Question of the Week: Which Mini Truck Model Would You Bring Back?—WINNER’S UPDATE: A Practical Look
WINNER’S ANNOUNCEMENT:
We’re back to announce the winner for our Question of the Week, where our winner will receive their laurels in the form of a $25 credit for a hat or T-shirt from the BaT Gear Store.
This week, we asked: Which mini truck model would you bring back?
We’ve gathered up your responses and presented an amicus brief including your pleas for small, single-cab pickups, but these fell on deaf ears in this week’s Supreme Court hearings. Perhaps we’ll settle for double-cabs, but we’ll leave that decision to the automakers—should they ever happen to read this discussion thread in its entirety. The Datsun 620 was the most mentioned nomination, and based on that reasoning, will be dubbed this week’s winner! BaT member @da-cat was the first to it:
The Datsun 620 was nicknamed the Li’l Hustler in the States, and it certainly was! Now that’s one mini truck we’d love to see make a comeback. Great pick, da-cat! Be sure to check your email to claim the prize.
Now, let’s take a look at some other popular nominations from this week’s discussion thread:
“I would love another small, regular cab, Toyota Pickup. I wish you could still buy one with little to no technology. All I need is 3 pedals and a steering wheel. Here is one that sold earlier this year.
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1986-toyota-pickup-68/“
A variety of Toyota pickups were nominated this week, but the contingent hailing from the years 1984 through 1988 were the most popular.
“1956 Powell Sport Truck.
The fishing rod compartment is the feature that makes it great.
https://www.hemmings.com/stories/1956-powell-pickup-with-scooter/“
Images: The Petersen Automotive Museum via The Autopian
The Powell factory, located in Compton, California, was just as intriguing as the pickup itself.
“The Dodge Rampage / Plymouth Scamp. Unlike other mini-trucks the interior was spacious and they were unit-body light. One of my quickest FWD Mopars of the time was a Rampage with Shelby Charger Turbo mechanicals with the turbo motor highly modded.”
“Didn’t Crosley make a pickup in the late 40s?”
Why, yes they did—the Crosley Pickup!
“The Austin Mini pick up! It’s one of the more difficult Mini variants to find these days. Most were used up as work vehicles. https://share.google/2ahPXUMNUj7KIn3yV“
“Subaru Brat, complete with rear facing seats in the bed.”
Image: Car and Driver
“Mazda K360 if you’re going to go small go micro-mini this was a legendary three-wheeled light commercial truck produced by Mazda in Japan starting in 1959. It was the workhorse in post-WWII Japanese.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKpIaokmhO4“
Image: Mazda
The K360, nicknamed the Kesaburo, almost never made it to fruition, but it ended up becoming a huge success for Mazda.
“This is a good question, as there are so many right answers. Land Rover Series III (both 88″ and 109”), Mini Pickups, Datsun 620 and 720, VW Rabbit Diesel, Rotary powered Mazda, Subaru Brat, etc, etc – The list of delightful small trucks just goes on and on. What the heck went wrong with the pickup market in recent decades?
If I were to choose just one to use as my only vehicle / daily driver, I’d have to say the Nissan 850 Hardbody – King Cab V6 4×4.”
Image: Nissan
“Gotta be the first gen S-10 and S-15’s. Simple to work on, clean timeless lines that look good with all kinds of mods.
Motors and trans choices from 4-cyl/manual to tire burning 4.3’s in a long bed….and yeah, beds you don’t need a man-lift to get stuff in, AND big enough you can throw your kayak in without having to tie down the front cause that open-top banana box they call a bed is so short.
Overbuilt enough to easily handle moderate V-8 power. Need I say more? I think not.”
“Honda’s first production vehicle, the T360.”
That’s it for this week’s Question of the Week! Thanks to everyone who participated, and congratulations once again to our winner, da-cat. We’ll be back with a new question soon.
ORIGINAL POST:
Welcome to the BaT Question of the Week! For those unfamiliar, here are the rules: we ask an automotive-themed question, and the author of our favorite answer from the comments is awarded a $25 credit to the BaT Gear Store.
You know that trucks have gotten too big when even the people who love trucks say they’re too big. Today’s pickups have grown over 30% more compared to their 1990s counterparts (a conservative estimate), and today’s mid-size pickup is about the same size as a full-size truck from the ’80s. While today’s automakers are busy sizemaxxing their next parking spot buster, we like to daydream about rebooting more useful and economical runabouts from decades past. That brings us to this week’s question:
Which mini truck model would you bring back?
Mini trucks trace have their roots in Japan’s kei class microtrucks, which began in the 1950s, but the mini truck segment hit its stride in the States during the the captive import years of the 1970s and 1980s. For purposes of this week’s discussion, we’ll allow utes to be included in the melee.
So tell us your suggestions in the comments, and give a thumbs-up to any stories that grab your attention. We’ll announce the winner on Monday.
“Datsun Pick Up!
Early 1970’s was my favorite.
Larger cab, with small extra side glass was a plus.
🙂
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1973-datsun-620-pickup-9/“
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da-cat commented on Question of the Week: Which Mini Truck Model Would You Bring Back?—WINNER’S UPDATE