VIDEO: The Rise and Fall of American Small Affordable Pickup Trucks

[GaRailroader]

Great video. Covers the early imports, the chicken tax, the CAFE standards and the big 3's desire to favor higher margin vehicles.

 

[Mad Mac]

Painfully true.

My grandfather had a Plymouth Arrow D50
made my Mitsubishi like this one.
He liked it a lot though he could barely
fold his 6' 4" frame into it.

My father had a 2009 Toyota Tacoma
that he traded a Suburban for
during the cash for clunkers boondoggle
and liked it a lot.

And I had a 1995 Nissan Hardbody
which I also traded in during
that Obama wrong headed fiasco
for a diesel VW Jetta
which we drove the hell out of
and sold it back to VW for a bundle
when the EPA cheating scandal broke.

That car was not good for long trips, though.
Jetta lag.

 

[ScooterAsheville]

I think the huge question is how Americans as a whole will react to a truly bare bones, single cab, small truck in 2026. I think the Telo will be a small-scale cult hit, because it's just so "California". Slate to me is a complete mystery. I think it'll either be a huge hit or a huge miss, but not in-between.

I don't think right now anyone knows how the auto buying public is gonna vote with their dollars. I could come up with a dozen reasons why Slate will be a miss. And I could come up with a dozen reasons why Slate will be a hit.

 

[GaRailroader]

I think the huge question is how Americans as a whole will react to a truly bare bones, single cab, small truck in 2026. I think the Telo will be a small-scale cult hit, because it's just so "California". Slate to me is a complete mystery. I think it'll either be a huge hit or a huge miss, but not in-between.

I don't think right now anyone knows how the auto buying public is gonna vote with their dollars. I could come up with a dozen reasons why Slate will be a miss. And I could come up with a dozen reasons why Slate will be a hit.

2.2 million views of the Jay Leno video could be a leading indicator. I think the Slate has a cool factor similar to Jeep Wranglers and Bronco’s that will be an attraction for many while I just seek the compact single cab pick-up.

 

[mikell]

Anything over $20k and it'll never sell. Has nothing to offer .

 

[bloo]

Great video. Covers the early imports, the chicken tax, the CAFE standards and the big 3's desire to favor higher margin vehicles.

Informative vid with some errors. The AI narration is painful to listen to.

 

[KevinRS]

Anything over $20k and it'll never sell. Has nothing to offer .

Then it sounds like you are in the wrong place. You are saying it won't sell unless it beats the cheapest vehicle on 4 wheels by around $3k or more.
The only time it was ever mentioned that cheap was with federal incentives. Anyone who agreed with you left here and got their $50 refunded last year when those ended.