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Toyota's new $10k pickup

motortrend.com

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Re: Toyota's new $10k pickup

#31

Post by rewmie »

eschneider wrote: post #3

Oooh, I would _absolutely_ buy one of these to tow with. (looks like that diesel has _enough_ torque for my needs.) It's become almost impossible to find a cheap pickup truck in the US. Even older USED trucks are commanding $30K these days. If they could fit this out to pass safety regs in North America and keep the price under $20K, it would be a license to print money.

> Oooh, I would _absolutely_ buy one of these to tow with.

From an outsider, that's the thing that baffles me the most about the current state of the whole world's auto industry. Sometimes it seems that all auto makers are colluding to prevent any competition based on price, and are instead invested in forcing this notion that the only possible consumer pressure is on seeking luxury features like onboard computers, touchscreens, media centers, etc etc.

A vehicle's primary use is take people and objects from point A to B, and do so reliably and economically. The automotive industry is the textbook example of economy of scale. Why are we still seeing low-end cars being sold for small fortunes?

Re: Toyota's new $10k pickup

#32

Post by MarkusWandel »

hasmanean wrote: post #29
MarkusWandel wrote: post #16

In other words, a pickup truck! Not a giant SUV masquerading as one, with a 5ft bed and 5-passenger luxury car cab, with price to match. I'm old enough to remember normal pickup trucks, affordable for actual "work" use, with bench seating for three, full 8x4 bed with half ton cargo capacity and not much else.

Half a ton cargo capacity? That’s like the weight of what, 2 fat people? A ton is 1000 lb, right?

A ton is 1000kg which is approximately 2200lb. Half a ton never seemed much for the pickup trucks of old, but on the other hand, you could overload them by 1.5-2x and still have a bit of suspension travel left for a careful drive home, e.g. when fetching roof shingles. This was when they were cheap utility vehicles of course.

Re: Toyota's new $10k pickup

#33

Post by fwungy »

petee wrote: post #20
fwungy wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's modular. Doesn't look bad at all when built out. https://www.motortrend.com/reviews/2025-toyota-imv-0-pickup-...

I get that, which on its own is awesome. But even fitted out, it looks like overlanding is their goal market, cause its gotta look "mean." Maybe because I use power tools so often that when something flips form-follows-function backwards, it stands out like a sore thumb -- for example none of the exterior design of the cab affects its use or modularity, yet they clearly spent some time on it.

Simple materials and construction that make it easy to repair in developing countries.

Re: Toyota's new $10k pickup

#34

Post by swatcoder »

rewmie wrote: post #31
eschneider wrote: post #3

Oooh, I would _absolutely_ buy one of these to tow with. (looks like that diesel has _enough_ torque for my needs.) It's become almost impossible to find a cheap pickup truck in the US. Even older USED trucks are commanding $30K these days. If they could fit this out to pass safety regs in North America and keep the price under $20K, it would be a license to print money.

> Oooh, I would _absolutely_ buy one of these to tow with. From an outsider, that's the thing that baffles me the most about the current state of the whole world's auto industry. Sometimes it seems that all auto makers are colluding to prevent any competition based on price, and are instead invested in forcing this notion that the only possible consumer pressure is on seeking luxury features like onboard computers, t…

> A vehicle's primary use is take people and objects from point A to B, and do so reliably

Car longevity increased a ton in the last several decades years, and so "something that moves" isn't as central a motivation for new car sales anymore. If they just need something that moves, buyers can find countless used cars that still run and will keep doing so for hundreds of thousands of more miles. It's tough to compete in that space and come away with a worthwhile margin on top of fresh design and manufacturing costs.

So manufacturers, who don't want to scale down sales and production, try to entice buyers with shiny things that aren't available on old models and focus on higher price tiers. And that it coincides with booming tech culture and its fashion/impulse-driven purchase cycles makes it that much easier for them.

Re: Toyota's new $10k pickup

#35

Post by GauntletWizard »

MarkusWandel wrote: post #32
hasmanean wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Half a ton cargo capacity? That’s like the weight of what, 2 fat people? A ton is 1000 lb, right?

A ton is 1000kg which is approximately 2200lb. Half a ton never seemed much for the pickup trucks of old, but on the other hand, you could overload them by 1.5-2x and still have a bit of suspension travel left for a careful drive home, e.g. when fetching roof shingles. This was when they were cheap utility vehicles of course.

In the US, we have an imperial ton of precisely 2000lb. A metric ton is commonly heard, but always specified.

Re: Toyota's new $10k pickup

#36

Post by MarkusWandel »

QuarterReptile wrote: post #27
MarkusWandel wrote: post #16

In other words, a pickup truck! Not a giant SUV masquerading as one, with a 5ft bed and 5-passenger luxury car cab, with price to match. I'm old enough to remember normal pickup trucks, affordable for actual "work" use, with bench seating for three, full 8x4 bed with half ton cargo capacity and not much else.

You can still buy those, typically ex-contractor vehicles at auction. Crank windows, cloth bench, long bed, crappy radio.

Cloth bench? Luxury! The ones I remember were vinyl. And what do you mean a mono AM radio is crappy?

Re: Toyota's new $10k pickup

#37

Post by SOLAR_FIELDS »

QuarterReptile wrote: post #27
MarkusWandel wrote: post #16

In other words, a pickup truck! Not a giant SUV masquerading as one, with a 5ft bed and 5-passenger luxury car cab, with price to match. I'm old enough to remember normal pickup trucks, affordable for actual "work" use, with bench seating for three, full 8x4 bed with half ton cargo capacity and not much else.

You can still buy those, typically ex-contractor vehicles at auction. Crank windows, cloth bench, long bed, crappy radio.

I have a 2 door late 2000’s Ford Ranger I’ve been driving for the past decade. Crank windows and the vinyl seats are falling apart and it’s my favorite vehicle I’ve ever owned. Low maintenance costs: only had one actual mechanical problem, bad coil pack, since I’ve owned it and I’ve had the sway bar replaced but otherwise nothing. other than that it’s only been batteries, oil and tires and registration/insurance. I bought a $200 vinyl tonneau cover off of Amazon a few years ago and the utility of the thing is just amazing for the price (I paid around $6000 USD for it in 2012). I recently replaced the crappy radio with a $40 unit with Bluetooth.

I’ve been interested in upgrading it as it’s kind of getting old now and it would be nice to get something with CarPlay without having to do a retrofit but the main killer feature that’s just not available on consumer trucks anymore is the bed size. It’s extremely rare to find a truck with the features I want that still have a 6 ft bed size. There are so many things I haul around that fit exactly into that bed length

Re: Toyota's new $10k pickup

#38

Post by expertentipp »

hasmanean wrote: post #29
MarkusWandel wrote: post #16

In other words, a pickup truck! Not a giant SUV masquerading as one, with a 5ft bed and 5-passenger luxury car cab, with price to match. I'm old enough to remember normal pickup trucks, affordable for actual "work" use, with bench seating for three, full 8x4 bed with half ton cargo capacity and not much else.

Half a ton cargo capacity? That’s like the weight of what, 2 fat people? A ton is 1000 lb, right?

My dude, In Europe elevators with capacity half a ton say they can lift 7 people.

Re: Toyota's new $10k pickup

#40

Post by jstarfish »

gottorf wrote: post #9
eschneider wrote: post #3

Oooh, I would _absolutely_ buy one of these to tow with. (looks like that diesel has _enough_ torque for my needs.) It's become almost impossible to find a cheap pickup truck in the US. Even older USED trucks are commanding $30K these days. If they could fit this out to pass safety regs in North America and keep the price under $20K, it would be a license to print money.

A small pickup, at least with any kind of ICE, is literally illegal to sell here due to CAFE regulations, which are strangely based on the footprint of the car. An actually small pickup would have to be as fuel-efficient as sedans and small SUVs, which isn't going to work out. EVs will work, but not at that sub-$20k price point.

This can't be right. Maybe it is, but it makes no sense.

The 90s Frontier is a tiny little thing, almost what a Kei truck is today. Same with the Ranger. An El Camino is bigger.

I bought a base Frontier in 2017, wanting that tiny truck but ended up with something the size of a 90s F150. Literally the smallest option on the market, whose weak-ass v4 struggles to haul its own weight (and has the turning radius of an aircraft carrier).

Tacomas? I like Toyota but the used market for those is worse than MSRP.

And Ford stopped making the Ranger; the Maverick ain't it. It's basically what I have already.

How is this the result of new efficiency standards? We still have small cars on the road. Cutting the roof off and appending a flatbed doesn't require a monster footprint.

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