No More Compact Trucks, Who's To Blame?

If you live here in the United States, you have probably noticed that all of our companies have stopped producing Compact trucks. What do I consider Compact trucks? The S-10/Sonoma, Ranger, Toyota Pickup (Hilux), and Nissan Hardbody. They started showing up in masses in the 70's, hit a high in the 80's and 90's, then all but disappeared into the 2000s.

At one time in the U.S., you couldn't leave your house without seeing some sort of compact truck. The neighbor had one, your brother had one, someone on your bowling team had one, and probably the High School Football Coach had one. They became so normal in daily life, that they blended in with the the sea of Toyota Corollas and Ford Tauruses. You could always could call the buddy that had one to see if you could borrow it to run down to Builders Square to pick up some 2x4s or strap down the Honda CB750 you just bought in the bed. The pizza guy or local handyman drove one. Some how you're life was affected by these little workhorses whether you knew it or not.

For those who owned them, they bought them for their own reasons. Some wanted a small vehicle with a bed that got reasonable mileage, some wanted a small 4x4 for the winters, or maybe for the big date up at the lake with your girlfriend this weekend. (You know, I really like that girl Marty!) Either way, people bought them and they bought them in droves. For a short period of time small trucks outsold full size trucks, people loved them. This author grew up around them; my mom had an '81 Toyota Pickup, my best friend has an '06 Ranger 4x4, my uncle had two generations of Ford Ranger, and there have been various acquaintances over the years that had Rangers, S-10s, and such.

 As the years passed and the designs changed, as with everything else automotive, the small trucks we knew and loved got bigger and wider. Bigger to the point that these trucks went from compact trucks to midsize trucks. Some got better looking, some got uglier, and some, well, some didn't even really change since the 80's. The sales of small (now midsize) trucks still have had a descent following and sales are not what they once were, but they have remained marginal at best in the last 10 or so years. The Automakers have noticed the decline and while manufactures like Toyota and Nissan haven't budged, GM and Ford have decided to stop selling small trucks in the United States.

GM is going to be returning to the U.S. with the new Global Colorado platform which people are happy about. What people aren't happy about is Ford's decision to drop the small truck all together. The new Global Ranger platform is an excellent truck, but Ford is worried that the new midsize platform is going to seep into the F150 sales and they don't want disturb the sales of one of America's best selling vehicles of all time. What a load of crap. If people want something smaller than an F150, then give the public what they want. There has been an actual outcry over the internet over this whole thing. Me, honestly, I like full size trucks, but I don't necessarily need one. I don't need to haul heavy loads, I don't need to pull a huge trailer, and I don't need a massive vehicle like a full size truck. The small truck is more appealing to me. It's easier to maneuver into parking spots. I've parallel parked small trucks easier than full size trucks. They have enough of a towing capacity to pull a small camper or trailer and they have no problem hauling a load.

So who's to blame for the decline of small trucks? The consumer? Not really, fads come and go, but I feel the small truck had it's fad back 80's and 90's and continued to have a small following both by the general public and commercial fleets still today. People still buy them new or used. I see people still driving ones that they bought 10 years ago. People have bought them with 4-Cylinder and V6 engines, 2-Wheel Drive and 4-Wheel drive, made for off road, or made for the street. They are still popular, maybe not as they once were, but they still are.

So is it the Manufacturer?  I say yes. While the argument can be had that there is no place for small trucks anymore and blah blah blah, I think one should step back and take a better look at the situation. One problem is that certain trucks (*cough*Ranger*cough*) haven't had any major upgrades in many years. I'm not talking about redesigning the body every 10 years, I'm talking about all the underpinnings. Ford really didn't change much of anything but the body on the Ranger since it was introduced to us in 1983. They did however make a couple of minor upgrades to the suspension and engines over the years to the archaic little workhorse that we all knew well, but it wasn't enough to send the sales anywhere past marginal. The new Global Ranger platform would alleviate all the problems with the old Ranger.

GM made an effort by dropping the S-10/Sonoma platform and giving us the Colorado/Canyon platform instead. Unfortunately the new design was something to be desired as was the drivetrain. They lost a very good V6 and brought out a new Inline-5 that didn't have as much torque. It also lost a significant tow rating to a much lower one. They weren't as popular as their predecessor, but they still sold. As said before, GM is making an effort and will be reintroducing the newly redesigned Colorado here in the United States hopefully in the next couple years. Will it sell? Yes for sure.

Another huge problem is that the small trucks don't get much better mileage than the full size trucks in their family. At one time, 4-cylinder small trucks could get high 20s in the case of mileage with owner claims of 30 mpg. Those numbers slowly declined over the years. You would think that with turbocharging and hybrids becoming the norm, they could utilize these technologies to increase the mileage significantly. The Manufacturers also need to really consider a small diesel engine to put in their small trucks, that alone would definitely change the sales figures.

One last issue is price. When your small trucks start to become more expensive than your base full size trucks, then we're having issues. Realistically, small trucks should cost as much as compact/intermediate sized cars. Of course as the options get added and you upgrade to 4-Wheel Drive, the cost is going to go up, but you shouldn't be paying almost $30k for a loaded small truck, because at that point you might as well be buying a full size truck. It just isn't logical. $25k should be the highest price a small truck should cost. They should definitely make them more affordable, it's no wonder sales have been marginal for so long.

Small Trucks have their place here in the States. They are still used for sport, work, and whatever else you can think of. If gas prices keep beating the hell out of us, possibly one day small trucks could make a comeback. After all, expensive gas was how they became popular in the first place.

Just Like Mom's.