Oblivion…if you look at the standard cab version of intermediate Tacoma, Frontier etc. they are not much longer at all. They are wider which is now considered a safety feature. Lately, customers have tried to combine trucks with passenger capacity making these intermediates offer extended cabs and crew cabs with beds that are useful…that has what has made them big. The standard cab can still be powered buy a 4cylinder and are just as economical in 2wd as they have ever been and in 4wd are awesome off roaders. Automakers think rust is their best friend and only grudgingly add preventative measures over time. Spaying linseed oil in body cavities and painting grease on under bady parts once every two years and a truck will last a generation…with no negative environmental impact.
Look at the Australian “UTES”. The GM and Ford units are cool. Ford still does the ranger over there.
Les
And diesels also!
Les
Lee Iaccoa tells the story of when he was the design head for GM, he brough another maker's successful new and radically differemt design in to show his designers. The GM CEO (which I believe was Bob Lutz, but I could be remembering wrong) came down and began putting postits on everything that violated the GM "design cues". As Iaccoa tells it, there were some 70 stickers on the car. Iaccoa's goal was to get his designers to stretch their imaginations. Bob Lutz's goal was to be sure that every new design had all the mandated Chevy "cues"......so many as to be sure every Chevy looked the same.
I don’t have a speaker on my computer. I take it that I screwed up the actors??
Apologies to Mr. Lutz.
Thanks for the correction.
yeah. Bob Lutz was the one who came in to the whole mix. 7 passenger Saturn Vue…
Bscar2…updated Subaru Brat, Ford Ranchero, ElCameno…
First, none of these are still in production for good reason (practicality wins out in trucks in sales) and second, none of theses were a fwd. IMO, anything in fwd with a pick up bead woukd a step backwards, unless, all you do is delivery styrofoam insulation.
Baja, not Brat
I kinow they’re not in production anymore, that’s why I said “updated”. The same way GM “updated” the GTO a few years back, or the Ford Thunderbird.
I did understand what you were saying but I don’t see it successfully happening. (none in production …for good reason)The closest is the Honda Ridgeline. (or Avalanche), both are real trucks. If updating is bringing something back with the same name, it will have to be something better then the Ridgeline. Right now, I don’t see car companies with much flexibility in the truck line with the mileage requirements. It’s either a car with great mpg or a truck that can actually do some work. These vehicles you mentioned fail at both at this time. A dramatic power plant change that gives vehicle design flexibility, yes, you could see more vehicles of this type.
Throwing a truck bed on the back of anything could kill aerodynamics…translate into poor gas mileage.
@dagosa: Not sure what you’re comparing the Tacoma to that they’re not much longer than… I was merely pointing out what I think a successful formula is for a small pickup with well-balanced attributes. If Toyota, etc. offered a turbo on their 4-cyl. trucks, they would be more desirable IMHO. But I wasn’t the one looking for a truck. If I ever buy another truck, it will likely be another V8 that gets terrible mileage but that you can pretty much drive through the apocalypse without it missing a beat.
Just trying to point out that if we want a small pick up, in today’s market, it means wider then the old days. We have to deal with that. Once trucks got a little wider…there was no stopping them from offering full size crew cabs that need more powerful motors then the shorter ones with 4 cyl. I don’t see an advantage of a turbo unless you want more speed from a short bed. I don’t feel a short bed or any pick up can ever be “balanced”. It can’t be by definition.
It needs to be out of balanced unloaded and improved when loaded. That’s the point in all of my posts when someone thinks they can make a truck into a car and talk about balance, economy and handling. Otherwise, just get a good car and paint a picture of a pick up bed on the back. Cause you can’t have both in practice. There are too many trucks that find them selves in single car accidents because the driver thinks he is driving a car.
The chassis IMO of any of these shorter trucks just doesn’t offer handling to keep up with the extra power. The power in these intermediates is limited for a reason. 75 to 80 is the absolute top I would want to drive these trucks with 4wd and then, only on the freeway without 4wd engaged. Now, a full size Ford f150 or Tundra is a different story, but not by much. Then, a v8 is more then worthwhile as it’s a necessity if you use a full size to it’s capability.
An additional observation. I’m visiting my son in Mass, looking out the window at a pick up in a neghbor’s drive. It has been lower with the stock rims replaced by hideous low profile rims and tires. It must be done for looks, because every thing you do to a truck to improve it’s handling, often deminshes it’s usefulness.