My Maverick fits that bill well. I bought it as a ārainy dayā and fishing vehicle to complement my 911. Good gas, power and safety.
I thought we already reached an understanding that you werenāt going to call your Maverick a ātruckā.
@dchris posted a REAL truck that sadly isnāt available in the USA thanks to all of the do-gooders.
Iām still turning heads when I drive past the retirement home in my 2022 Toyota Avalon, which has been a really fantastic sedan with the right amount of frills for my tastes. My 2014 Tundra, an actual truck, is still running flawlessly, too.
First: 1972 Ford window van withe thebench seats out and carpeted. Hauled alot of stuff in it on moves and could comfortably sleep in it.
BEST: 1986 Mercedes Benz SL500 black on black. Still have it, it is a smooth machine.
Haha. Yeah itās a car with a small bed. Kinda resembles a truck lol
Always been incredibly frustrating we canāt get a Hilux or other stripped down Toyota.
If you donāt mind dirty-clean energy you can preorder a slate.
The Slate is a neat concept but only 150 miles of range is pretty awful. Iād rather go to a war zone and buy a used Hilux from some Jihadis or narco-terrorists. At least the Slates are made in Warsaw, Indiana, where I once rode in a 1970 Cadillac Eldorado with a 500 cubic inch V8 and an 8-track player.
It was one of the reasons I jumped on my first car, a 1983 Cadillac Seville, which was a beautiful piece of mechanical junk.
Iām just happy that my country keeps my air clean by limiting my options while protecting me from air pollution from other countries. Also: maybe twelve airbags will keep me from being ejected if I die while drivingā¦Iām not sure how my dead body is going to keep my vehicle from running into others, but I trust my overlords.
Itās about as close as it gets now. Ive checked them out but just doesnt work for my family at the moment. However, quad cab only, unibody, no manual transmission, screens. In reality 8 out of every 10 full size truck drivers, if they were honest with themselves, would never need anything more than a maverick. I like them.
This was the end. If I had to point to a year range where simple trucks ended, itād be around 2012-2015. That was the death throes. Basically when they stopped putting manual transmission in anything but a premium model. Nissan may have been the last with the frontier. Ive got a 2013 f150, 8ft bed, single cab, manual windows, locks and mirrors (no manual option that year 
). Itās still simple enough. Air controls are how hot, how fast and where do you want it.
Iām not an old man yelling at a cloud. I donāt āneed a v8 or itās not a real truck.ā I just value reliability and simplicity in design.
Edit: I was at a light today and I saw a gen 1 tundra parked along side a maverick, same size (height, length).
I agree. However, I am sure their market research shows that the folks who buy the maverick/santa cruz/subaru baja/etc. also arenāt driving more than 100ish miles a day. Essentially, city folk trucks.
I have friends in Mexico, NZ and Thailand. When my son gets closer to 15, Iāll 100% import an old Hilux for him, diesel, with 3 pedals.
I have no idea how this is connected to what I said. Also, our government outsources creation of everything ādirtyā to those countries and imports finished product back here. Does that make you feel happy? So, Hiluxes donāt come with seat belts now and airbags now?
I hate this argument. Itās boring and said by everyone. Full size trucks are the size they are because cars in general have increased in size. I drive a full size truck, because I need a truck bed more than just casually 2-3 times a year, but I also need to fit my family or co-workers in the backseat. Something I couldnāt do in a maverick or equivalent. So, my only option is a full size truck. If I didnāt need the truck bed, Iād have a Tahoe/Yukon, which is basically the same size.
With the exception of full-size cars of the 1970ās and '80ās, which were also known as āboats.ā (Or Land Yachts)
I agree with you with regards to all the electronics, screens, fancy buttons for fancy stuff, which is great, until they all start breaking, blowing fuses, setting off all kinds of sensors which start to make your dash look like a christmas tree with so many symbols. Granted, I do like power locks/windows, but give me actual buttons/knobs for controls, not all this tap/touch stuff. I canāt even begin to imagine how $$$ it will be to fix some of those items after the factory warranty expires.
And I AM the old man yelling at the kids to get off my lawn on this point: Can we please go back to having solid front axles/leaf springs up front in all 4x4 trucks?? How about making that setup standard, and if you want fancy IFS, coils, etc THAT is a $$ upgrade? SO much better articulation for actually going off-road, cheaper/easier to lift/repair. Not to mention, it also does look much better than the IFS setup. Yeah yeah, I know, yaāll are going to tell me what I already know, how most people who nowadays have 4x4s mainly drive on pavement and the IFS setups give better ride quality. Well, to that I say, FUCK YOU, donāt buy a 4x4 poser! lol, j/kā¦kinda. Oh, and can we also get back to actual floor shifter for the 4-wheel drive? The one where when you actually engage it, you can FEEL it and know you are in 4 wheel drive. That push button/knob turn 4 wheel drive control sucks, the electronics involved often fail and then you get NO 4WD, but since you really never feel it like in āolden-daysā, many times people donāt even know their 4wd is broke. Eh, now where is my glass of prune juice, lol.
Although right now my dream truck is the GMC 1500 Sierra AT4X with the 3.0 Duramax AND the AEV package! That is one bad ass looking, CAPABLE truck! WHich, for around $95,000 or so, it should be. But how the hell did trucks get so ridiculously expensive? My God. My first truck I bought, a 1997 Chevy Silverade stepside, regular cab, with the 5.7L V8, I canāt remember how much the total was, but I remember my lease payment was $168/mo. Now folks are financing up to 84 months, and for these really expensive trucks, most people have a note well over $1,000/moā¦.for 60, 72, or 84 months!
You are the 2 out of 10.
Cars and trucks have gotten bigger because of EPA regulations (hilariously enough) and import taxes. My wife and I were talking about a minivan now that the kids are older and we are starting to cart around friends too. I laughed because when I was their age our family car was an 86 Ford Tempo and my father had an 84 Ford Ranger. Some how that was enough for four back then.
People have also gotten fatter. That canāt be ignored.
Like the old saying goes, something is worth what someone else is willing to pay for it.
I bought my 5.7L V8 4x4 Double Cab Tundra brand new in 2014 for $31,500, which seems like a total steal these days. I could still probably get around 15k for it if I sold it. Last time I was at the Toyota dealer the āequivalentā new truck was close to $80,000, and mine still has the only truly useful piece of tech on the new ones: a back-up camera. Plus the satisfying rumble and performance of a powerful V8 under the hood, to boot. It makes towing the boat effortless and still gets half-decent mileage compared to the new turbocharged V-6ās. It can get about 18mpg on the highway with a favorable breeze and cruise set to 70mph.
It also seats 6 fairly comfortably, on account of the bench seat in the front thatās no longer available.
Iām not sure if government regulations are going to allow for more simple internal combustion engine trucks to ever be sold in the USA again, but you never know. It seems like thereād still be a huge market for minimalist and reliable workhorses.
Iām still glad I scooped up the last year of the Avalon, which may be Toyotaās last great internal combustion only sedan. They new model they introduced is WAY more expensive and has a LOT more tech.
Iām still pretty content with my vehicle fleet, but tomorrowās new ābest car Iāve ever ownedā is still out there, waiting to be purchased.
I think you missed my sarcasm. I despise every regulation on trade.
I recently moved to a very liberal area where that would be said with a straight face.
First vehicle. 2001 Chevy 1500 that had more rust then metal
Best vehicle. My new to me 2020 f250 with the 6.7 power stroke that has some ācustomā tuning. Getting 20 mpg in a 8500 lb diesel truck
So awesome seeing some bad ass cars in here!
Lived in downtown most of my life so didnāt need a car until i had a kid. I usually bike everywhere as itās the most efficient way around the city.
Bought a 2023 Rav4 Hybridā¦my dad-mobile, and have loved it so far. Great on gas and we got super lucky as the wait time for the hybrid models in Canada is about 2 years and we received ours on a cancelled order within 2 months of visiting the dealer in 2023.