Ilovemountains

Sorry in advance for the following rant, it’s just been one of those days.......Today I was cruising along in my 88 on I81S at 80mph and had some yokel in a newer F350 with I would say at least 44" tires and SMOKE STACKS smirk at me, gas it and leave a big cloud of diesel smoke.... Why??? I asked myself would anyone want a truck that BIG unless you tow a massive trailer, even then, why do you need the massive wheels and lift? I just don’t get it, I call it little man syndrome....These are the same guys that make fun of my MX5 until I spool it up and do a donut around their trucks, I love hearing “I didn’t know they made those for guys”... Anyway I started thinking about just how big things have become, I actually swung into a Toyota dealership and parked my old 88 next to a new Taco and to be 100% honest, I’d rather have my 88. Don’t get me wrong, there are parts of a new truck that would be great, like a new engine and driveline but why are they so big and have so much unnecessary crap on them now? In my opinion, when Toyota switched from the "pickup" in 95 to the Tacoma, and when Nissan switched in 97 from their "pickup" to the Frontier that it was the end of the small, tough 4x4 no frills mini trucks, I’ve never looked at a Ranger / Mazda or the Chevrolet so I’m leaving them out of my rant, though I’ve driven both and would rather drive my 82 Trekker than one!! Anyway, my dads 04 TRD Taco feels big, heavy and just not a fun as my 88, I don’t know....... I think that all the big plastic fender flares, gaudy BIG chrome front ends etc are just that, big and gaudy. Give me a low mileage mid 90s Yota any day over a low mileage 2010, just my .02 sparked by some tiny tiny man in a VERY big truck!!!! My fiance cracked up because she saw the wheels in my head turning as he sped past, it was actually comical to see, come on we were already going 80 in a 70..... He must have been living out some "days of thunder" fantasy from his hair band past or somthing.....

Who, in their right mind would want to put "smoke stacks" on their pickup truck??? People like that are the reason that the word inbreeding exists, chances are that if you’ve cut holes in the bed of $45,000+ pickup and actually installed smoke stacks the thought of your sister in bed... probably turns you on.........

Adam F

LMFAO good post. I agree man. Id love to see a mini truck from Toyota.

dark_fairytales

your answer is the hilux 120 or 130 platform not sold in USA

toyota4x4907

I would agree whole-heartedly. I wish they would make a smaller p/u again. Hell, make a small p/u, light(ish) p/u again and put the 2.7L they have in the Taco now and you're looking at like 22mpg city in a 4x4!!




Give me a high mileage pre-Taco (or first gen Taco/3rd gen runner) over any low mileage '03+ Yota.

bigt

new suzuki truck is pretty good.. i think suzuki is your best bet.. we need a new LWB samurai best truck ever

RobD

Because North Americans typically don't want them. Everything grows dimensionally every year. Look at a Honda Accord now and back when they first hit the shores.

A Yaris has more room inside it than my '91 4Runner.

Times change. Vehicles evolve.

Not always for the better, but they do.

mastacox

Why not just buy an old truck and put a new engine in it?

elblako91

What's wrong with stacks? lol Sorry I have a sort of diesel fetish.

SoCal4Running

Will you ever see a new truck the size of your '88? Yes, but not in this country.

Bigger is better in America: 18 packs are better than 6 packs, a full keg is better than a pony, a double cheese burger is better than a singe, ect.

ozziesironmanoffroad

thats what she said

and yes the new vehicles are too huge. i drove a new tundra crewcab, the cabspace was bigger than my expedition!! now THATS huge!

mr.pants

The basic 4x4 Ford Rangers and Mazda B series trucks fit the bill for a no frills light duty/mini pickup. They are cheap and are built tough. They can't hold a candle to the Tacoma's but they are not in the same price class either.

Ol'Lee

well i got to take up for the diesels since i own a 98 dodge 12 valve and i have 35s on mine and yea 44 are a bit big and i think that guy is showin off a little but when you add stuff up i have mine built to around 430 rwhp and close to 800 torque and im still getting anywhere from 19-23 miles to a gallon out of my truck and pushin 250k out of it and havent touched the motor and can have plently of power to do anything i want, pull anything still beat the ricers not yotas but the built hondas and what not and haul 5 people comfortably and about the only thing i cant do with my truck is off road which is what i got my yota for and about the stacks im not a fan of those but everyone has ther own opinions

drew303

You need to go looking outside of the US, Toyota still manufactures (genuinely, like as in TOYOTA designs and makes them) ... they still manufacture a full line of Landcruisers and Hilux's that are built around being used offroad and being used as a real truck, no frills stuff

They still make FJ40's and FJ45's in South America but its not by Toyota, atleast Toyota might outsource it to some companies down there i dont know. Kind of like how the oldskool VW Beetle was still being made in Mexico till like what was it 01?

but no, in America we wont see any usefull rugged long lasting vehicles anymore. That marketing strategy is a death sentence for the auto makers here. With out a product that needs replacing they'd REALLY go belly up


Whats really bullpucky is that we as American Citizens cannot import these wonderful vehicles. It's illegal and customs wont let them in. I think thats complete BS! To outlaw certain model vehicles from even being in the country??? Ok maybe you cant license it for street legal use? ... but no they outright wont let you import a lot of cars. Doesnt make ANY sense.

Tracey98277

its the damn domestic manufacturer lobbyists and the government interfering with free market concept in a futile attempt to keep jobs here. they get ridiculous laws like that passed so they don't have to worry about competition and it keeps the average american consumer unaware that there is a superior product out there. plus if all mfg's here engineer a product that fails at roughly 200,000 miles then that becomes the standard and you either buy parts or a new car, if you introduce a product that lasts till 350,000 miles then the domestic mfg's have to pick up their lazy asses and actually make an effort while cutting cost at the same time like every other business in this country has to do, but god forbid they do that. and another thing, no business is too big to fail, if you ran your company into the ground, too bad you lose and that opens the door for a new company to try their hand at it. thats my 2 cents on that.

toyodually

i agree, gotta show some diesel love, a few bolt on parts and a tuner and mine dynoed at 421 rwhp and 820 ft lbs and i like to black smoke the tail gaters. but all the ricers see the big heavy truck and thing easy prey, they think again when you dump the clutch and leave them stairing at tail lights

stormin94

I like the tough little trucks, too. Sadly though, I doubt Toyota will ever bring anything close to the first and second gen pickups back. And they'll esp. never put a diesel in another small truck and ship it over here. I do have something totally different to look forward to, and I'm actually kind of excited about it. It's not a Toyota, but it's small, and it's got a diesel, and it's coming here this year.

http://www.pickuptrucks.com/html/new...idandmore.html

yoder519

am i the only one in this thread that like stacks??? i jsut sold my 98.5 24V cummins. yea id roll the coal when soemone was tailgatin me, or if i seen another diesel, but not to just random people. theres a place and a time to blow smoke. people like the doush bag the OP was talkin abou tis what gives ALL diesel drivers bad names

Tracey98277

what i hate the most is when the truck is on 33's but the truck its self is 8' off the ground lol. not much being accomplished there.

phildelfino

Or the Indian company Mahindra, which might even bring a small diesel to our shores. They are gearing up to bring small, cheap pickups to USA.

Tracey98277

yeah but i've seen one of their trucks and it looks like one of those utility golf carts... i want to see one of those trail rigged