Don’t ask me what the scenario is where The Autopian is somehow empowered to force everyone to get a pickup truck and why we’re not forcing you to buy something more on-brand for us (for example, the weirdest shitbox within your Facebook Marketplace range settings), but go with me here.
You’re getting a pickup truck. Whether or not you need one doesn’t matter. Heck, let’s even say it’s on the government’s dime, so don’t worry about whatever your cash flow situation is. You’re getting a pickup truck. And by “pickup truck,” I mean anything with a bed that a regular person would say is a pickup truck, even if they have to squint a bit. So, no utes, but Autopian Asks isn’t very big on rules, so don’t expect the Comment Cops to bust in if you start talking cars with beds attached.
That said, some people– probably not you, but some people – will decry trucks like the Ford Maverick, Honda Ridgeline, and Hyundai Santa Cruz as mere cars with beds attached, because they’re not body-on-frame and don’t have a solid rear axle. To which I say: nah, they’re pickup trucks. And of those three, it’s probably the Maverick for me, even though I chose a Ridgeline for the topshot. I’m not a big fan of driving pickups when they aren’t actively doing truck things, so the more car-like a truck is, the better. And the lower the better, too.
But that’s just me. Maybe this is your chance to get a mucho-macho lifted truck just for lulz. Perhaps you’d like to go full cowboy Cadillac, since value and practicality are only as much of the discussion as you want them to be. Or maybe … I dunno, I’m asking.
If you must have a truck lest you run afoul of the truck-having police, which do you choose?
Top graphic image: Honda
I already have a Ram 1500 and see no reason not to make the same choice of a half ton. I pull a 23′ trailer with it and anything smaller doesn’t have the tow rating and payload that I need. It really sits most of the time in the summer that I’m not towing, since I primarily drive the Miata when the weather is nice. Then I swap back to the truck for the winter. Fleet average MPG at the 3wB household is still pretty high, with the wife driving a PHEV and one kid in a Miata and one in a Bolt EUV as dailies. That all helps when getting 11-12 mpg on the truck when towing my camper.
You need to go full Lincoln Blackwood on this, but a brand even less expected.
Perhaps we need an Ian Callum penned Jaguar pickup with supercharged 5.0L V8?
Maybe the lightest pickup per kg of hauling capacity ever created, with a manual transmission, optimal suspension geometry, and designed by Gordon Murray?
Have we considered a pickup truck intended to take on the Paris-Dakar, but with a massively turbocharged Franco Rochi motor, but the body by Marcello Gandini?
I just got my dream Hardbody so we have three pickups already, anyone want a rather tired 1998 Frontier extended cab?
I’d replace the gasser F250 extended-cab longbed with the same form-factor in Powerstroke or 6BT. I want a Slate, but the Hardbody ain’t going nowhere and I need the room.
They barely sell what I want. A small 2 door short bed truck, I’d like a ranger of old, but if I was to choose now, it’d be a Maverick, or the Honda Ridgeline.
I already have a 98 Ram 2500, it’s a great little (yes little have you seen modern Tacomas?) camper hauler.
What I want is to make it in miniature and put a TDI motor into a Dakota so I can have the 2/3 scale of my Cummins truck as a daily driver and still get 30+ mpg
I would buy a Nissan Hardbody D21 manual 4×4. Or a First Gen Tacoma manual 4×4. Then I would spend $20k restoring everything and finally I would paint it an interesting color that is not greyscale/black/white.
Somebody loan me $35k please?
You, sir, are a gentleman of taste.
I have no need to tow anything, I don’t go off-roading, and I’m happy with the size of my penis, so I’ll go with a Ridgeline.
Humble brag on penis size here…
Bad faith answer: that super huge F-350 so I can sell it and buy a sensible car and pay down some debt.
Good faith answer: the smallest, most recent Tacoma that had a reliable engine.
Well, I recently bought a truck since we needed something to use around the property, dump runs, home improvement, snowplow, etc. It’s a 1997 F150, 4×4, single cab standard bed. In that configuration it’s surprisingly manuverable. It’s just the base V6 but that’s all I need. Really it’s the perfect “everything you need and nothing more” truck. It’s a little rough around the edges but the interior isn’t trashed and the AC works.
I’ve actually been looking to trade my VW Sportwagen in on a pickup recently. Either an older (pre 2012) Ranger, or a D40 Frontier. Extended cab. V6. RWD. Although imma need an LSD in either of those.
I’ll have a Proton Jumbuck please.
I believe the Mitsubishi Evo engine drops straight in. I’ll travel everywhere in an understeery cloud of tyre smoke.
I would keep the one I have! 2004 Nissan Titan LE 4×4. Bought for shitbox money ($7.5k) and it does all the truck things on the weekend. Terrible mpg though.
Let’s say a law is passed that says I have to drive only pickups period (given this administration, I wouldn’t put it past them). I would assume it would be on US brand trucks as well.
For my old Camry, I would get a hybrid Maverick, assuming the Slate isn’t available.
For my old Sienna, I would get a full sized truck with an 8 foot bed, put a camper top on it with air conditioning/heat to carry the dogs in the back. Would need a pass-through window of course. Assuming I can’t claim an Express is close enough to being a truck.
this bit of additional description would increase my acceptance of say a ridgeline or maverick. For those choosing those when their is no need to replace existing rides and the thing is a gift, they I call BS.
Actually, the Ridgeline is a better choice than the Maverick when I think about it. The Ridgeline is made in Alabama and the Maverick in Mexico. If there is a law about “only drive pick ups” would also require them to be made in America. Actually, two Ridgelines wouldn’t be the worse option.
New(er) or well old and well-used?
I prefer the older the better, like the trucks I’ve previously owned which all came to me well-used or abused in various ways — dirt-simple 83 F150 with the straight six, 3-on-the-tree and manual everything, (including steering!)… 84 Chevy squarebody with a small-block V8… and a 2000 2nd-gen Cummins-Dodge with a manual transmission. All work trucks that had already seen hard use, which handled whatever work and home improvement projects I could throw at them. No regrets keeping them patched up without spending much money until the wheels were ready to fall off.
For something new or relatively late-model used, probably some kind of Toyota — Tundra or Tacoma, I don’t really care. It’s more about the reliability and capability to just do work truck stuff with no complaints.
Whatever it is, it’s going to have to tolerate being parked outside in all weather, rarely washed beyond just hosing off mud or salt when necessary, and taking the kind of everyday knocks a work truck is expected to endure. It’s not a fashion or ‘lifestyle’ accessory, it’s a vehicle to get stuff done with.
This. Considered buying an old shortbed 2wd Bricknose about a year ago. 302 with an AOD. Would have been able to do all I would ever need. Rust free but beat.
Depends on the size requirement:
Smallish: Mid 2000s Nissan Frontier extended cab short bed. Probably outlast my kid.
Midsize: Mid 2000s Chevy 1500 2 door short bed. Hard to kill, cheap to fix.
Large: Ford F-250 Diesel with the 7.3. Full size bed, extended cab.
Oversize: Pick a dually – Chevy 3500/Ford F-350/Dodge. Get it with a diesel.
Every dead GMT800 I have seen was crippled by rust. The LS driveline is nigh eternal. The frames rot out first.
Cab Corners and brake lines before the frames, but yeah, the non AFM LS motors keep on ticking, so the things get abused and succumb to rust as a result.
Your dime? I’ve spent time in Wyoming and appreciate a Cowboy Cadillac. Probably something in a Denali trim.
Or an R1T. I’d like one of those. If it were free…
I agree on the R1T
1972 Ranchero GT, like this one that BJ calls a pickup:
https://www.barrett-jackson.com/scottsdale-2014/docket/vehicle/1972-ford-ranchero-gt-pickup-161303
If it had to be a modern one, I’d say a Maverick Lariat in Velocity Blue, Ecoboost, AWD with the tow package and black appearance group.
I like the ’72 Rancheros, but I have to go with a ’70 with the hidden headlights and a 429 CJ.
I’ll go ahead and be the Comment Cop here….
F-series/Silverado/Ram? Duh, yes.
Slate? Yep
Ford F’in Ranger? F Yeah
Mini trucks? Yup
Subaru Baja? You bet your butt yes
Lamborghini LM002? You’re my favorite person here
El Camino/Ranchero? Still counts!
Toyota BB? No one has picked this one yet, better get on it!
H2 SUT/H3 Alpha? Sure!
Cybertruck? I won’t tell you no.
Lincoln Blackwood? You and I should be friends
Peugot 504? Of course
Kei Trucks? Absolutely!
After a thorough review everyone here is approved.
My personal pick. 2nd Gen SVT Lightning.
I’ve wanted a 504 pickup since the 1990’s. I just don’t live in a market where they were available.
Sounds like I can have the Subarute, then.
Making me, huh? I would be very upset if you forced me to buy a pickup truck. Please don’t do that. That would be tragic. I would be sad.
But if you are going to do so, here is my list in order of preference (I will limit this to new/nearly new trucks):
Please don’t put a gun to my head and force me to buy a new truck. But if you are planning to do so, please give me a few days notice so I can move some money around for a down payment.
I’ll take my 98 Tacoma Extended Cab TRD SR5, only brand new (I didn’t read anything about not being able to mess with the space-time continuum). Knowing how little has gone wrong over the past 28 years, if I could reset the clock to day 1 l’ll happily take having a vehicle that I’m almost positive will outlive me with very little effort outside of truly routine maintenance.
G-body El Camino. Or Caballero
Well, we have a smallish two car garage in an area where a lot of field mice live, and like to chew on automotive wiring. Thus it has to fit in the garage.
We also ski regularly, but live in an area without a lot of snow, thus snow tires wear themselves out without touching a whole lot of snow. Thus AWD/4WD ends up being a better answer for us.
Two of us plus a dog, so an extended cab is better than a traditional cab, and four doors would be superfluous.
Add to that living on a poorly maintained dirt road with 100+ miles of forest roads in our back yard, a bit of ground clearance wouldn’t hurt.
So I believe a smallish pickup from the ’90’s…Taco/Hardbody/Ranger and the like with either an extended cab or a shell.
If I can keep my current ride and it can be a previously used vehicle: GMT400 or GMT800.
Only vehicle and has to be new: Ford Maverick.
I already have a Tacoma SR5 (2.7l 4-cyl, king cab, 2wd) but the mpg is horrible. I’ve had my eye on Maverick Hybrid since they were announced. So handsome.
Your timing is excellent. My 2012 Colorado Extended cab with the I5 & Auto has a rusted through frame and is unsafe to drive according to my mechanic. Need a replacement ASAP but price must be reasonable & small enough to fit in my small space garage. Nothing bigger than my Colorado which just barely fits. Will be interesting to see what posters here suggest. Require 4×4 and cost less than $15k.
I’m thinking Nissan Frontier. Actually, I’m thinking a plane ticket and a Frontier.
For example, this one
2013 Nissan Frontier SV for sale in Dawsonville, GA – CARFAX
It’s at a dealership outside of Atlanta, it’s under $13k has 136k miles non accidents or the like reported. I’m not a huge truck fan, but it seems to be a pretty close to like for like replacement for your Colorado.
A big thing is it’s outside of Atlanta. I checked the Carfax and it’s been in Florida and Georgia it’s entire life (well, I think it was made in Tennessee). As such, it should be pretty much completely rust free. Any truck of similar years/miles where you live is going to have rust issues (I would assume). Delta flies from all over the world to Atlanta, so I would suggest getting a one-way ticket, picking up a truck like this and driving it back and having a lot longer to drive around before Mr Iron Oxide condemns it to the scrap-yard.
PS, I’m just some random guy on the Internet. I’ve live in the South long enough to know that 20+ year old vehicles don’t have rust problems down here and if I lived up north, I would absolutely travel south to shop for used cars to avoid the rust issue.
This was my thinking for our next vehicle since everything rusts out here in Maine. My 11y/o Silverado (took on trade) has rust in the rockers and all 4 wheel arches. And this is one with a “decent” frame…
Before you do anything check the rules. My wife has a Niece in Bar Harbor that bought an RV trailer. She found a good deal out of state, but the rules for getting it into Maine were insane and she ended up getting a local one.
What to cry?
2006 Dodge Ram 2500 for sale by owner – Concord, GA – craigslist
This 20 year old Truck is considered Rusty outside of Atlanta. Which is why it’s only $3400.