@ Bob - since you are into quotes from old movies,,,
Every time I read one of your posts I am reminded of this famous TV line: " Beam me up Scotty. There is no intelligent life down here."

"@Robert Ryan, the midsize pickups/utes in Australia do not have a 6.5' bed. Much smaller in fact, unless you get a customized flatbed,"
That is what I was referring too. They do have 6ft+ beds and larger depending on the Ute bed that you place on them.

"@Robert Ryan, the midsize pickups/utes in Australia do not have a 6.5' bed. Much smaller in fact, unless you get a customized flatbed, none of the style sides come close. Less than 5' on a Hilux. The previous model was even smaller. Navara is similar"
Actually that is what I referring too and they can be any size

Alex the custom ute tray is what I was referring too . It can be 6.5 or larger

Heeyyyy Bob, GM can put one of these things in the back of their heavy duty when they go to the HD Shootout. That way they have something to drive home after their truck breaks down.

There is no way I would put 1600lbs in the back of that thing. With 55lb/ft you may never reach top speed.

@ G-street - you miss the point of the whole truck, it's intended top speed is probably no more than 30 mph. We are spoiled by high HP trucks that can drive at 65 mph all day long. It's a back alley, tight confines putt-putt. No more no less. I've seen some like this but regular cab and 4x4. Those ones cost the same price as a "side by side" quad.

Hey Bob - you've been "outed"
See Lou's post

@ Nash - his psychologist has been working real hard! Bob needs to come out of the closet and admit he's a Honda Ridgeline fan.
Bob - quote "It will be a big mistake if Honda drops the Ridgeline. Honda also mis-stepped on their first-gen Odyssey, but they went back to the drawing board, and now their minivan is arguably the gold standard in that market segment. They can do the same with a next-gen Ridgeline.

This vehicle was never meant to do commercial-grade work. It was aimed at Harry Homeowner, who does yard work and who needs to haul/tow some outdoor toys—and who wants a family truck. In that role it's the perfect vehicle.

It matches, or is in the ballpark with most 1/2-tons in terms of payload, and can tow 5K—which is more than enough for most homeowner's needs. If you need to tow 9+K, look elsewhere. It's also the only mid-size truck (it's not full size truck) that can lay 4x8 paneling flat on the bed floor.

Finally, I get a big chuckle from all the Ridgeline critics, as those who actually own these vehicles love them."

I bet Bob owns a Ridgeline and only pretends to be a GM fanboy.
Poor Bob... It's okay Bob.... you've been outed....
admit it.... your a Honda fanboy..... it's okay.... really.....
we won't make fun of you..... come out of the closet...eerr,,, I mean Ridgeline trunk...

@Lou- Even if top speed was 30. This little guy may not see that if it was loaded down. I could never buy something like this. A rick of wood won't fit in that bed and nore will my quad. Plus, I've never been in an alley where my truck didn't fit.

I remember Dodge/Jeep/Nissan all had appealing small mini truck concepts. I like the idea of a mini-size truck (even smaller than compact truck segment) as a viable option. The Baja would have been ideal except the polarizing styling and super small bed. The Kei trucks just fill a niche that is too small to justify the price point.

What it looks like if H3T and a Volkswagen New Beetle had a baby.

You can expect to get 50 plus MPG on the highway if you can swallow your SUV/Kingcab pride and let everyone pass you by while you plod along at 52 MPH (not the vehicle's top speed.)

This vehicle is obviously a step up from the many thousands of 2-door versions already in use in this country as on-site maintenance service vehicles.
With seating for four workers (instead of two) twice as much work can be done or the same job can be accomplished in half the time.
It is likely that you or I will not be buying one for our everyday transportation needs. BIG HINT: They are not sold at your local Ford dealership, they are sold through selected "Ford Fleet and Commercial dealerships". So, unlike the Model A, it is not an “everyman's car” but like all vehicles on the market today will be a niche market vehicle for someone.

No American man is even going to give this thing a second glance. It reminds me of a Russian Moscovitch I once saw at the NY auto show....solder dripping all over the engine compartment. A child's wagon has a bigger rear axle than this thing. You guys must be kidding...this will never sell in America,except maybe to local egg salesmen.

Dude! I can get upto 23 mpg in my v8 5 liter f-150! I get better milage in a regular midsize pickup than that thing gets, LOL...and still get a good ride, good brakes, all the thing that little bug truch doesnt. LOL LOL LOL!

No badass factor. This would never sell to city-dwellers here in Texas or any other red state I would imagine. It's not big and intimidating. When attending your neighborhood TEA Party rally, nothing says "I Don't Cooperate, I Dominate!" like a jacked black F-150 with free-flow exhaust, or at least an Escalade or Suburban. You'd get laughed at showing up in that little thing, like driving one of those "liberal hybrid cars".

I've seen these in places like Singapore, but never thought of them as being much more than a novelty here.

These micro trucks are very popular in Africa and the Middle East.

I don't know what was wrong wht the test vehicle, but they get a lot better mileage than 15 MPGnin their regular use.

They are widely used for in town delivery/pick-up vehicles, and appear to be quite robust in terms of what and how much they carry.

High speeds are not a normal part of traffic in Africa and most Middle Eastern countries where roads are narrow, crowded, and usually shared with donkey carts, bicycles, pedestrians, and the occasional herd of sheep of goats.

For long haul larger heavier trucks are used. But for town work they can't be beat.

They may not do well in America due to our higher speeds, even in city traffic.

I don't think 15MPG is at all typical of this type of vehicle... either the drive cycle they put it through was very severe, or the truck was out of tune or something. I have read they are used quite a lot in rural Kansas and Oklahoma (and saw maybe 1 or 2 over 10 years ago when I drove through the panhandle). They claim to get over 20MPG at lower speeds and approximately 40 highway. They really can't keep up well to highway speed, but the highways I saw in west KS, I only saw 1 to 2 cars an hour anyway so they weren't going to be holding up traffic 8-)

Anyway, in current form? No I don't see these cars in the US -- they usually aren't crash-test legal, but also people just don't want vehicles that can't make highway speeds. With a 6-speed, or 5 speed with much taller 5th, and some variable valve timing or direct injection to pump up the HP? Absolutely. (Note increasing max HP using either of these technologies could actually improve mileage, increasing HP doesn't mean losing mileage.) I had a 1985 Chevy Celebrity, 82HP engine, talllll gears (75MPH@2000RPM), about 3000 pounds. It'd haul pretty well up to about 80MPH, and creep up to about 110MPH max speed given enough straight flat road. It's possible the truck would do 75MPH *as-is* with just a taller top gear.

This may not be the forum for this, but I am hoping that a car company truck designer will see it and maybe make a note of it.
This cute little truck will probably have a market somewhere, but it wouldn't handle anything that I, personally, am interested in.
I love the feel and ride of a truck, but I realized, when I owned a short-bed F150, that I had two major problems.
(1) The smaller bed didn't really hold the things that I needed a truck to hold. e.g. anything 8 ft long...plywood, 2X4's, etc. were always sticking up over the tailgate.
(2) I work with computers for a living and my relevant hobbies are music and woodworking. When it came to the computers and music, all the stuff had to ride up front with me because I didn't want it sliding around in the back and risk damaging it (this included groceries).
I believe it was things like this that sparked the SUV revolution. Non-contractor folks needed a vehicle to haul things, but it was, for the most part, things that needed a little "cradling".
What I would love to see is something along the lines of an Explorer or Escape that has a "thin" (doesn't need to be deep, just long and wide) bed that goes completely across the top of the vehicle, or perhaps an "enclosed pocket", across the top, that is revealed when the rear hatch is open, that will allow a few 4X8 sheets of plywood or 8' 2X4's to ride flat.

Just a thought.

They have little dinky cute vans and pickups in other countries. I rented one twenty years ago in the Bahamas. I want one in the USA.

The gas mileage of this particular model is not an issue. I guarantee other models already extant by other manufacturers already beat the crump out of this cute little puppy.

Aaaand... Who IS the manufacturer of this cute little puppy, anyway? It ain't at all obvious from the original article.

15 MPG? You gotta be kidding! My 1991 GMC Sonoma does better than that, even with 175k on the clock! Go figure! :?

I guess 4 X 8 sheet rock ect. will become history. Now I can let my bride carry it. (The old VW pickups start looking good again.) And, where were these back in the early 1970's when I wanted a short wheel based 4WD? I needed a little HP though.

What ever happened to that 50mpg carb that was invented in the 1950's. I think in Idaho. The big oil people got it off the market to sell more gas, huh? Those weren't little light cars then either.

Why can't we buy somehting like this? If we would open up the markets from the big 5 we would have much better fuel economy and more unique vehicles on the market instead of all the boring looking things we have now. It is the age of specialization and we STILL cannot buy a small pickup that gets good gas mileage like back in the 70s. Yes, safety must be met at some level but if the "Smart" car can get approved so should this!

Start with something like an extended cab Tacoma or Frontier. Shrink it down by about 25%. Increase the aerodynamics. Put a diesel engine in it so it gets 35 mpg. That's what I'm waiting for. Gas is going WAY up. Don't be surprised if it hits $10 a gallon within a few years.

The problem with modern 'small trucks' is that they are no longer small - not in size, and not in price. Our relatively new Tacoma is actually larger (wider/longer/taller) than my neighbor's old beater Chevy full-size that is about 35 years old or so. The Tacoma cost a heck of a lot more, too (even accounting for inflation).

People that originally bought small pickups wanted a small/cheap vehicle that offered utility. Currently you can't buy such a vehicle in the US, because no such thing is available.

If I could get a decent micro pickup for $8000 or so (with air conditioning . . .), I'd buy it.

I think these trucks in the article might be 'tiger trucks' - www.tigertruck.com/gas/starx/index.html
Possibly made in Texas, by a Chinese company.

new to sight.