The '94 Ram was a game changer, all of the full sized trucks got much more comfortable after that. The compact trucks tried to match some of the comfort level, they ended up with double cabs with a four foot long bed. In the 1950s F-100s looked great, the small cabs aren't so great on a daily basis. But we really did not know that when most trucks were spartan. As compact trucks grew more capable. but the new Ram really did ride better than a Cadillac. In the old days trucks were only about function.
A good turbo diesel could restore some market share for compact trucks, but USA regulations make affordable diesels unlikely for the price segment. A new Ranger will live on overseas, with two diesel models. Likely the compact trucks will have to regroup as the 2016 CAFE for trucks are very tough. But for now GM sells as many Silverado trucks in one month than all of the Canyon and Colorado trucks in an entire year.

Tim,
Good post. You know your stuff. There has been talk recently that Mahindra was going to bring their compact diesel truck over here, and there's always been talk off and on about diesel Rangers or diesel Taco/Hilux trucks. In my opinion, it'll never happen. The premium is too great, and the numbers are all backwards because diesel costs way more than gas these days. I speculate that the only reason the big 3 still make full sized diesel trucks is because they have to - gas engines won't pull those loads.

You can extrapolate that story over cars. VW is the only company with US diesel. The way I see it, it's NOT because we are jaded against diesel anymore (that crap was 30 years ago) but because diesel isn't marketed right. VW aside, Benz and BMW sell diesels over here, but almost nobody buys them.

All that is about to change because GM is, officially, building a Chevy Cruze diesel for MY2013. That car will be pretty dang cool, and it should do the kind of volume that will establish diesel. The others will have to follow along. Remember that the Cruze just this year beat the Accord in sales, and bulk of that was the high MPG version. Americans are starting to really want mileage, and a diesel Cruze should touch 50mpg if they do it right. Tree huggers will line up around the block for that.

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1965 Valiant wagon Turbo slant (work in progress)
2000 Chevy 155" cargo van - The Abductor
1970 Newport convertible
1996 Buick Roadmaster Wagon
1966 CruiseAire motor home
1990 Toyota 1 ton box truck TURBO slant (scraped)

Gee, I wonder why…

I’m shocked, just shocked GM can’t unload but a few of these under powered, poorly packaged sleds. They make for poor commuting, and poorer still for lugging and towing stuff. For a the same or a few bucks more one can get into a low end full sized pick up that has truck attributes such as space to lug stuff, and room for a full sized human with size 13 boots...

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67' Dart GT Convertible; the old Chrysler Corp.
82' LeBaron Convertible; the new Chrysler Corp
07' 300 C AWD; Now by Fiat, the old new Chrysler LLC

It's weird, but take a Colorado, morph it into a giant station wagon, call it an SUV, and soccer moms go ape for it. They call it the Arcadia/Traverse. It's a distant cousin of the Aztek. Say what you want about the Aztek, but look at the modern crop of SUVs and tell me you don't see Aztek. BMW X5?

There's some truisms about people and car companies that I have come to embrace.

1. Enthusiasts are loud and opinionated, but they don't buy new cars. They just don't. 20 years ago if I told you Dodge would make a RWD Challenger with a 470horse Hemi that ran high 12s, you would have put up a poster of it on your wall and drooled. But how many of you own one?

2. People go on and on about "european" cars, but the fact is they a colossal flops when they get to our shores. There's a few exceptions (new Mini, new Bug) but the Saturn Astra (Opel/Vauxhall Astra - most popular car in Europe) flopped, the Fiesta flopped, the VW Phaeton flopped, the Pontiac G8 flopped (Aussie Holden Monaro), the new Regal is flopping (Opel Vectra?), Ford Transit connect is a hit, but the Sprinter is a flop compared to the number of domestic vans.

3. The Ford Flex is a flop everywhere BUT Detroit. When I drive through Detroit, I see them by the dozens. Not sure why that is, but some cars are city specific. How many Volvo wagons do you see in Kansas vs New Hampshire? I see few Prius'es in Ohio, but they are everywhere on the west coast. I'm sure there are other examples. In Chicago, every 3rd car is a Panther Ford (Crown Vic, Grand Maquis, Continental). In Akron, every 3rd car is a Chevy Blazer. Weird.

I have spoken!
Kip-on-Truckin'

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1965 Valiant wagon Turbo slant (work in progress)
2000 Chevy 155" cargo van - The Abductor
1970 Newport convertible
1996 Buick Roadmaster Wagon
1966 CruiseAire motor home
1990 Toyota 1 ton box truck TURBO slant (scraped)

When talking to sellers on Craigs List I hear the owners say that the Ranger or Tacoma they are selling does not get such great gas mileage, or that the four cylinder model is very slow. Quite a few of these older compact trucks look almost like new as they were mostly used as daily drivers. The prices on clean 2nd hand vehicles is rising.

OTOH, the EPA rating of the big trucks can be deceptive. I recently rented a Ram with the small V8 and it only got 14 MPG. My '78 GMC is plenty large, the Ram is huge.

The compact trucks are somewhat smaller inside, but compared to a classic like a '47 Power Wagon, the cabs are pretty spacious! Many sellers on Craigs List say that they have another kid and must purchase a truck with a large back seat. Years ago trucks were not generally used for hauling the kids to church. The Dakota has cab room, but it is now gone from production.

I can say this, a clean early '90s Toyota truck will be sold on Craigs List in a couple days if the prize is not crazy high.

Thanks for the stories and memories, Kip. RIP Slantota. On to new ground!

Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988