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Rural Americans are importing tiny Japanese pickup trucks

economist.com

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Re: Rural Americans are importing tiny Japanese pickup trucks

#181

Post by quarantine »

nicbou wrote: post #131
porphyra wrote: post #37

One of the most highly upvoted Reddit posts on /r/fuckcars mocks large pickups compared to the utility of a kei truck. https://reddit.com/r/fuckcars/comments/sdrgv3/japanese_truck... A kei truck has about 90% the bed length of a pickup while being a lot more nimble. The lower bed is more ergonomic to load and unload too.

For me, European multipurpose vehicles (sprinter vans?) were a revelation. An old Renault Kangoo is cheap to buy, cheap to drive and cheap to maintain. It's a small, simple car that drives and parks like a small sedan, but carries as much as a small pickup truck. I can fit a bed, 3 months of luggage and a bicycle in mine. In a pinch, it's a brilliant microcamper. It's a big box on wheels. You can do what you want wit…

The Citroën Berlingo really is one of the best cars they made

Re: Rural Americans are importing tiny Japanese pickup trucks

#182

Post by dsfyu404ed »

paxys wrote: post #58
kylehotchkiss wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I presume you're not in USA - I can't imagine being allowed to import the Mahindra copy-paste Jeep into USA. Those clones are so blatant... Wish they added some more Indian flair to them. I can't believe jeep still bothered to enter the Indian market with that on the roads!

Jeep's design is close to a century old at this point. Why should it still be legally protected?

Trademark protections. FCA sued. IIRC Mahindra redesigned the grill in response.

Re: Rural Americans are importing tiny Japanese pickup trucks

#183

Post by yamtaddle »

nicbou wrote: post #149
yamtaddle wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cars much bigger, heavier, and with worse visibility than necessary, make the roads more dangerous for everyone else—motorists, bicyclists, pedestrians, everyone . The whole thing's turning into an expensive, dangerous game of prisoner's dilemma. It's best if everyone buys exactly as much car as they need, but anyone who "defects" and buys a bigger, heavier car is safer than everyone else, while making everyone else…

You need to rethink the incentives. Big, wasteful cars have no business being as cheap as a small family car. This was not accidental.

Oh, for sure. The old-school conservative solution, from back before "conservative" meant "simply don't try to do good things, at all" (at least, in the US) would have been to try to price in the added risk to others (and other externalities, like extra road-wear) to discourage having too-large vehicles. I think that could work.

Never gonna happen, because too many people think discouraging choices that make public roads more dangerous, or simply paying for costs they impose on others through their choices, is outright tyranny, but hey, it's a nice idea.

Re: Rural Americans are importing tiny Japanese pickup trucks

#184

Post by elboru »

voisin wrote: post #92

I wish the actual story was “US manufacturers announce line of small, Japanese style pickup trucks” Importing adds friction both up front and for ongoing sourcing of parts and maintenance. Just give us some options for local pickup trucks utilizing existing repair facilities! Instead everyone bitches about truck drivers having such large vehicles, when that’s all that’s on offer here!

RAM sells a small truck in Mexico called RAM 700 and it’s getting popular for work purposes (specially in urban areas). I have no idea why it’s not being sold in the US market.

https://www.motor1.com/news/447996/2021-ram-700-debut/

Re: Rural Americans are importing tiny Japanese pickup trucks

#185

Post by pwthornton »

codalan wrote: post #64
LinuxBender wrote: post #4

I've seriously contemplated getting one of these. Street legal, fuel efficient, simple, but when I started researching them I started to see a pattern. It's hard to find anyone in rural areas willing to work on them and not all mini trucks are equal. Some are not shipped correctly and have frame rust issues. There are YouTuber's that cover some of the models and the gotchas and things to inspect. I would never buy on…

They probably share a lot of the same drivetrain/engine/etc. parts from vehicles of the same era. If you are mechanically inclined and have the right tools, you might be able to do some of the work yourself. Most auto mechanics familiar with older Japanese branded vehicles should be able to work on them like they would on a regular US import. The biggest issue I have is that they are right-hand drive. I'd be hesitant…

There are some smaller options these days. The Honda Ridgeline has led the way here as a very livable, smaller (although not small) truck.

The Ford Maverick is even smaller. It is a bit more barebones but it might work for you.

Re: Rural Americans are importing tiny Japanese pickup trucks

#186

Post by inferiorhuman »

nyx wrote: post #171
inferiorhuman wrote: post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The 25-year import rule here, which bans Americans from importing vehicles from other countries unless they're 25+ years old That's not what the rule is. That's the end result because nobody wants to spend money to get a foreign market car to meet the relevant safety and emissions standards.

Yeah, that's completely right, but as you said in another comment, there's some real bullshit in the FMVSS that to me, a complete layperson, seems like it has the sole effect of blocking the certification of perfectly safe and clean modern vehicles from other advanced nations. Of course we shouldn't be allowing people to import some pollution-spewing deathtrap that doesn't have seatbelts--the FMVSS regulations do exi…

  perfectly safe and clean modern vehicles from other advanced nations
A lot of what's being discussed are neither perfectly safe nor clean by American standards.

The UK, for instance, allows pretty much anything with wheels to be registered (e.g. the Peel). Euro NCAP is merely advisory, you can still sell/buy a death trap. Pollution as well. Want an early 90s Figaro or S-Cargo or a late 00s Hijet? Those were sold without cats or fuel injection. Want something cheap and Euro? Cool. The cheap shit is often cheap because it pollutes so much it can't legally be driven in city centers any longer.

A lot of the bellyaching is over cars that the manufacturers couldn't justify fixing up to meet American standards.

Re: Rural Americans are importing tiny Japanese pickup trucks

#187

Post by echelon »

porphyra wrote: post #37

One of the most highly upvoted Reddit posts on /r/fuckcars mocks large pickups compared to the utility of a kei truck. https://reddit.com/r/fuckcars/comments/sdrgv3/japanese_truck... A kei truck has about 90% the bed length of a pickup while being a lot more nimble. The lower bed is more ergonomic to load and unload too.

The /r/fuckcars folks are being a little dishonest here. As another commenter mentioned, this is like asking a vegan for steak recommendations at a restaurant.

Subaru Sambar (kei truck) towing capacity: 1,300 lbs

Ford F-150 towing capacity: 5,000 to 11,300 lbs

Ford F-250 Shelby edition towing capacity: 24,200 pounds

And that's just one additional dimension where these vehicles significantly differ.

These vehicles are utilitarian workhorses great for contracting, construction, farming (eg. hauling livestock), towing (eg. other cars, trailers, mobile BBQ, etc.), boating, leisure [1], etc.

I live in an urban area close enough to the forest, lakes, and pastures to see all of these uses frequently.

The electric version will power job sites, camp sites, and help with disaster recovery. It's going to sell like hot cakes.

[1] https://www.f150forum.com/f34/how-pull-jeep-out-mud-130086/#...

Re: Rural Americans are importing tiny Japanese pickup trucks

#189

Post by itronitron »

LinuxBender wrote: post #4

I've seriously contemplated getting one of these. Street legal, fuel efficient, simple, but when I started researching them I started to see a pattern. It's hard to find anyone in rural areas willing to work on them and not all mini trucks are equal. Some are not shipped correctly and have frame rust issues. There are YouTuber's that cover some of the models and the gotchas and things to inspect. I would never buy on…

>> the owners somehow manage to keep them running

the people that depend on these vehicles are particularly tuned in to how to keep them alive...

Years ago, when my wife and I lived in a 'rural adjacent' community we had a ~20 year old manual transmission european sedan sitting in our driveway for about a year, tires slowly deflating, until one couple stopped by to enquire about it. My wife told them that if you can get it running you can have it, the husband came back a few days later to sign the paperwork, and after popping the hood and turning a few knobs was able to get it started and drove it away :)

Very happy that the vehicle had an extended life with someone that could put it to use.

Re: Rural Americans are importing tiny Japanese pickup trucks

#190

Post by codalan »

pwthornton wrote: post #185
codalan wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They probably share a lot of the same drivetrain/engine/etc. parts from vehicles of the same era. If you are mechanically inclined and have the right tools, you might be able to do some of the work yourself. Most auto mechanics familiar with older Japanese branded vehicles should be able to work on them like they would on a regular US import. The biggest issue I have is that they are right-hand drive. I'd be hesitant…

There are some smaller options these days. The Honda Ridgeline has led the way here as a very livable, smaller (although not small) truck. The Ford Maverick is even smaller. It is a bit more barebones but it might work for you.

The problem with the Maverick (as others have mentioned) is that they squander valuable bed space by adding a cab to the design.

To me, a pickup truck is a pretty utilitarian thing. I don't need a cab. I have other vehicles if I need to take passengers.

I remember pricing out a pickup a few years ago, and it was hard to find one that wasn't already configured with a cab. I guess the market demand is larger for people who have kids but still want a pickup for whatever reason.

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