Quote:
Originally Posted by jamesqf
Disagree, at least with the points I know enough about to comment. Ride quality & handling are perfectly fine (at least since I replaced the steering bushings - a sub-$10 part). Fuel economy could of course be improved, but it's better than similar newer vehicles. Don't know exactly what you mean by "refinement", but adding a cupholder or two isn't exactly rocket science, and some of the other things I can think of I'd pay extra not to have :-)
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The comment was in regard to purpose-built off-roaders. Not small pick-ups.
Buuuut...
I slalom new trucks every year as part of quality assessment. Your standard 80s Toyota Hilux can't hold a candle to a modern truck in terms of on-road performance and safety. Or refinement. Or load capacity. Or etcetera.
You or I might be perfectly fine with the compromises, and willing to buy a small ladder frame truck. People who actually buy them new aren't. The global compact pick-up class that grew out of the Hilux-Ranger market demographic has now grown to the point where Mercedes is willing to pitch rebadged Nissans as luxury items, where Ford had to ditch the Ranger nameplate due to cannibalization of F150 sales (the new Ranger is quite big).
Now nobody can get a compact pick-up anymore. Unless you're willing to buy a unibody conversion in South America, a sketchy 'thing' from China, or a bare-bones cab-forward "dropside" in Asia. The compact pick-up buyer no longer exists.
As buying demographics grow more prosperous, they start wanting nicer things. Bigger things. And even bigger things. Until you have to create a new vehicle to fill the void left by your ever-inflating model line-up. That said, nobody is trying to fill the void left by small pick-ups. Because all the market research tells them it's not worth their money. And I agree with the resarchers, because from years of handling magazine questions, I know what brand-new truck buyers want: Bigger, Better, Bestest.
That's how it goes.