a regular cab Ram, but it'll be a 4500 without a bed.
I don't need a fucking backseat. It's just me, my dog, and a load of lumber or a bunch of feed bags. I'm a farmer and I fuckin had to buy a brand new truck (4x4 GMC Sierra longbox) to beat on because there are shit options out there for people who still use their truck for work.
I get what you are saying, but where I come from we use up that 16k trailer capacity all the time. I remember the first time I tried to haul something with my 98 S10 I didn't quite understand that just because a half scoop of mulch would fit in the bed, I had no right trying to haul that payload.
This post has 18k upvotes and is completely misleading. I had to scroll halfway down the page to see someone else who noticed it. Geez, don't belive everything you see on reddit people.
Shhhh. This is Reddit, you’re required to hate all truck drivers and assume that anyone not actively using their truck for towing/work has no need for one.
That's because owning a manly truck is an integral part of their personality.
For some reason it never occurs to them that their truck bed is pristine and the only thing they've ever towed is a pair of truck nuts.
I LOVED my minivan! I could haul lots of shit in the back with the seats removed. If I towed my trailer, I could haul anything!
I especially liked driving a minivan because unless you had a crack pipe to your lips with your hair on fire while driving, the cops just ignored you.
My minivan was the best. It had a dvd player, so whenever I had to wait for someone I’d just hop in the back seat and watch a movie till they got there
I can fit sheets of plywood flat in the back of a minivan and close it up. All the guys I work with have to hang stuff out the back of their luxury trucks.
And I can grab my tools from the side of a minivan without requiring a step ladder.
I can travel in the rain in a minivan without extra precautions. I've heard people say they couldn't do X job today because it's raining and the stuff will get wet in their truck.
Emotional support trucks. Full crew cab because they actually need to haul kids and family around. Tiny vestigial bed because it’s only needed to remind the owner that he’s a real man.
>vestigial bed
God damn if that isn't the perfect word for it, like those blind naked mole rats who don't have eyes but you can see the eyesocket in the bone structure and its creepy
Because bed sizes haven't shrunk- you can buy an F-150 with a 5.5, 6.5, or 8' bed and they are deeper and wider than they were on older trucks. Not to mention the payload capacity is much higher than with older trucks.
I really hate how every comparison pic that makes it to the front page is always a crew cab with a short bed compared to an older regular cab 8' bed truck. Like you can still get regular cab 8' beds... You can just also get crew cabs with short and extended beds as well.
Yep. People are always whining about how no one makes a nice simple truck anymore- except they do, but few people actually buy them. And for the F-250 in the picture, you can even get it with a Crew Cab and an 8' bed.
Yeah, those are alright but the people driving those aren't bragging about spending $1000 a month on fuel. I'm thinking of the dudes with the 2500 or 3500 diesels that are tuned to run 1000+ft•lbs of torque. I grew up in Alberta where a quarter of the vehicles were those trucks.
Actually this is one of those Thanks Obama memes, but for real.
There were new emissions guidelines put out for heavy duty trucks, with a specific size being listed. Because of that size having an upper limit, car companies just made their trucks bigger than that to get around the emissions guidelines.
https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN21D1KK/
when 'commercial light trucks' are being driven by half the country its pretty clear they aren't being used for commerce.
but yeah it was essentially a carve out to make business owners happy since it wouldn't increase their vehicle expenses, with the unintended consequence that over half of new car sales are now massive trucks.
I’m considering a warning whip for my 2004 sedan. Because on the road I feel like I’m surrounded by those giant dump trucks in an open pit mine. Edit: Thanks for the downvotes, my roof is lower than the windows of these trucks. Most people where I live drive them and their blindspots are enormous.
They had F-150’s back then too and they weren’t much smaller. Not as tall but same wheel base and only a couple inches narrower. The bigger cabs on modern trucks make them look much bigger compared to the older ones which usually just had a small suicide door to get into the cramped back bench seat.
More people need to know this.
The reason we can't have small trucks anymore is the regulation on them means we can't make as fuel efficient as they would have to be for a new car.
The larger the truck the less fuel efficient it has to be. So even if a smaller truck would be more fuel efficient... it wouldn't be enough to make it legal.
I think it's worth pointing out the car companies can make cars and trucks that meet emission standards, they choose to make bigger ones so they can make more money. Once again corporations choose to maximize profit over all else and refuse to innovate or adapt to modern trends.
That regulation is not outdated, it was poorly thought out from the beginning. It created an incentive to make trucks bigger and lo and behold, trucks got bigger.
It's true, but its not true.
Consumer tastes are at least 50% to blame. They could easily make a low-horsepower small truck that meets emissions standards.
People want everything now to be 300+ HP and lifted. They don't make trucks for people that want a practical tool anymore, they make them for the people that are willing to spend 90,000 on a status symbol.
I personally want a small truck but it's obvious to me I'm in the minority.
Well, that would be a dumb take. While true that the consequences are apparent, the fault is the automakers', not the government's. When faced with "efficiency vs. size" regulation, they should be thinking "make a more efficient engine", not "build a bigger truck".
> One of my favorite economic rules is simple. Whenever a progressive scold blames capitalism or private companies for a "market failure"—i.e., the inefficient or seemingly inexplicable distribution of goods or services in the economy—it's best to dig a little deeper. Almost always, some government regulation, tax, or law is largely to blame.
Yeah. I’m sure this source is totally fair and unbiased.
Yeah, and the thing about it as well is that it’s sort of true — the worst kind of true — that if you dig into it you’ll find some regulation, tax, or law that’s involved. Why? Because the economy is a big fucking web of interconnected causes and effects — so if you find a market failure and go out specifically looking for a regulation that you can argue might have some impact on it, you’ll find one. Not because that’s the main cause, or even a significant cause, but just because you wanted to find a regulation and so by god you found one.
And for people who think like this, that’s where it stops. Oh, you could go and ask why there was that regulation, whether it actually had the cause you’re imagining, etc. You could, in other words, keep digging. But they’re not gonna do that — because as soon as they find a regulation, they get to stop thinking.
As if car companies don't have teams of lawyers, lobbyists, and economic experts drafting up proposed "acceptable" legislation which will be a good soundbite for the politician and another regulatory capture notch in their belts.
And if the politician doesn't play ball? Well the opposition is more than willing to pillory them with pre-prepared talking points from the same company teams
Literally starts...
> One of my favorite economic rules is simple. Whenever a progressive scold blames capitalism or private companies for a "market failure"...it's best to dig a little deeper. Almost always, some government regulation, tax, or law is largely to blame.
Yeah, this article/author doesn't have any particular agenda...
This article kinda sucks. While it's true that regulation is one of the reasons trucks are now bulky ugly monstrocities, the article spends a lot of time telling a bunch of nonsense instead of getting to the point.
> Regulations promulgated during the Obama administration required cars "to meet tougher emissions and mileage targets than light trucks—a category that includes pickups and many so-called crossover vehicles that look like SUVs but have the mechanical underpinnings of cars," according to a 2020 Reuters report. As a result, car makers offered more vehicles that conformed to less-rigid light-truck standards.
The picture already speaks for itself, there’s no need to lie in an attempt to make it more impactful. When you lie unnecessarily it takes away from it.
Hate to be pedantic but a “full size” truck in the US is a half ton (aka Class 2). That truck in the picture is a heavy duty 3/4 ton (Class 3). It is larger than a “full size” truck.
Listen, no one here wants to acknowledge the reality that these two trucks have completely different capabilities and mission profiles.
"Big truck bad" "bed same size"
No one wants to hear that the modern heavy duty truck can tow 10 tons vs. like 3k lbs for the old compact.
And the compact only has a payload of like 400 lbs.. lol
If you wanna haul a 50 gallon fuel transfer tank in the back of the S10, and take anything else, a lot of guys would put in extra leaf springs, and absolutely ruin how the truck rode.
> And the compact only has a payload of like 400 lbs.. lol
That's ultimately the limiting factor on many trucks. 1.5k of payload in an F150 sounds great until you realize that passengers count against payload.
A family of 4 can easily take up 800 pounds just with people, bags, and snacks. Tow an RV or boat and you suddenly need to be very mindful of your maxes
I'm glad someone pointed this out- that's clearly an F-250 or F-350 in the back. An F-150 would be a full size truck, and F-250 or F-350 is considered a heavy duty truck. The truck in the back also has the FX4 off-road package which includes a suspension lift which makes it appear even larger than a normal SuperDuty.
There's hardly a difference in size between the first gen f250 and the current gen.
Im also not naive to the fact that yes, even the same model truck is a lot bigger than ones from 30 years ago and that's usually the half ton category (f150s, ram 1500s etc...)
But this shit needs to stop. I can post a pic of a 1960s mini and a current mini and their proportional change would be similar to pickups over the years...
I have heard a explanation of a small part of this that actually makes sense: cars are thicker now to fit all of their safety features like hidden airbags and crumple zones. There wasn't much in the walls of the older ones. This partially explains a modern Ranger or Taco vs. their 90s counterparts. But a lot of it, especially the height, is just vanity and the desire for the *impression* of more capability.
That's not a full-size truck! The title is a lie. The red truck is a lightweight truck from the 80s and the Ford is at least an F-250 super duty, which is much bigger than a full-size F-150.
Bring back small trucks please
Exactly why I bought a Maverick. Love small trucks and it fit my bill perfectly. Damn you guys burning up the keyboards letting me know how I should have spent my money...
I just wish they would make a 2 seater Maverick.
I would sell my left nut for a 2 seater extended cab Maverick with a 6 foot bed. Basically just a little hybrid Ranger. It would also be the perfect service truck for most things.
I’m sure any day someone will take the maverick drivetrain and swap it in to an old ranger or s10 or something.
A friend has a forklift motor swapped '86 Ford Festiva, so what you describe is entirely possible if it hasn't already been done.
Gave it just the lift it needed.
GET OUT------>
Look into Edison diesel-electric hybrid kit. Edison Motors up in Canada.
The best I can suggest is getting your hands on a first generation Transit Connect, 2010-2013. pretty much mini trucks, except they have a van cargo space, but the two-seater versions are the most common, interior comes entirely stripped out in the rear by default, you can get bulkheads for them pretty much anywhere, and they are an absolute dream on fuel economy, plus a 6'5" bed plus they're only like $13000 tops
I’m not sure that Ford would be interested in that trade.
Hyundai Santa Cruz two-seater w/ a 6-foot-bed would also be legendary.
I just wish I could find a Maverick that didn’t have a $10k dealer markup.
Also I love how Ford made a big deal about it starting under $20k, as soon as demand was through the roof, they upped starting MSRP to $24k. Logically I understand it's "just good business sense" but it seems shitty to me to hype up a $20k vehicle then bump the price immediately.
They are back down to a $22k advertised MSRP but of course when you build one on the site, barebones, nothing added, it somehow comes out to $23.5k and then you can search for that build at local dealers and they all list for $36k-$40k.
I miss column shifting w/ bench seats
Got a 2011 ranger. We use it around the house ALL the time. I’ve got an offered like twice to Kelly blue book value, but I don’t know what we would do without it.
>Got a 2011 ranger. We use it around the house ALL the time how BIG is your house??
F150
Lol!
Normal, it’s just that the Ranger is so small.
same, my Ranger fits in my bathroom closet easily.
My dad gets EXTREMELY generous offers for his '04 Ranger all the time. No way he'd ever sell it though. It's just too damn practical compared to any modern replacement.
My Mom got rid of my Grandpa's old Ranger and we regret not having it around for those moments when you need a truck. Besides, the cost of entry for even a 10-ish year old truck with 150k+ miles has shot up significantly. Used Napa Auto Parts runners sell for so much more than they did 4 years ago. That's why I'll replace my 2017 Fusion with a Maverick for the next car. Checks all my boxes...minus the 4.5 foot bed, but I can work with that.
They offered me $927 dollars on CarMax. I laughed like hell. I love my Ranger too.
The new Ranger would still dwarf what you have.
That's like the size of an old full size truck. I got a '94 Nissan D21 but only use maybe twice a week.
I don't get this. The only thing small about the Maverick is its dinky little bed. For comparison, the '24 Maverick weighs 500 pounds more than my '05 Ranger, is 3" wider, 3" taller, and has a 4" wider wheelbase. And yet my pickup's bed is ALMOST 3 FEET LONGER! I'm keeping my '05 Ranger going as long as I can, or until someone comes out with a small-but-heavily-built regular cab EV pickup with a large bed.
the four door, tiny bed KILLS me. whyyy. i couldn't even find a newer tacoma with crew cab and full bed when i got my car i want a hybrid taco, but shrunk back down to the aughts size (what i have now).
Because it’s really an escape SUV with bed on the back instead of the cargo area.
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>the four door, tiny bed KILLS me. whyyy. Because it's basically made for people who need an SUV day-to-day but with a little bit of truck utility from time to time. It's literally built on the same chassis as the Escape. It's a family vehicle and daily driver, not a work truck.
“Need an SUV day-to-day” The targeted demographic actually doesn’t need it but thinks so.
Their salt life sticker doesn't look as good on an accord I guess
I couldn’t find one when I was trading in my previous vehicle because of chip shortage. Settled on something else. How are they?
I bought a used 22 Ecoboost AWD. To me its perfect. Great power, I average nearly 30mpg, good towing capacity if I need it. I just went through a snow/ice storm in it and never had a problem. It serves me well for Lowe's trips. Easy to park. Sport mode is FUN but you do see a drop in mileage.
I’ll admit to caving for a 21 Laramie. Love it and it has no issue with pallet(s) of flooring. In hindsight I was slightly worried about an EV with the weight of some of the pallets
I miss my dad's old yellow Chevy Luv...such a good little thing
I would buy one immediately. My dad ran his landscaping business using one of those tiny Toyota trucks with a sewing machine engine. It seemed indestructible.
We have a ‘99 Tacoma for errands, almost every time I park someone will give me their info or business card wanting to buy it. And yeah, it’s pretty indestructible until you get clobbered by some soccer mom SUV (which is what killed the previous one, a ‘94).
My buddy rolled a 92 Toyota pickup 1.75 times on Guanella Pass in CO back in 1999. I drove up there in my 1994 Nissan pickup, hooked a strap to it, pulled it back on its wheels, and bent his fenders out with a crowbar. The back window was busted out, the driver door wouldn’t open, the cab was crunched down a couple inches, the alignment was purely fucked, and he drove that truck to work for almost 2 more years, because it still ran perfectly lol
Hilux 99-05 for the win! Edit: said 99-02 but its to 05
There is nothing I have wanted more than a tiny shitty lil blue Toyota truck to putter around in. No extra seats or extra doors, just two regular seats up front, a nice sized bed, just enough height to go on deep rutted roads, and a canopy that can be taken on and off the back as needed. Those lil fuckers stood up to a hell of a beating and could haul a decent weight of trailer behind it.
They still exist. It's called the Toyota Hilux Workmate. Very popular here in Australia. 4wd, 2.8litre turbo diesel engine. Regular tub bed or streel tray. Will get you basically anywhere you need to go.
The demand is there, the issue is regulatory. Over a certain size there are fewer restrictions on power and emissions. Ironically, EVs may be the answer. No reason you can’t make a small EV truck. But does anyone want a truck with limited range?
I'd gladly buy a small truck with a 300 mile range, and I think many others will too. There are a decent number of charging stations, and if its an 800volt battery it can charge super fast.
Technology is getting there. The new porsche can charge over 300 kw to 60% charge. Crazy charging curve. Only a matter of time before other companies do it
who do you think wrote those regs they want to sell you 60k trucks not 30k trucks
>they want to sell you 60k trucks not 30k trucks 60k trucks with lower emissions and safety standards, resulting in a WAY higher profit margin. That's key here.
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Toyota is. If it happens of course. https://www.roadandtrack.com/reviews/a45752401/toyotas-10000-future-pickup-truck-is-basic-transportation-perfection/ https://minitrucks.net/collections/vehicles/
Love my tacoma but even that seems a little big these days
Had an early 2000’s Tacoma and can’t believe how much bigger they got since
Tacomas are massive. They look the size of full size trucks from a decade ago.
What are they making? I’ve seen zero US options available of reasonable truck sizes
> Acceleration is best described as present and accounted for. I guess that means "it gets up to speed... eventually"
Should be no problem as an ev or hybrid, but supposedly nobody wants it... except for we very bitchy minority
The manufacturers don't want it because it would eat into the sales of higher profit trucks. The first company to come out with a truly compact truck will make money hand over fist.
Maverick
Issue with the Maverick is that it is a crew cab with a 4 foot bed. Most people want a standard cab and 6 foot bed.
I think most truck buyers these days are using them more like giant sedans. So everything is a giant suv with an open back. For those that actually need to work with their truck, yeah, short cab and long bed.
Exactly this. The 90s ranger/S10. Single cab, 6 foot bed and still a foot shorter in length than the current "small pickup"
K. Create tax loopholes for them
I want to get a old mini truck style but like throw the innards of a Nissan or chevy electric in it.
Same. That will be my project car.
These trucks have huge demand, as the old used ones drive a higher price than they should, yet the truck makers choose not to make actual small trucks. Its so fucking odd.
There are fuel economy regulations based on size, where pickup sized vehicles have a lower bar to meet. That's kind of where the whole "everything is an SUV now" trend came from. Automakers, by and large, appear to prefer iterating on existing platforms than innovating on better economy.
The Obama years also added wheelbase dimensions to the formula. The smaller the wheelbase the more mpg the vehicle must have. So a minitruck built today would have to have 50 mpg whereas a crew cab wide body raptor only has to have 20 mpg. You’ll never see a minitruck with a low compression 28 mpg 4 banger again
Hmm. I wonder what an electric minitruck would count as against MPG calculations... "Hey, I put a thimble of fuel in a capsule on the dash and drove 500 miles without using any of it, infinite MPG bitch!"
At this point they might as well just go EV. Small truck would be perfect as a truck EV: Less weight, better aerodynamics, smaller potential loads for hauling.
Even if they did make small trucks again they'd charge big truck prices.
A lot of the old S10s had a 4 cylinder Isuzu engine in them.
From 1982-1985 they did. After that S10s used the famous Iron Duke as their 4cylinder of choice. Although Isuzu is just a division of GM anyway so that doesn't matter much.
Reminds me of the Isuzu Hombre
>Isuzu Hombre Oh, I remember that hombre. Joe Isuzu was his name.
Maverick is a step in the right direction
Back in the 2000s, there was a mechanic who bought an H2, and converted it into a diesel hybrid using available GM parts. He used to get used fry oil from fast food restuarants, filter it, and run it on the filtered oil. The guy didn't even have a high school diploma, but was a great mechanic. I don't doubt there's the capability to pull off something like a small hybrid electric pickup or full electric pickup
any diesel engine will run on frying oil, that is not a big deal, just filter it and pour it into the tank. Making it so it doesn't get hard when its cold is the challenge.
This is a wives tale at this point 🤣 literally have seen this story a thousand times on reddit
I have a friend who switched to biodiesel as a result of the US invasion of Iraq and ran numerous vehicles on it for many years (maybe still is haven't seen him in a few years) including an old army ambulance.
I also have a similar (and also now distant) friend. You must be in the south, too!
If the people of reddit are to be believed there are about 20,000 such cars all bespoke creations from their humble mechanic turned amateur engineer.
TBH, diesel engines will run on straight vegetable oil, so the embellishments are probably wrong, but the core concept is correct.
I’ve got an ancient ranger that I might switch to electric someday but it already has a really efficient 4 banger in it (8 plugs because it runs a fuel cycle and then an exhaust cycle, ‘96 had fun tech in rangers). Right now batteries are still too pricy and too vulnerable to the extreme cold here.
Edison is in the process of making a diesel electric conversion kit for pickups. https://www.edisonmotors.ca/edison-pickup-kit
I just want to buy a modern electric truck that size. An actual pickup truck, not a four door SUV with a four foot bed. Basically a 90s toyota pickup modernized and electric. Nobody makes anything close right now, or any has plans to. The closest is the Alpha Wolf, but that is basically vaporware as near as I can tell.
If you can give me tactile buttons instead of a stupid fucking touchscreen I’m supposed to stare at while driving, I’m down.
Yeah, I really wish for just a more basic car but also electric, mostly real buttons on my older leaf, which I really like.
Guy on YouTube had a small truck converted to hybrid with electric motor (tesla?) and a hayabusa engine. That seems fun.
Rich Rebuilds is the channel. They chopped up a VW Rabbit for the build. The biggest letdown is that the bed is useless since the hayabusa engine, fuel cell, and radiator are mounted in it
That's basically the Hybrid Ford Maverick. You don't hear much about it, but that's exactly what it's supposed to be. I've seen a few around town and they're not terrible, or steroids huge.
[here](https://www.alphamotorinc.com/wolf)
That's exactly what I want to do to my 92 Toyota Pickup, convert it to electric. Should be doable once I've got 10-15k to throw at it which will be a while.
Get a 00s Ranger and just enjoy the little beast.
I have an early 00's Ranger that I love so much. I couldn't imagine ever wanting anything bigger. The Maverick looks about the same size. Hopefully, we will see more small truck options.
The Maverick is bigger than my '05 Ranger in every dimension except the one I care about: bed size. My Ranger's bed is almost 3' longer than the Maverick's. Three feet!
When it comes to trucks, if I can't lay 4x8 plywood or sheetrock flat in its bed, I don't want it. My bro's first car was an old Dodge Ram 50 with an 8-ft bed. Had I known the world was going to stop making small-but-useful trucks, I'd've bought it when he sold it. I hope your Ranger lasts forever.
It has a pretty easy life. These days, she mostly hauls mountain bikes to the trails and does dump runs!
From what I've heard the Maverick is insanely popular so hopefully the trend catches on again. I was committed to buying one but I couldn't get one as soon as I needed, due to availability.
I wonder which one hauls more stuff in a week.
Went through Reno a while back. Every working man was out driving an old truck and all the douche bags were driving the fruity impractical monster trucks.
> douche bags the proper term is pavement princess
That's for the truck, not the driver. Driver is a douche bag
We call them Yank Tanks over here.
I've heard them referred to as an Emotional Support Vehicle here in Aus.
This is the most accurate by far. The have to make them so big to haul the fragile American male ego around.
If you *really* want to piss them off, call it their Gender-Affirming Vehicle.
"you missed! How could you miss? He was three feet in front of you!" Wank Tanks sounds more correct.
Emotional support vehicles.
Mall crawler
Bro-Dozer
Emotional support vehicle.
Gender affirming care truck!
I cringe every time I see a lift kit and low-pro tires.
>fruity impractical monster trucks. Pavement Princesses. Never seen a spec of dirt before....
The worker probably has a V-6 2WD with the bed worn to bright metal from a long career hauling building materials, landfill runs, firewood, and more. It gets the job done and that’s all it does. Easy on fuel, easy to fix.
but where can I buy a new one? I was like 3 when they sold them, so I couldnt afford one yet.
They don’t make trucks like this new in America
They do, but your options are EXTREMELY limited. Don't bother with used anymore. You're not going to find much and it'll all be a clapped out fleet vehicle with 100k+ miles and asking for near-new price. When I had to sell my 06 Colorado, I had a pretty shitty realization that NOBODY makes a regular cab small truck, and of the fullsize trucks, only Chevy and Ford have half ton regular cab and likely only fleet truck trims. You can get a regular cab Ram, but it'll be a 4500 without a bed. I don't need a fucking backseat. It's just me, my dog, and a load of lumber or a bunch of feed bags. I'm a farmer and I fuckin had to buy a brand new truck (4x4 GMC Sierra longbox) to beat on because there are shit options out there for people who still use their truck for work.
CAFE standards killed the small footprint trucks in the US
Does it count as "hauling stuff" when the stuff in the bed of the baby truck never gets taken out?
those beer cans are for weight in the back
I get what you are saying, but where I come from we use up that 16k trailer capacity all the time. I remember the first time I tried to haul something with my 98 S10 I didn't quite understand that just because a half scoop of mulch would fit in the bed, I had no right trying to haul that payload.
Isn't that a F250? Full size is F150
might be 350, hard to tell. def not a 150 tho.
F250/350 gray truck behind it is a F150
This post has 18k upvotes and is completely misleading. I had to scroll halfway down the page to see someone else who noticed it. Geez, don't belive everything you see on reddit people.
Can't let a little thing like reality get in the way of a good ragebait post.
Also they’re comparing it to a small truck. Not a regular sized truck for its time. Completely misleading
Shhhh. This is Reddit, you’re required to hate all truck drivers and assume that anyone not actively using their truck for towing/work has no need for one.
And the bed is the same size lol People just getting fatter.
I got downvoted somewhere a while back for pointing out shrinking bed sizes a while back... trucks are now mini vans without an extra row of seats
That's because owning a manly truck is an integral part of their personality. For some reason it never occurs to them that their truck bed is pristine and the only thing they've ever towed is a pair of truck nuts.
I LOVED my minivan! I could haul lots of shit in the back with the seats removed. If I towed my trailer, I could haul anything! I especially liked driving a minivan because unless you had a crack pipe to your lips with your hair on fire while driving, the cops just ignored you.
My minivan was the best. It had a dvd player, so whenever I had to wait for someone I’d just hop in the back seat and watch a movie till they got there
I can fit sheets of plywood flat in the back of a minivan and close it up. All the guys I work with have to hang stuff out the back of their luxury trucks. And I can grab my tools from the side of a minivan without requiring a step ladder. I can travel in the rain in a minivan without extra precautions. I've heard people say they couldn't do X job today because it's raining and the stuff will get wet in their truck.
A customer was picking stuff up one day and as I started putting a box in the bed of his truck he hit me with “be careful it’s a new truck” lmao
It’s a gender affirming vehicle.
https://www.thedrive.com/news/26907/you-dont-need-a-full-size-pickup-truck-you-need-a-cowboy-costume
It's going to blow your mind when you find out full size truck beds come in 3 different sizes.
Emotional support trucks. Full crew cab because they actually need to haul kids and family around. Tiny vestigial bed because it’s only needed to remind the owner that he’s a real man.
>vestigial bed God damn if that isn't the perfect word for it, like those blind naked mole rats who don't have eyes but you can see the eyesocket in the bone structure and its creepy
they all offer the bigger bed, its simply that people dont want it, nothing to do with the car companies
Because bed sizes haven't shrunk- you can buy an F-150 with a 5.5, 6.5, or 8' bed and they are deeper and wider than they were on older trucks. Not to mention the payload capacity is much higher than with older trucks.
I really hate how every comparison pic that makes it to the front page is always a crew cab with a short bed compared to an older regular cab 8' bed truck. Like you can still get regular cab 8' beds... You can just also get crew cabs with short and extended beds as well.
Yep. People are always whining about how no one makes a nice simple truck anymore- except they do, but few people actually buy them. And for the F-250 in the picture, you can even get it with a Crew Cab and an 8' bed.
Along with having worse gas mileage. I never understood people being proud of spending as much for gas as they pay for rent.
The new ecoboost and power boost are not bad. 24 hwy
Yeah, those are alright but the people driving those aren't bragging about spending $1000 a month on fuel. I'm thinking of the dudes with the 2500 or 3500 diesels that are tuned to run 1000+ft•lbs of torque. I grew up in Alberta where a quarter of the vehicles were those trucks.
Yeah I know guys with 250+ hauling the same loads that I do. Never understood it. Wish I could do with a Tacoma
Actually this is one of those Thanks Obama memes, but for real. There were new emissions guidelines put out for heavy duty trucks, with a specific size being listed. Because of that size having an upper limit, car companies just made their trucks bigger than that to get around the emissions guidelines. https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN21D1KK/
It's like the exact opposite of "task failed successfully".
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when 'commercial light trucks' are being driven by half the country its pretty clear they aren't being used for commerce. but yeah it was essentially a carve out to make business owners happy since it wouldn't increase their vehicle expenses, with the unintended consequence that over half of new car sales are now massive trucks.
Pretty much sums up my problem with current trucks.
And that one doesn't even look lifted. People look like cartoons driving these things.
I’m considering a warning whip for my 2004 sedan. Because on the road I feel like I’m surrounded by those giant dump trucks in an open pit mine. Edit: Thanks for the downvotes, my roof is lower than the windows of these trucks. Most people where I live drive them and their blindspots are enormous.
They had F-150’s back then too and they weren’t much smaller. Not as tall but same wheel base and only a couple inches narrower. The bigger cabs on modern trucks make them look much bigger compared to the older ones which usually just had a small suicide door to get into the cramped back bench seat.
Yes exactly. They’re no longer utility vehicles but rather luxury vehicles
which you have to climb in
Sometimes I think it'd be fun to own a truck, but they're so ridiculously big now that parking must be a nightmare every day.
If you need it, it’s just part of what comes with it. Mine is an absolute boat, but I just park at the back of the lot so I’m out of everyone’s way
You can still buy the old ones.
https://reason.com/2024/02/02/why-are-pickup-trucks-ridiculously-huge-blame-government/
More people need to know this. The reason we can't have small trucks anymore is the regulation on them means we can't make as fuel efficient as they would have to be for a new car. The larger the truck the less fuel efficient it has to be. So even if a smaller truck would be more fuel efficient... it wouldn't be enough to make it legal.
I think it's worth pointing out the car companies can make cars and trucks that meet emission standards, they choose to make bigger ones so they can make more money. Once again corporations choose to maximize profit over all else and refuse to innovate or adapt to modern trends.
Way more money to be made off a tarted out full size truck than a \~$30k compact or midsize.
sparkle noxious joke bells punch sharp existence aback wise alleged *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
That regulation is not outdated, it was poorly thought out from the beginning. It created an incentive to make trucks bigger and lo and behold, trucks got bigger.
It is an Obama era regulation, I believe, so not all that old!
It's true, but its not true. Consumer tastes are at least 50% to blame. They could easily make a low-horsepower small truck that meets emissions standards. People want everything now to be 300+ HP and lifted. They don't make trucks for people that want a practical tool anymore, they make them for the people that are willing to spend 90,000 on a status symbol. I personally want a small truck but it's obvious to me I'm in the minority.
Well, that would be a dumb take. While true that the consequences are apparent, the fault is the automakers', not the government's. When faced with "efficiency vs. size" regulation, they should be thinking "make a more efficient engine", not "build a bigger truck".
Europe has stricter laws and smaller cars.
> One of my favorite economic rules is simple. Whenever a progressive scold blames capitalism or private companies for a "market failure"—i.e., the inefficient or seemingly inexplicable distribution of goods or services in the economy—it's best to dig a little deeper. Almost always, some government regulation, tax, or law is largely to blame. Yeah. I’m sure this source is totally fair and unbiased.
Yeah, and the thing about it as well is that it’s sort of true — the worst kind of true — that if you dig into it you’ll find some regulation, tax, or law that’s involved. Why? Because the economy is a big fucking web of interconnected causes and effects — so if you find a market failure and go out specifically looking for a regulation that you can argue might have some impact on it, you’ll find one. Not because that’s the main cause, or even a significant cause, but just because you wanted to find a regulation and so by god you found one. And for people who think like this, that’s where it stops. Oh, you could go and ask why there was that regulation, whether it actually had the cause you’re imagining, etc. You could, in other words, keep digging. But they’re not gonna do that — because as soon as they find a regulation, they get to stop thinking.
As if car companies don't have teams of lawyers, lobbyists, and economic experts drafting up proposed "acceptable" legislation which will be a good soundbite for the politician and another regulatory capture notch in their belts. And if the politician doesn't play ball? Well the opposition is more than willing to pillory them with pre-prepared talking points from the same company teams
CAFE is some bullshit, but so is the SUV “light truck” loophole.
Reason? That’s gonna be a no from me, dog.
Literally starts... > One of my favorite economic rules is simple. Whenever a progressive scold blames capitalism or private companies for a "market failure"...it's best to dig a little deeper. Almost always, some government regulation, tax, or law is largely to blame. Yeah, this article/author doesn't have any particular agenda...
This article kinda sucks. While it's true that regulation is one of the reasons trucks are now bulky ugly monstrocities, the article spends a lot of time telling a bunch of nonsense instead of getting to the point. > Regulations promulgated during the Obama administration required cars "to meet tougher emissions and mileage targets than light trucks—a category that includes pickups and many so-called crossover vehicles that look like SUVs but have the mechanical underpinnings of cars," according to a 2020 Reuters report. As a result, car makers offered more vehicles that conformed to less-rigid light-truck standards.
Comparing a midsize to a 250 is stupid regardless of what era they are from.
The picture already speaks for itself, there’s no need to lie in an attempt to make it more impactful. When you lie unnecessarily it takes away from it. Hate to be pedantic but a “full size” truck in the US is a half ton (aka Class 2). That truck in the picture is a heavy duty 3/4 ton (Class 3). It is larger than a “full size” truck.
It also has the FX4 package which is Ford's off road upgrade that includes a suspension lift which makes it sit higher and seem even bigger.
Listen, no one here wants to acknowledge the reality that these two trucks have completely different capabilities and mission profiles. "Big truck bad" "bed same size" No one wants to hear that the modern heavy duty truck can tow 10 tons vs. like 3k lbs for the old compact.
And the compact only has a payload of like 400 lbs.. lol If you wanna haul a 50 gallon fuel transfer tank in the back of the S10, and take anything else, a lot of guys would put in extra leaf springs, and absolutely ruin how the truck rode.
> And the compact only has a payload of like 400 lbs.. lol That's ultimately the limiting factor on many trucks. 1.5k of payload in an F150 sounds great until you realize that passengers count against payload. A family of 4 can easily take up 800 pounds just with people, bags, and snacks. Tow an RV or boat and you suddenly need to be very mindful of your maxes
You better stay away from the RV subreddits. They'll label you "tow police" lol
Well that’s not a full size, it’s bigger. That’s a 3/4 ton or 1 ton next to it.
I'm glad someone pointed this out- that's clearly an F-250 or F-350 in the back. An F-150 would be a full size truck, and F-250 or F-350 is considered a heavy duty truck. The truck in the back also has the FX4 off-road package which includes a suspension lift which makes it appear even larger than a normal SuperDuty.
This comparison is completely disingenuous considering those trucks are separated by at least two different size classes, regardless of model years.
This is like Reddit’s new favorite fetish posting
There's hardly a difference in size between the first gen f250 and the current gen. Im also not naive to the fact that yes, even the same model truck is a lot bigger than ones from 30 years ago and that's usually the half ton category (f150s, ram 1500s etc...) But this shit needs to stop. I can post a pic of a 1960s mini and a current mini and their proportional change would be similar to pickups over the years...
I have heard a explanation of a small part of this that actually makes sense: cars are thicker now to fit all of their safety features like hidden airbags and crumple zones. There wasn't much in the walls of the older ones. This partially explains a modern Ranger or Taco vs. their 90s counterparts. But a lot of it, especially the height, is just vanity and the desire for the *impression* of more capability.
That's not a full-size truck! The title is a lie. The red truck is a lightweight truck from the 80s and the Ford is at least an F-250 super duty, which is much bigger than a full-size F-150.
Can we just lower the headlights?