i absolutely hate what the US has done to its truck market. over a decade ago, i started down a career path that a light duty pickup would be ideally suited, and if i could get a diesel, it would be that much better. i'm a big guy, but i can fit into tiny cabs no problem. what i needed was a little guy that sipped fuel and would let me pick up / move a few hundred pounds of loose material or cargo. think specialized landscaping.

trouble is, that kind of vehicle is not made in america anymore. and is de facto not allowed to be imported into america, due to some nixon era protectionist horseshit (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_tax). not even gas, let alone a diesel. there used to be vehicles in that class. the Chevy LUV, various Datsuns in the 70s and into the very early 80s same with the VW Rabbit Pickup. google any of these vehicles to see pictures. they fucking existed and they were popular. dodge used to have a "Ram 50" with a long bed that was just a gorgeous little worker's truck until 1986. the true light duty pickup in america was all but gone, with maybe 1990 chevy S10 or the mid 90's ford ranger, still looking kinda small at the right angle, but not really a small truck by comparison to the halcyon days of the late 70s and early 80s.

by 2000, the only light duty pickups on the road were those well maintained princes of yesteryear, and the slightly large old tacomas and S10s passing themselves off as little trucks when seen next to the looming giants.

now, if you go literally anywhere else on plant earth, you can find light duty pickups, even diesels. they're all over latin america, europe, asia, central africa. one might even say the small, versatile tiny pickups are the standard vehicle of the working people of the world. not here in shitty america. for a brief moment there was talk of india importing their little mahindras to the US through a single dealership in Texas, but some mysterious lawsuit made it go away. here in shitty america, if you want a small pickup, you need to find a old grandpa with a well maintained little pickup that he keeps in the garage and offer him money to will it to you. or you can order something shipped via a container, but the DOT will require it to be more than 20 years old, have a governor installed to keep it under 25mph, and forbid you from operating it on public roads.

i have looked into this, because Kei Trucks are the most beautifully designed trucks on the planet. i had the pleasure of using one when i worked on a small farm in east asia... a used (mid 2000s), beat up 4WD Daihatsu Hijet with a hydraulic lift. the engine was like 700ccs and it hauled serious ass and serious weight up serious grades. my blood rushes when i think about how much i hate this country for not letting us have that kind of truck, instead offering us a buffet of oversized turds that swill gasoline and basically suck at everything that anybody who needs a truck wants one for. fuck this stupid country up its stupid ass. american pickup trucks are garbage and i would relish the opportunity to strangle every american truck manufacturer with my bare hands.

some people turn their heads when supercars go by, or cars with lots of aftermarket work... not me. my head only swivels for those rare gems, the light duty pickups of decades passed, chugging along and keeping the dream alive.