… is sold only in China, and it is equipped with a 99 horsepower engine. Somehow, I think that it might have a hard time in the mountains that are pictured here.
That would not sell well here the US because I would want one . Of course there are few like me that just need something to make runs to Home Depot or bring a recliner from a furniture store .
I can’t justify the price and size of current pickups being sold now . And those small used imported right hand drive small trucks are 6 to 7 thousand.
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About 10 years ago, my brother got a really good deal on an old Nissan 4WD pickup, complete with a snowplow. In the 3 years or so that he owned it, he used it no more than 4 times, and wound up selling it for almost as much as he paid for it.
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Go to South America. You’ll find a lot of small pickups from all manufacturers that are not and never were sold in the US.
I guess it depends on the gearing and torque. I imagine that GM and SAIC tested it for the market. My guess it’s that it only has to get to 35
mph or so, and maybe do a little off roading in the fields. Even a Citroen 2CV does that.
I’m expecting they’ll be in Harbor Freight before long, but before that I’m afraid, that if somebody I know imports one, I’ll catch it, too, and I need a P/U truck like I need tap-dance lessons, especially from China.
I had one Asian GM P/U, a Chevy Luv. It rapidly turned into a Chevy Was, the most uncomfortable vehicle I’ve ever experienced and the mpg result were terrible. Definitely not suitable for U.S. customers.
CSA
IIRC, the 2CV topped-out at 40 mph, but how long it took to get to that speed was probably best measured with a sundial instead of a stopwatch.
It may be slow, and it may be light and noisy and uncomfortable, but it will move lots of stuff and I bet it sells like crazy. When you’re slowly moving up in the world and you get to buy your own new truck, it’s a big deal.
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Back in the late 1970s when the nation had the contrived oil shortage and gasoline was in short supply, prices skyrocketed at the pump. People switched from big V-8 cars to 4 cylinder compacts. I can see the same thing happening again only this time with pickup trucks. These big crew cab pickups will be replaced with compact trucks.
Back in the '60s, Chrysler marketed a small, cheap truck for use in developing countries.
IIRC, the Farmobil was only sold for a few years.
| Fahr - Chrysler Farmobil | Inches | mm |
|---|---|---|
| Wheelbase | 69.3 | 1760 |
| Length | 132 | 3350 |
| Width | 62.8 | 1595 |
| Height (unloaded) | 66.5 | 1690 |
| Track | 53.2 | 1350 |
| Loading area length x width | 65 x 57.8 | 1652 x 1470 |
| Turning radius | 15.75 ft | 4.8 m |
| Weight, unloaded, dry, with top, | ||
| doors, side curtains | 1,346 lb | 612 kg |
| Weight, unloaded, dry, no doors | 1,280 lb | 582 kb |
| Payload | 1,250 lb | 568 kg |
I don;t know why any of you would think this truck will be slow with 99 hp. There were a lot of larger pickups and delivery trucks in the 50s and 60s that had no more horsepower than this little truck.
The old F series truck had a 101 gross HP 215 cid straight 6 as the base engine in '52. That would have been roughly 80 hp (at best) net HP. Chevy’s 230 cid 6 made 120 HP gross, so 95 net HP.
The 110 HP 215 straight 6 in my first car, bigger than this little truck, would top out at 95 mph.
We forget how weak the engines were in the cars and trucks we drove way back in the day.
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The Chevy Luv (Isuzu) wasn’t a very good vehicle. But the Toyota and Nissan pickups were excellent vehicles. Far better then the comparable GM S-10/S-15 or Fords Ranger. Although I am hearing good things about the new Ranger.
Yes, I’m spoiled.
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I had a 93 Toyota pickup and an 03 Ranger, I was very happy with both, even towed my 18 foot fiberglass boat. Looks like the Toyota was 116 horse, no complaints.
The Ranger was a nice compromise. Like other products though, you start out basic and then people want luxuries like a heater, radio, power windows, and back-up lights. Before you know it the price is up to $20,000. They’ve just gone too far with the current tank size “work” trucks that cost $70,000 and won’t even fit in a normal garage.
Actually Cushman makes a lot of those small utility trucks.
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My 03 Ranger listed for 13k, after rebaite I paid about 10k, even had heater, radio, backup lights and AC. Crank windows was fine for me. Test drove an s10 I think it was, seemed doubtful it had enough power to tow a boat.
I once owned a real work truck, a 1950 Chevrolet 3800 1 ton with a 9 foot bed, a 216.5 cubic inch inline 6 and a 4 speed manual transmission. I bought the truck for $115 in 1972. I doubt that it would go 60 mph. It was really geared low. I stretched wire fence with that truck by putting it in the lowest gear. I had the fence so tight you could play tunes on the fence. I could haul 50 bales of hay at a time with the truck.
The 1 ton was the least popular pickup. I couldn’t find a half or 3/4 ton in my price range.
I sold the truck in 1975 and took a beating on depreciation. I only was able to get $110 for the truck.
Back then, pickup trucks were made to do work.
just under 3,000lbs weight and a 75mph top speed from what I can find out.You’re not going to find a truck that stickers for much less than $25,000 these days.
It’s enough for that market but would probably struggle to find buyers here.
If it has drum brakes, I can think of one forum member who would buy it.
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Someone’s probably working on importing a few, I’m one of those who only would need something to get to Home Depot and back but I could just get a serviceable Nissan or Toyota truck for that duty.
My brother’s still clinging to his 1987 Mazda B series 4WD for the occasional truck need, although he’s had lots of offers left on the windshield. He bought it years ago with minor needs when every other buyer in town was fighting over any Toyota truck that cast a shadow, regardless of mileage.