So the new Frontier is a Tacoma?

[Whatizitman]

In my current neck of the woods, what's left of the old trucks, mid-90s down, can command a good price. Even in fair to poor state. The main issues are rust. Of course, I live on the edges of the rust belt. But give a vehicle long enough, even in a dry climate, it will degrade. The point being, nothing lasts forever. Rusted out frames make most restoration dreams obsolete from the get go. Else, we'd see a lot more 70s/80s Toyota and Datsun/Nissan restos on the road. Granted, mini-trucks were never as popular in the inland states as they were in CA, IIRC. So there is less of them to survive. But they did exist. Else we wouldn't be revisiting them with such fondness.

My family had a near bone stock strippy '79 toyota that I still miss. 5 speed, which was rare for a SoCAL dealer special at the time (most strippies were 4spd). The only "upgrade" it needed was an aftermarket steering damper. The steering wheel would vibrate up to an inch or so at 55+ without it. For a stock 2wd, that truck saw more snow, rocks, and dirt than it deserved to. And it always brought us home in one piece.

Who knows what junk pile it, or parts of it, are residing under. The 20R probably got scooped up first, I would imagine. They were reliable workhorses.

If nostalgia is the only thing keeping a gleam of the cheap, simple, utilitarian truck of yesteryear alive in our aging minds, then I have to say good riddance. For a variety of reasons beyond any of our control, they ain't coming back. The Ford Maverick will be closest contender. We all just need to accept it and move on.

I say that as a fellow mourner of the loss of the cheap, simple, utilitarian truck of yesteryear. That's all I aspired to drive way back when. I just have to find my cheap jollies elsewhere now.

 

[Killing Floor]

This thread could be about Fender.
Only difference if it was, people would be arguing that the models and brands really are different.
The market drives demand.

 

[Telecastoff1]

My real truck as shown in my Avatar...'97 Ford F250, 7.3 Power-Stroke Diesel, 5 speed manual. It has 460k miles on it, got it when it had only 19,972k miles. It's my workhorse.
I also drive a 2003 GMC Yukon XL, 326,500k miles...this is my daily driver and the one I use to haul my band equipment. I love my old trucks.

 

[Whatizitman]

This thread could be about Fender.
Only difference if it was, people would be arguing that the models and brands really are different.
The market drives demand.

Yes and no. Vehicle changes are driven in a large part by environmental and safety regulations. Technological advances get subsumed under those two things, as if by default. Not the same with guitars. Amps more than guitars, maybe. Nothing seems to gets more attention and changes in legal, technological, manufacturing, and marketing strategies than the automobile. Particularly in North America.

I'm about ready to opt out, myself. It's getting tiresome.

 

[drumtime]

We're looking for a used Tundra right now to replace our old F250 Powerstroke. Bad time to be looking at used vehicles. We need a truck - we live on a farm, so we're always hauling or towing something. I'd prefer a smaller truck, but the Tacoma might be a bit too small to pull a trailer with 2 horses in it, or a flatbed with a tractor on it.

No way could we afford the newer, bigger, uglier trucks anyway, so that's not an issue, but damn... $14k for a Tundra with over 200 k on it??

 

[bgmacaw]

I'd prefer a smaller truck, but the Tacoma might be a bit too small to pull a trailer with 2 horses in it, or a flatbed with a tractor on it.

I pulled a 6' x 12' U-Haul loaded with a lot of furniture with my Ranger on a 300 mile trip and that worked quite well. I'd guess the Tacoma would have done just as good. But, I don't think a heavier trailer or payload would have worked out as well. Most people I see hauling horses or tractors around here use a 5th wheel setup with a F-250 or similar.

$14k for a Tundra with over 200 k on it??

That's probably a great deal right now.

 

[bottlenecker]

Remember when pickups actually looked like trucks? Today, they're Transformer Tonka truck toys.

Same goes for all cordless drills: they're Playskool lazer guns these days.

Yeah, they all look designed for eight year olds. I liked when pickups were for farmers and cowboys, not GIJoe Space Force. In cheesey movies the "regular guy" characters still drive 70s trucks. How long can they keep doing that without the audience wondering why a lumberjack drives a priceless antique?

 

[Rockinvet]

Looks like the few things they made different was the grill is an upside down version of the Taco. Oh and the directionals but, very similar. The Taco is a tad uglier but is a better truck reliable wise. Me I don't drive a truck, I drive a Ridgeline. Well its a truck but drives like a car and I do use it for home renovations and moving. Got a lot of use out of it.

 

[P Thought]

Also an ‘84 Ranger that was good on gas till it caught fire-not so good on gas after that...

Hmm. I had an '86. It did well for me from the time it was new until I gave it to my son when he graduated high school. He had it loaded with all his stuff and a couple of his friends. Pulled over to investigate a noise, opened the hood, and the thing flamed on. Everybody got out OK, but the Ranger and all my son's stuff burned by the side of the road. You couldn't tell what color it was (red), and I think there's still a burn scar at the spot.

 

[P Thought]

That was the great thing about "real" cars, back in the day, if a guy needed a start, you just pulled in behind him, the bumpers matched perfectly, and you gave him a push! Everyone knew their part, the pusher would get the pushee going a good clip, then slow down abruptly, so the guy in front could pop the clutch and start the car, and nobody got banged up!

That always worked best when there was no sobriety involved.

 

[telemnemonics]

I think the Mustangesque Toyota you are thinking of was an early Celica. My favorite copy was the Opel GT. A mini Corvette.

Right it was an alternate Celica body or a few years Celica body then abandoned. Maybe the ST vs the GT?
I bought a '69 Opel GT in '79 or so, the 1.9L four speed.
Awesome car!
Terrible car!

 

[buster poser]

Probably the first Japanese marque I really loved, but it seems like Nissan has been out of (good) new ideas for a very long while. The GT-R is epic but unchanged in what feels like 15 years (and it’s only been 13, to be fair).

The new Z car is gonna be more of the same cues that buried it (again). Their new EV (“Ariya”) is a continuation of their current design language, which charitably, is not good. Styling-wise (to me), they are model-for-model worse than any of the Japanese Big 3 (or Subaru, Mazda, Mitsubishi).

TLDR: If you can’t beat ‘em…

 

[stantheman]

Think if the auto companies shared designs...how the reliability factor would
increase...as well as mileage...

The Porsche 911 is the ultimate example
of design refinement as well as persistence. My Friends with 911's NEVER get hit with catastrophic shop bills
and that's BECAUSE Porsche stuck with
their vision unlike their fickle competitors
who came up with "new & exciting"on an
annual basis - AKA new and dismal repair
costs.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT - look at all the thirty year old 911's on the road that look like recent911's...

That is all.

 

[Ron R]

Did y’all see this? I mean, it’s not even subtle. I’ve long thought that car designers have all gotten lazy and are basically just copying each other’s homework. But… wow.

View attachment 934234

They didn’t even bother to change the headstock.

Look at all the full size pickups these days. They look like the bodies are all being stamped in the same factory line. Hard to tell them apart without the badging.

 

[wrathfuldeity]

It would be fun to have a new tacoma but I don't want to pay for the for the bougie crap and image. Love my 1990 Mazada b2200 x-cab, 5sp with 140k, rwd, the only luxury option is power steering; bought 6 years ago and have diy's brakes, clutch and a couple of minor things. Before that was a 1984 nissan rwd pu that had 120k...which my daughter totaled. Pretty sure that it is the oldest and most beat vehicle in the lot at Mt Baker ski area. Works great for bombing around town, even going to Seattle (not that I have much reason to go there and avoid it like the plague) and to the dump. Its trustworthy, dependable, cheap to drive/maintain and gets me to the hill and back.

 

[Whatizitman]

Yeah, they all look designed for eight year olds. I liked when pickups were for farmers and cowboys, not GIJoe Space Force. In cheesey movies the "regular guy" characters still drive 70s trucks. How long can they keep doing that without the audience wondering why a lumberjack drives a priceless antique?

Around here farmers and cowboys = GIJoe Space Force. Sorry, but it had to be said. No one. And I mean NO ONE here who professes to be a rural tough guy drives an old truck. Rust being one reason. But the rest is purely cultural. Huge, tricked out, shiny, and expensive is the norm. Period.

 

[Whatizitman]

It would be fun to have a new tacoma but I don't want to pay for the for the bougie crap and image. Love my 1990 Mazada b2200 x-cab, 5sp with 140k, rwd, the only luxury option is power steering; bought 6 years ago and have diy's brakes, clutch and a couple of minor things. Before that was a 1984 nissan rwd pu that had 120k...which my daughter totaled. Pretty sure that it is the oldest and most beat vehicle in the lot at Mt Baker ski area. Works great for bombing around town, even going to Seattle (not that I have much reason to go there and avoid it like the plague) and to the dump. Its trustworthy, dependable, cheap to drive/maintain and gets me to the hill and back.

Power steering?!!!! Luxury!

 

[bottlenecker]

Around here farmers and cowboys = GIJoe Space Force. Sorry, but it had to be said. No one. And I mean NO ONE here who professes to be a rural tough guy drives an old truck. Rust being one reason. But the rest is purely cultural. Huge, tricked out, shiny, and expensive is the norm. Period.

Oh, I'm well aware. My family farms. A truck just does a job. Maybe some of us won't enjoy looking at our work truck the same way we looked at grandpa's old IH pickup, but oh well.

As a city liver, I just want a 70s pickup with a straight six, even if every part is no longer $60, because I'm only going to put motorcycles in it.

As a human who has to look at what everyone drives and carries a curse of not being able to ignore design, the pickups are just the tip of a big sad iceberg.

 

[buster poser]

Think if the auto companies shared designs...how the reliability factor would
increase...as well as mileage...

The Porsche 911 is the ultimate example
of design refinement as well as persistence. My Friends with 911's NEVER get hit with catastrophic shop bills
and that's BECAUSE Porsche stuck with
their vision unlike their fickle competitors
who came up with "new & exciting"on an
annual basis - AKA new and dismal repair
costs.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT - look at all the thirty year old 911's on the road that look like recent911's...

That is all.

Aircooled 911 owner checking in here. The aircooled cars were a continuation of that initial ethos (64-89 ‘classics’, then the 964 and 993), but since the 996 they’ve definitely engineered in some massive changes with each passing generation. Apart from keeping the motor hanging out past the rear half shafts*, it’s a spaceship compared to what it was when they first moved to water in ‘99. I’d also argue a 1991 model (964) looks its age, same as the two gens that followed it (but the 996 is ugly as sin besides).

*with dynamically adjustable motor mounts to keep the plant level under cornering

 

[Toto'sDad]

My wife's oldest brother has had literally hundreds of pickup trucks over his lifetime, and cars too. He owned a body shop for almost fifty years and bought and sold cars and trucks almost daily. He bought a brand new 1996 Ford F-250 diesel, that he pulled the bed off of, and put a flat-bed on. When his younger brother died, they wanted a hefty price to carry his casket in a hurst from the funeral home down to the gravesite which was on the grounds. My brother-in-law said forget that we'll haul him down there on my flat-bed, and that's what we did. The pall bearers carried him out to the truck got him on the flat-bed and hauled him down to his resting place. They got him off the truck, and he had probably about the most unusual ride ever at the cemetery. My brother-in-law still owns that truck to this day.

PS:

Try that in your Corolla.