One Drive in Toyota's $10k Pickup Will Make You Want One (2023) | Hacker News Reader

One Drive in Toyota's $10k Pickup Will Make You Want One (2023)

motor1.com

30 pointswalterbell18 comments

I live in a town/area that has a high percentage of truck owners, definitely higher than i.e. west coast cities. An area with lots of people who do outdoor activities that a truck is nice or necessary for, and with people who do use their truck for work, and with people who drive trucks because it is what they are accustomed to. Among my friends and people I talk to, there is definitely some desire for more reasonably sized trucks. As another example, older used trucks (which are smaller) fetch a premium here compared to other areas. Nationwide, you can also look at the success of the Ford Maverick and even possible the Hyundai Santa Cruz. Personally, I don't understand these truck models, as they seem to be an inconvenient 4 door car with a truck bed that isn't really usable for much, but they indicate that manufactures are somewhat succeeding with the concept.

There is 100% still a large market for big trucks, but I wonder how the truck market will change in the future. My first car was an old ford ranger, which was in many ways the perfect vehicle for me. Reasonably sized, 2 doors, okay gas mileage, okay for light towing, and a bed that was usable. The modern small trucks are a completely different design, catering to a super cab design that can easily fit 4 people, and sacrificing bed space, and still end up significantly larger than older pickup trucks. This still seems completely non-functionable to me. It seems manufactures are realized customers want smaller trucks, but it is just catering to people who want a truck but don't actually need a truck? Will we ever see normal-sized functional pickup trucks in the US again?

The biggest gaping issue with 2 door compact truck is car seats. When I was a kid we just squeezed in the bench of compact pickups or rode in the bed. Now both illegal (if there is no back there is exception in my state you can install 1 car seat up front, not illegal though ive been judged harshly for it due to paranoia campaigns). Hard to imagine a truck illegal for the family to ride in being profitable when the target new market is middle age middle class+ people who usually have at least one child or grandchild.

Yeah I guess part of my point is that such market would probably be better served by owning a car instead. Most of these trucks with tiny beds I see have roll top covers or canopies on them anyways. If you need 4 seats and a some cargo space, there's tons of cars that fill that niche. Maybe I'm missing something in my understanding of people's desires, but I don't think its possible to have 4 seats, normal length truck bed, and not be a oversized gas guzzler

I was very confused why integrated Microsoft cloud storage would make a motor vehicle better.

They would need to pay me 10k to integrate any microsoft software into my car....

Blue windscreen of death you say

That vehicle is now sold as the Toyota Hilux Champ.[1] But not in the US.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Hilux_Champ

Toyota has designed and built that vehicle for that SEA market. Sure could it sell in the US? To some who want that, but the US is over-served for pickup trucks (granted not at that Hilux Champ price point.)

Toyota has spent a lot of money to build the Tacoma and Tundra in the US because Americans want vehicles built in America (plus the chicken tax.) There's little reason to import the Hilux Champ, especially now in light of the additional US tariffs not to mention that it would not pass all of the required regulations that the US has.

It's true that these trucks wouldn't be marketable in the U.S. based on safety or emissions, though I imagine it wouldn't require that many modifications if there were a consumer market.

The problem is that if safety and emissions equipment raise the price to $20k, and you add the 25% chicken tax, you are at the $25k of a barebones Ford Ranger.

I feel the chicken tax really should be repealed. It has been distorting the U.S. truck market for 40 years, preventing smaller, cheaper, more fuel efficient trucks from asian manufacturers from competing.

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

CAFE outlaws efficient vehicles. It goes in part by footprint, so smaller slightly more efficient vehicles just have to be scaled back up.

it isn't the chicken tax, rather CAFE standards driving up dimensions versus emissions outputs.

Somehow, this is "best case scenario" for greenhouse gas emissions. (what it really is ensuring profitability for corp manufacturers.

https://me.engin.umich.edu/news-events/news/cafe-standards-c...

> You won't find any […] active safety systems […], nor ABS, nor airbags.

I‘m surprised this is legal to drive anywhere without airbags, whether they‘re targeting Southeast Asia or not.

Tangent: the article links to a (simulated?) manual drive EV! [0]. So cool, I want one.

[0] https://insideevs.com/features/693877/toyota-ev-manual-trans...

> “If you're the sort who loathes touchscreen controls, you'll love the IMV 0.”

That’s me. Sounds like the kind of vehicle I could wrench.

-1? Are you a mechanic or automotive industrial designer whose responsibility are those touch screens? Hehe!

I ride a motorcycle and think those animated screens are absolutely naff.

> A truck this simple is incompatible with… the American consumer market.

Bullshit. I’d write a check for 3 if it hit the market tomorrow

Agreed. It takes a special kind of stupid to write that these days. The Maverick flew off the shelves as fast as they could make them, so much so that they jacked the price waaay up. Clearly demand is there.

This article does a great job of taking the worst possible form of the opposition's argument. An $80k big fat stupid American truck can be acquired that is extremely robust when it comes to running into shit, for instance. If you opt into low profile tires on a 5500lb work truck, that reflects on your preferences and inexperience, not what these things are actually capable of.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com