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Comment by Glyptodon | Hacker News Reader

Now make a hybrid version with a truck bed big enough for major appliances a la an El Camino to compete with the Maverick.

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I know that Toyota is looking at low-end Hilux and trying to determine if those low-end trucks can enter the US market.

I dunno, Toyota's got a great car / SUV reputation. But Toyota's truck reputation cannot keep up with Ford or GM. It'd be nice for Toyota fans I guess, but its hard to beat the Ford Maverick + Ford's reputation in trucks.

The Tacoma has an excellent reputation with truck guys. The Tundra does as well, but the long refresh cycle and momentum has made it tough to compete with Domestics in the full-size class.

I just bought a Tacoma in November of last year. Coming from a Jeep that had nothing but problems, I was looking for something I could make Home Depot runs in and that I wouldn't need to dump money into, so reliability was #1. I wanted to compare with a Ranger but there were literally 0 Rangers or Mavericks in my city to look at, and Tacomas were going and going from the lots every day. They were cheaper too, though the new 24s seem outrageously priced against the Ford.

I was always amazed that back in the 2000s when the PT Cruiser (and to a far lesser extent the HHR, SSR, and Prowler) showed there was a market for retro-cool cars, they didn't resuscitate the El Camino nameplate. It's iconic and distinctive.

I think that would be quite a bit bigger than a Camry?

something like a hybrid Subaru Baja might be interesting, or maybe a little too interesting for the US market.

I just want a PHEV Corolla station wagon.

RAV4 Cruiser is hybrid and fits most appliances

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