what happened to small cheap pickup trucks?

Whatever happened to inexpensive pickup trucks? When I first started
dreaming about my first car and watching the classifieds carefully
(around 1990), there were continually running ads for a Nissan Hardbody
for $6995. Regular cab, 4 cyl., 5 speed, tiny tires, very basic
interior (there might even have been some exposed metal on the door),
AM radio, crank windows and manual locks. Not much vehicle but it was
cheap, good on gas, probably ran forever, and had a pickup bed. Since
then, the smallest pickups have slowly grown in size and advanced in
basic options. So much so that that cheap basic transportation isn't
available from any manufacturer. Now small pickups start around
$14,000. That's a 100% increase in 15 years. Any opinions. Any idea
if sky high gas prices might create demand and hence supply for tiny
"econo trucks" again?

With that said, anybody selling a used truck as described above? I am
in central texas. The ONLY option that I would be looking for possibly
would be an extra cab truck. This is not a necessity but I am tall and
do have two small kids who might be hanging out with me. The truck is
for me banging around on weekends moving tools and supplies for
projects so I want something cheap and economical that I don't have to
baby and that can move around a lawn mower or occasionally lumber or
tool boxes. I would even take something that needs engine or
transmission work. Please nothing that needs body work or electrical.
I'm not looking for a nightmare or something that is completely ragged
out, I just want basic.

wrote in
oups.com:

> Whatever happened to inexpensive pickup trucks?

Like most autos made,they gradually grew in size.With bigger engines to
haul the added weight and more towing/hauling capacity.
They also evolved more refinements and luxury items(for a PU truck) were
added,airbags and other required safety equipment added,all increasing the
costs,above worker salary and benefit increases.(don't forget COLAs)


Then they were converted to SUVs.

--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
kua.net

wrote:
> Whatever happened to inexpensive pickup trucks? When I first started
> dreaming about my first car and watching the classifieds carefully
> (around 1990), there were continually running ads for a Nissan Hardbody
> for $6995. Regular cab, 4 cyl., 5 speed, tiny tires, very basic
> interior (there might even have been some exposed metal on the door),
> AM radio, crank windows and manual locks. Not much vehicle but it was
> cheap, good on gas, probably ran forever, and had a pickup bed. Since
> then, the smallest pickups have slowly grown in size and advanced in
> basic options. So much so that that cheap basic transportation isn't
> available from any manufacturer. Now small pickups start around
> $14,000. That's a 100% increase in 15 years. Any opinions. Any idea
> if sky high gas prices might create demand and hence supply for tiny
> "econo trucks" again?
>
> With that said, anybody selling a used truck as described above? I am
> in central texas. The ONLY option that I would be looking for possibly
> would be an extra cab truck. This is not a necessity but I am tall and
> do have two small kids who might be hanging out with me. The truck is
> for me banging around on weekends moving tools and supplies for
> projects so I want something cheap and economical that I don't have to
> baby and that can move around a lawn mower or occasionally lumber or
> tool boxes. I would even take something that needs engine or
> transmission work. Please nothing that needs body work or electrical.
> I'm not looking for a nightmare or something that is completely ragged
> out, I just want basic.

Not enough demand for a small capacity truck.

On 13 Oct 2005 09:56:21 -0700, > said the
following in rec.autos.driving...


> Whatever happened to inexpensive pickup trucks?

The SUV fad.

Yeah, I remember that first round of mini-trucks, some of which I
really liked (the little Toyota and Mazda offerings, for instance).
Manufacturers figured out that carlike amenities could greatly broaden
the demographic appeal of such trucks. I recall this as a studied and
intentional move that, if memory serves, started roughly 15 years ago.


I wouldn't be surprised if adding such amenities also allowed them to
increase the price disproportionately to the additional cost.
There's often more money in that kind of market, even if there's more
volume at the very low end.

I'm surprised that one of the inexpensive, relatively new-to-the-US
makes like Kia or Hyundai hasn't probed the market for a low-cost,
bare-bones mini pickup. There may be a niche abandoned by the
more-prestigious companies that's more or less theirs for the taking...

--Joe

wrote:
> Whatever happened to inexpensive pickup trucks? When I first started
> dreaming about my first car and watching the classifieds carefully
> (around 1990), there were continually running ads for a Nissan Hardbody
> for $6995. Regular cab, 4 cyl., 5 speed, tiny tires, very basic
> interior (there might even have been some exposed metal on the door),
> AM radio, crank windows and manual locks. Not much vehicle but it was
> cheap, good on gas, probably ran forever, and had a pickup bed. Since
> then, the smallest pickups have slowly grown in size and advanced in
> basic options. So much so that that cheap basic transportation isn't
> available from any manufacturer. Now small pickups start around
> $14,000. That's a 100% increase in 15 years. Any opinions. Any idea
> if sky high gas prices might create demand and hence supply for tiny
> "econo trucks" again?
>
> With that said, anybody selling a used truck as described above? I am
> in central texas. The ONLY option that I would be looking for possibly
> would be an extra cab truck. This is not a necessity but I am tall and
> do have two small kids who might be hanging out with me. The truck is
> for me banging around on weekends moving tools and supplies for
> projects so I want something cheap and economical that I don't have to
> baby and that can move around a lawn mower or occasionally lumber or
> tool boxes. I would even take something that needs engine or
> transmission work. Please nothing that needs body work or electrical.
> I'm not looking for a nightmare or something that is completely ragged
> out, I just want basic.

You're in Central Texas? Just look for an old (60s-70s) Jeep or IH
pickup. You don't have rust to deal with, and either one will run
virtually forever. Alternately, get one of the older, more basic
Toyota or Datsun pickups.

Either one will be a hell of a lot cheaper than a new truck.

nate

I believe you can still special order a stripped down truck. I doubt you'll
find one on the lot though.

On Thu, 13 Oct 2005, wrote:

> Whatever happened to inexpensive pickup trucks?

Go to Australia, where there are still lots of utes for sale. Ute =
utility = car-based pickup truck, like the El Camino, the Brat or the
Ranchero.

> When I first started dreaming about my first car and watching the
> classifieds carefully (around 1990), there were continually running ads
> for a Nissan Hardbody for $6995. Regular cab, 4 cyl., 5 speed, tiny
> tires, very basic interior (there might even have been some exposed
> metal on the door), AM radio, crank windows and manual locks. Not much
> vehicle but it was cheap, good on gas, probably ran forever, and had a
> pickup bed. Since then, the smallest pickups have slowly grown in size
> and advanced in basic options. So much so that that cheap basic
> transportation isn't available from any manufacturer. Now small pickups
> start around $14,000.

Mandatory "smart" airbags and feature creep.

> With that said, anybody selling a used truck as described above?

www.autotrader.com .

>Just look for an old (60s-70s) Jeep or IH pickup.

That vintage of Jeep pickup was quite a vehicle in a lot of ways, and
they're fine for big and tall people (though crewcabs and even extended
cabs were not available). However, they have two disadvantages here.

First, the original poster obliquely mentioned small trucks that were
good on gas. These SJ chassis trucks and their Wagoneer/Cherokee
stablemates got mileage typical of other USAmerican half- and
three-quarter-tons of the era, i.e., ranging from bad to frightful,
depending on engine and driveline.

Second, as I learned when shopping for one a few years ago, coddled
examples are surprisingly expensive; conversely, one that's been used
as intended is likely to be pretty tired by now. That doesn't mean
they should be ruled out, especially if you just mean to use it on
weekends to take the old stuff to the dump and bring back the new stuff
from the lumberyard; but it does mean you need to choose carefully.

As the 70s turned into the 80s and first-generation smog plumbing
reared its ugly head, you also have to watch out for what a friend of
mine called the "heart-lung machine" school of engine controls. The
recompense is that at some point in the early-mid 70s they grew front
disk brakes, a better style of front hubs, and other modern equipment.

In their defense, it is fairly hard to break them outright -- they were
pretty honestly built.

I don't know the Internationals as well, but would imagine that they
have some similar issues.

If I haven't scared you off yet, check out, respectively,
http://www.ifsja.org
and
http://www.oldihc.org

Cheers,
--Joe

PS. Remember that a small flatbed utility trailer (few hundred bucks
used) greatly increases the versatility of a small pickup and also lets
you carry messy or awkwardly shaped objects with an SUV style vehicle.

Ad absurdum per aspera wrote:
> >Just look for an old (60s-70s) Jeep or IH pickup.
>
> That vintage of Jeep pickup was quite a vehicle in a lot of ways, and
> they're fine for big and tall people (though crewcabs and even extended
> cabs were not available). However, they have two disadvantages here.
>
> First, the original poster obliquely mentioned small trucks that were
> good on gas. These SJ chassis trucks and their Wagoneer/Cherokee
> stablemates got mileage typical of other USAmerican half- and
> three-quarter-tons of the era, i.e., ranging from bad to frightful,
> depending on engine and driveline.
>
> Second, as I learned when shopping for one a few years ago, coddled
> examples are surprisingly expensive; conversely, one that's been used
> as intended is likely to be pretty tired by now. That doesn't mean
> they should be ruled out, especially if you just mean to use it on
> weekends to take the old stuff to the dump and bring back the new stuff
> from the lumberyard; but it does mean you need to choose carefully.
>
> As the 70s turned into the 80s and first-generation smog plumbing
> reared its ugly head, you also have to watch out for what a friend of
> mine called the "heart-lung machine" school of engine controls. The
> recompense is that at some point in the early-mid 70s they grew front
> disk brakes, a better style of front hubs, and other modern equipment.
>
> In their defense, it is fairly hard to break them outright -- they were
> pretty honestly built.
>
> I don't know the Internationals as well, but would imagine that they
> have some similar issues.
>
> If I haven't scared you off yet, check out, respectively,
> http://www.ifsja.org
> and
> http://www.oldihc.org
>
> Cheers,
> --Joe
>
> PS. Remember that a small flatbed utility trailer (few hundred bucks
> used) greatly increases the versatility of a small pickup and also lets
> you carry messy or awkwardly shaped objects with an SUV style vehicle.

I guess I am just ignoring gas mileage, as at least from my cursory
looks on eBay it appears that you can get fairly nice examples of a IHC
truck for cheap enough that they can continue to get abysmal gas
mileage (and they do) and you'll still come out ahead. I based my
comment on my experiences with two specific vehicles, a '76 Scout II
(belonging to my dad) and a late-60's Jeep full sized truck (my
great-grandfather's) which both were rarely used but dependable
vehicles that never failed to give instant reliable service when called
upon. The Scout is still occasionally used today for dragging logs out
of the woods (it's better than a tractor) but hasn't seen road duty in
a decade or more due to the tinworms (Pennsylvania is not as friendly
to sheetmetal as Texas...)

I still kind of wish I was old enough to buy the Jeep when my
grandfather decided it had to go... he himself had a newer Chevy
pickup at the time and my great-grandfather had reached that age when
annual hunting trips just weren't happening anymore... not sure why he
picked the Chevy over the Jeep, if it was gas mileage or other
considerations. Today I'd far rather have the Jeep but that's just me
I guess. I am still trying to convice my dad that the Scout is worth a
fiberglass tub... but in reality, it's probably not :/

nate