[Greg Reid]

Hagerty's publication had an article about the new rules and the resulting jump in prices for the small pickups a few months ago.
I've got one of the last. 2002 regular cab, short bed, 5-spd Tacoma. I call it my little quarter horse. 310,000 miles and 27mpg and runs like a sewing machine.
I'm thinking about getting a camper shell because there is no room for carrying anything inside but it tows my little 11 foot bass boat just fine.

Sent from my moto g stylus (2021) using Tapatalk

[necdb3]

Originally Posted by Greg Reid

Hagerty's publication had an article about the new rules and the resulting jump in prices for the small pickups a few months ago.
I've got one of the last. 2002 regular cab, short bed, 5-spd Tacoma. I call it my little quarter horse. 310,000 miles and 27mpg and runs like a sewing machine.
I'm thinking about getting a camper shell because there is no room for carrying anything inside but it tows my little 11 foot bass boat just fine.

Sent from my moto g stylus (2021) using Tapatalk

There's always the argument about which trucks are the best but that pickup there, are amongst the best on the road no matter what people say. Toyota's are always my first choice.

[Sirrotica]

The year before I graduated from high school (1969) I worked in the service department of a Datsun/Jeep dealership. The Datsun factory rep was a pretty cool guy to talk with.

One time during these BS sessions he told us about an oil drilling company from the US that was working in the midlle east having tried ford and chevy trucks out in the oil fields, and how they just didn't last. Someone got the bright idea to try Datsun trucks over there, and they were amazed that the little Datsuns held up 2-3 times longer than the ford, or chevy trucks did in that harsh environment. The payload was lighter, but of course they probably overloaded them to haul the same things. That was my first exposure to Japanese built, engineered trucks, and I paid attention to that little bit of information.

To contradict that glowing report of Japanese trucks, my father worked in the truck garage of a local chevy dealership, and they sold the Mitsubishi built LUV trucks, they were just a rolling pile of crap. The engines were always failing in them, and being an an OHC design were a real pain to work on. In the rust belt they, like may Japanese cars, and trucks of the era just rotted away in a few years. Holes so big in the sheet metal you could toss your hat through one, and not hit the side of the hole.......

I can't say much bad about Toyota, because my wife's Vibe bought new in 2008 has nearly 350,000 miles on it, and has only required preventative maintenance items in all that time. In the last 2 years she's driven it from Ohio to Alabama, and back 3 times, never missed a beat.

[jerry455]

I love my 2018 Chevrolet Colorado Z71, crew cab, short box 4X4. It has the 3.6 V6 and the 8-speed auto trans. I bought it new in 2018 and will probably be my last new vehicle. I can haul drywall and plywood. I made a rack that supports it level with the wheel well and leave the tailgate down, with a strap to keep them all in the bed. I pull a 5,000 lbs. travel trailer and drive it every day. It is very comfortable and gets decent mileage. I drive a 2016 Chevrolet Silverado for work and love when I get back into my Colorado. I would have loved to have bought a 6-foot box but the 5'2" short box was all I could find. Back then I wanted a first gen Colorado, but I couldn't find one with lower miles and for a decent price. When the Colorado came back out in 2015, they were crazy hard to find. It took 3 years until you could even find one on the showroom floor. I initially looked for a 2015-2018 used but the prices for a 30,000-mile truck were only a couple thousand dollars less than a brand-new truck, so that is what I did. I don't regret it at all. I love driving it, it handles well and has surprisingly good acceleration. Fuel economy ranges from 17-21, in the city to 20-25, on the highway. There are lots of them around here and they seem to be quite popular.

[Greg Reid]

Originally Posted by Sirrotica

... they sold the Mitsubishi built LUV trucks, they were just a rolling pile of crap. The engines were always failing in them, and being an an OHC design were a real pain to work on. In the rust belt they, like may Japanese cars, and trucks of the era just rotted away in a few years. Holes so big in the sheet metal you could toss your hat through one, and not hit the side of the hole.......

I had a little 4 speed LUV truck in the late 80's. The body was so rusty that about two feet of the rocker panel fell off one day when I shut the door. It was 'carved' out of Bondo over rusty sheetmetal. The brake lines even rusted and sprang leaks. As I recall though, the engine was Isuzu and I had no problem with the drivetrain. This would have been something like a '78 model or thereabouts..
No matter though... You are right about the Mitsubishi. We bought my wife a Mitsubishi powered Dodge Caravan. When it hit 100,000 miles it started smoking like a train. I used to see them all over and I could tell immediately which ones had the optional Mitsubishi engine. They all smoked.

[b-man]

The Chevy LUV was built by Isuzu, one of my friends had a 1976 and it was pretty much trouble free. I borrowed it for a road trip up to Washington state in 1983 to buy a 1956 VW panel bus and flat towed it home without any problems.

Mitsubishi was building the Dodge D-50 mini trucks, the Ford Courier was a Mazda.

The Datsun and Toyota mini trucks were all the rage back in the mid to late ‘70s, they sold like hotcakes back them. A lot of high school kids had them, they were more popular than muscle cars at the time. Partly because of the recent high gas prices and because they were so utilitarian.

Such a shame they’re not producing these great entry level mini trucks anymore.

[Formulajones]

Meh, not a fan of the foreign stuff so doesn't bother me they aren't produced.

What I find ironic is how more people than I've ever seen before complain about their foreign parts, horrible this and horrible that, but so many will praise about their foreign vehicle sitting in the driveway?

[RocktimusPryme]

Originally Posted by Formulajones

Meh, not a fan of the foreign stuff so doesn't bother me they aren't produced.

What I find ironic is how more people than I've ever seen before complain about their foreign parts, horrible this and horrible that, but so many will praise about their foreign vehicle sitting in the driveway?

Good is good I guess.

People complain about horrible foreign parts, because they tend to fail and be worse than USA made parts. The draw being that they are cheaper and readily available.

I don't think you can say the same about Toyota trucks. They get praised because they have a reputation for being very good. Plus they are in the same price range as its domestic rivals. So any quality discrepancy doesn't come with a price difference.

So its not the same thing.

Also, Im pretty sure several "foreign" manufacturers are actually heavily made in the US. Again Toyota pickups specifically I believe are more USA made than their domestic counterparts. What do I care where the trillionaire lives at the top of the company? I don't care about that guy. If the plant is here creating decent jobs for Americans Im good with that.

Most of the companies in general are Japanese that we are talking about. As someone who works in Process Improvement, much of what we do is modeled after Japanese (Toyota Specifically) workflow models. So once again, comparing cheap chinesium reproduction parts, with Japanese manufacturing is not the same thing.

[Formulajones]

Originally Posted by RocktimusPryme

Good is good I guess.

People complain about horrible foreign parts, because they tend to fail and be worse than USA made parts.

I don't think you can say the same about Toyota trucks. They get praised because they have a reputation for being very good.

So its not the same thing.

Also, Im pretty sure several "foreign" manufacturers are actually heavily made in the US. Again Toyota pickups specifically I believe are more USA made than their domestic counterparts. What do I care where the trillionaire lives at the top of the company? I don't care about that guy. If the plant is here creating decent jobs for Americans Im good with that.

Most of the companies in general are Japanese that we are talking about. As someone who works in Process Improvement, much of what we do is modeled after Japanese (Toyota Specifically) workflow models. So once again, comparing cheap chinesium reproduction parts, with Japanese manufacturing is not the same thing.

Foreign is foreign to me so one is no different than the other in my eyes. I was never one to complain about foreign parts I just find it ironic so many here do but love their foreign vehicles.

For me I'm just happy that parts are even produced for our 50 year old cars whether they come from over seas or not. Without that most of these cars would now be nothing but a storage unit. So we deal with what we have, modify if necessary, and move on.

['ol Pinion head]

Foreign doesn't bother me if the vehicle is top of its class mechanically, well built, & works for what I need it for. I'm a strong believer in purpose built & purpose usage vehicles. Also have zero interest in fighting the battle of driving a very collectible low production 50 year old Pontiac musclecar as a "driver".

['ol Pinion head]

Had an 83 Isuzu diesel pickup for a while. It was not airconditioned & between the washboard country back roads & no AC, after a long day of pulling parts, it would wear me out. Bought the Isuzu after riding in, & borrowing on multiple occasions, a long time friends '81 Toyota diesel long bed. Both worked well on the country roads but at little over 6'2, the driving position left a lot to desire.

Eventually picked up an 80 diesel Dasher, it too would get phenomenal mileage. Only VW have ever owned. Was out of Utah, a fellow in St George totally went through it mechanically, & added an extra fuel tank in the rear spare tire well. Even with black interior, the AC worked well in front. I took the bottom of the rear seat out that helped filling the back up. With the sunroof back a few inches, & hood latch hanging down, hauled many an early GTO & Chevelle SS hood strapped to the luggage rack/roof. In so many respects, the diesel Dasher proved to be a better parts hauler than the litte Isuzu. When I finally parked the Dasher, did so as when I did venture out on the interstates it was dangerous in traffic hardly able to go 70 mph. Did make a great scout car/small load hauler, having sold an '80 dually, & eventully buying a new 89 4.0 XJ Cherokee Laredo, i rotated between the Dasher & the Cherokee with the Cherokee working well pulling parts cars as well as projects.

In 00, bought my early 98 12V Cummins Ram. While a great long haul truck, & much more comfortable to drive than the earlier stripped down small diesels, the Dodge is a long vehicle & its smart use is pulling. In 2019, gave the Ram a mild facelift & taller late model tire/wheel combo. New front shocks & upper ball joints are on the to do list later this month.

[necdb3]

Originally Posted by Formulajones

Meh, not a fan of the foreign stuff so doesn't bother me they aren't produced.

What I find ironic is how more people than I've ever seen before complain about their foreign parts, horrible this and horrible that, but so many will praise about their foreign vehicle sitting in the driveway?

Foreign is foreign but don't confuse China and Japan. China has a reputation of reproducing American products very cheaply but attention to detail is lacking. Japan takes American ideas and makes them work better and reliable.

[Formulajones]

China, Japan, Indonesia, it's all foreign.

Everyone wants to praise "USA" "American Made" etc... and even put things in their headers to promote the idea they are pro America but then talk about how they love these foreign cars.

Look, I don't care either way what you love or hate, I'm just looking for a little consistency.

[RocktimusPryme]

I get what you are saying in a vacuum, but by that rationale no vehicle is USA made. And as mentioned Toyota trucks might actually be the MOST American.

Even vintage vehicles I would bet were not 100% made in the USA. More than today for sure, but if you asked me to bet on, "Is a 1970 GTO 100% made in the USA?" I would take the under.

I don't think there is an opportunity for complete consistency because the market is muddy there.

[Formulajones]

Understandable, and I don't take all this as a bad thing, just trying to wrap my head around the thought process from some of you guys.

All I drive are 50+ year old muscle cars and I enjoy it. Yeah the parts and pieces on them now 5 decades later are most likely all foreign made, and I don't take any issue with that. It is what it is, I'm just happy I can still buy stuff for it. The car itself though still represents a time when America was America and I do take some pride in that. I know others appreciate them as well.

But if I were on the market for a mini truck, I'd for sure be looking at S-10's, or something from the big 3, not Isuzu's or Toyota's. That's just me. I'm not even remotely interested in anything offered new from any manufacture these days.

[burd]

I have a Chev Colorado, I’ll never go full size again, just too big.

[Greg Reid]

I don't personally complain about foreign products. I've had several VWs, Datsuns, Toyotas a BMW, Volvos, etc. In fact, there are always one or two foreign cars in my driveway. If I ever let that phrase slip, what I meant was Chinese products. The main reason I complain about those is because they're junk in large part.
I've said this before and I'll say it again... If we ever found ourselves in a shooting war with China I hope they supply their military with the same junk they're selling us!

[72projectbird]

Originally Posted by Greg Reid

I've said this before and I'll say it again... If we ever found ourselves in a shooting war with China I hope they supply their military with the same junk they're selling us!

Idk, they're pretty good at building AKs. My Norincos are like cockroaches. They could probably survive a nuclear explosion and still function lol

['ol Pinion head]

Anyone on PY have a 2012-2015 Toyota Tacoma AccessCab?

We've put near 300k on an '06 4Runner Sport. Been very dependable. It's fairly clean & I've had numerous inquiries on me selling it. Have always noticed really clean Tacoma's of the bodystyle up through 2015, & am considering searching for the right Tacoma. Prefer the Extcab bodystyle w the 6'2 length bed.

My concern is legroom as I've driven & ridden in a few smaller base level Toyota single cabs including an early ('06) base level Tundra that on long trips, it was very uncomfortable.

[Sirrotica]

Originally Posted by Greg Reid

I had a little 4 speed LUV truck in the late 80's. The body was so rusty that about two feet of the rocker panel fell off one day when I shut the door. It was 'carved' out of Bondo over rusty sheetmetal. The brake lines even rusted and sprang leaks. As I recall though, the engine was Isuzu and I had no problem with the drivetrain. This would have been something like a '78 model or thereabouts..
No matter though... You are right about the Mitsubishi. We bought my wife a Mitsubishi powered Dodge Caravan. When it hit 100,000 miles it started smoking like a train. I used to see them all over and I could tell immediately which ones had the optional Mitsubishi engine. They all smoked.

Originally Posted by b-man

The Chevy LUV was built by Isuzu, one of my friends had a 1976 and it was pretty much trouble free. I borrowed it for a road trip up to Washington state in 1983 to buy a 1956 VW panel bus and flat towed it home without any problems.

Mitsubishi was building the Dodge D-50 mini trucks, the Ford Courier was a Mazda.

The Datsun and Toyota mini trucks were all the rage back in the mid to late ‘70s, they sold like hotcakes back them. A lot of high school kids had them, they were more popular than muscle cars at the time. Partly because of the recent high gas prices and because they were so utilitarian.

Such a shame they’re not producing these great entry level mini trucks anymore.

You're right it was Isuzu, that's called poor recollection. I do know that every time I stopped by the truck garage they had the head off of one of those trucks. It was mid to late 70s and the bodies were just crap.

I could not tell you the last time I saw a LUV truck on the road in my neck of the woods, has to be decades ago. They're all gone full circle, and been turned back into tin cans again.