STICKMAN428,

Here ya go. Enjoy.

http://www.lefthandutes.com

Years ago, I had one a HiLux shortly after Toyota began bringing trucks into the US. I bought it cause it was cheap. Cheapest interior I have ever seen. 2WD. No AC or power steering. Manual 4 speed and tiny 4 banger. That you could actually work on! And change oil, too. I abused this truck, but could not kill it. I still miss it.

The Hilux is amazing. My best friend guides fly fishing in Iceland and keeps a Hilux up there. It can go anywhere! Super tough truck.

Every year at SEMA I drool over the Hilux. Aftermarket guys can import one to use in order to fit parts to, a template if you were. Catch is, can't drive the damn thing or register it. Nice to look at though.

https://www.sema.org/sema-enew...-while-you-still-can

Does the HiLux have drums in rear?? That's the only reason keeping me from getting the Tacoma. Had bad experience with drums in muddy water.

quote:

Originally posted by saigonsmuggler:
Does the HiLux have drums in rear?? That's the only reason keeping me from getting the Tacoma. Had bad experience with drums in muddy water.

Yes, Hilux has rear drums.

quote:

Originally posted by Minnow:
Truck manufacturers simply walked away from a large market of customers when they stopped making smaller trucks.

Absolutely true. There are so many jobbers that would eat these up because they are relatively cheaper (as opposed to a F-series or Silverado), and a lot of these guys just can not afford those anyway.

I had a Toyota 2WD that I paid around $7200 out the door in 1991. Drove and worked the sh*t out of that truck for 12 years and sold it for about $1500.

I’d buy another small pickup for sure if any were made available, especially if manual.

Rumor has it the Hilux will be available late 2019-2020 in the US

quote:

Originally posted by 2000Z-71:
I think both the Commodore Ute and the Ford Falcon Utility both ended production with Ford and GM shutting down Australian production. The Ute was supposed to come here as a Pontiac but that got killed off when Pontiac did. Having owned a coupe of EL Caminos the Ute would've been great.

The front half of the Commodore Ute made it here as the Chevrolet SS.

quote:

Rumor has it the Hilux will be available late 2019-2020 in the US

That is one great rumor.

quote:

Originally posted by stickman428:
This is another vehicle that I REALLY like. I wonder if there is any way to legally import one to the US?

There's always a way if you want it bad enough.

The basis of the planned Pontiac G8 Sport Truck was the Holden Commodore UTE

There is a company that will import the chassis of the Commodore UTE and fit the parts from your G8 onto it



Oops, did see that cslinger had already provided the link at the top of the page

Does the 25 year importation law that allows many JDM (Japanese Domestic Market) vehicles like Skylines to be imported apply to Australian domestic market vehicles? An old one would be cool if they even made them 25 years ago.

Here's an article with the main reasons we don't see small pickup trucks in the US.

https://jalopnik.com/why-don-t...n-america-1725619233

Why Don’t We Get Small Trucks in America?

Although we’ve tackled some very innovative topics here on Letters to Doug, this is an old one: why don’t automakers sell small trucks in the United States? I get asked this question all the time, by all kinds of people, absolutely certain that the small truck would be successful if automakers would just give it another try.

This is, of course, neglecting to remember the dozens of small truck failures over the years, like the GMC Sonoma, and the Chevrolet S-10, and the Ford Ranger, and the Mazda B-Series, and the Dodge Dakota, and the Suzuki Equator, and the Mitsubishi Raider, all of which had their time to shine and then were cancelled in the end because the only person buying them was the fleet manager for the U.S. Forest Service.

So I’m going to give it to you straight: Doug’s explanation for why we don’t have small trucks in America.

PROBLEM NUMBER ONE: Any automaker trying to sell a small truck in America would have to build it in America. This is due to something called the Chicken Tax, which is a tax created by chickens when they controlled the House and the Senate back during the fowl years of the late 1970s.

The Chicken Tax basically says that any foreign imported trucks are subject to big tariffs; massive tariffs; tariffs so gigantic that they sometimes visit the tariff doctor and ask if they have an abnormal growth on their esophagus. As a result, if you’re trying to sell a truck in America, it’s much cheaper to build the truck in America. Which is a problem because…

PROBLEM NUMBER TWO: Foreign countries like small trucks way more than we do. If you visit Europe, or Asia, or Latin America, you’ll see compact trucks you’ve never heard of running around everywhere. The Mitsubishi L-Series. The Ford Ranger. There’s even something called the Volkswagen Amarok, which looks like it would be a pretty competitive little pickup, until you have to remove the entire front end to change the timing belt.

So this is the problem: if you want to sell a small truck in a foreign market and in America, you’d have to build it in both places. And automakers don’t like the idea of setting up multiple factories to build the same vehicle. In fact, most automakers strive for the exact opposite: to set up one single factory that builds every vehicle.

The absolute champion of this is Nissan, who builds every vehicle in their entire lineup in Smyrna, Tennessee. Seriously: when you go on a Nissan press drive and you ask “Where is this thing built?” the answer is always Smyrna, Tennessee. They build trucks. They build cars. They probably build riding lawn tractors. I suspect this is the only factory in the world where you can see a Nissan Leaf coming down the same production line as a color television.

And then there’s PROBLEM NUMBER THREE: Americans don’t want to pay what small trucks cost. Allow me to explain: because automakers must build these small trucks America, they can’t price them as low as they would if they could build the trucks somewhere like Nicaragua. This is largely due to unions, who insist that each hour must be comprised of 18 minutes of smoke breaks, 24 minutes of lunch breaks, 9 minutes of bathroom breaks, and 4 minutes of hard alcohol consumption.

So what happens is this: the 2016 Chevrolet Colorado, which is the last small truck General Motors will ever make, starts at $24,900 with a V6 engine and an automatic transmission. Meanwhile, the larger Chevrolet Silverado starts at $27,400, also with a V6 engine and an automatic transmission. In other words: only $2,500 separates the puny, pathetic, tiny “little truck” you’ll get laughed at for driving in Mississippi from the big, bold, brawny, full-size man’s truck that’ll give you all the street cred you could possibly want.

Now, if the Colorado came with a V6 and an automatic transmission for something like $19,000, that would be one thing. But a $2,500 price difference between the Colorado and the larger, roomier, more stylish, more capable Silverado? Even die-hard small truck fans would have a tough time choosing the little guy.

And this leads us to our final problem, which I’ve nicknamed PROBLEM NUMBER FOUR. Namely, automakers don’t want to build that stripped-down $19,000 work truck with the V6 and the automatic. This is because full-size trucks have an enormous profit margin; a profit margin so large that it would make the people over at IKEA jealous, even though their entire business consists of selling wood in a box for $49.99 and making you come to a giant freight warehouse to pick it up.

With that in mind, why would an automaker want to give you the $19,000 compact work truck you want to buy, when they know they’ll make a lot more money if they talk you into the $27,000 full-size work truck they want you to buy? They wouldn’t. Major car companies aren’t stupid. We know this because they’ve given us decades of excellent products, such as the Ford Aerostar.

And so, Frederick, this is why we don’t get small trucks in America. Which is a shame, because I bet I could get an entire series of columns out of laughing at the name “Amarok.”

This is my favorite Australian car:

The failed S-10 and Ranger? What? Maybe it’s just where I grew up in NC but those trucks were freakin everywhere. They still are to this day.

My 2017 Tacoma is the same size as the Tundra from 15+ years ago. A “small” truck is yuuuge now. I would love a taco or ranger or S10 or Dodge the size they were 20 years ago. Make it here in America. Make it with a gas sipping 4 and a ~300 hp v6 option. Make a manual trans available. Make it in a legit optional 4wd. I know plenty of people that want that. A huge 1500 sized full size is just too dang big for most applications

Checking to see if I can import those hilux wheels for my taco...

quote:

Originally posted by jaaron11:
A diesel Hilux would be high on my list of survival vehicles for the zombie apocalypse. I travel in Central American and Africa quite a bit, and often in remote areas. It's always comforting when we have a Hilux in the caravan.

they were offered back in the early 80's,
one ton version as well,

back when you could buy a Hilux,

I'd love a Series 80 Landcruiser with a factory Diesel motor for the mpg.

Thanks BamaJeepster! I have been saying it for years that the big 3 are the reason we don't have better small cars/trucks/suv's here in the US. They'd rather sell gargantuan monstrosities that barely fit in ever shrinking parking spots, rather than allow any competition. These companies can suck it as far as I am concerned. There are plenty of folks who have been clamoring for the 70 series Toyota Land Cruiser (and similar) to be offered here, but it's never gonna happen. There is such a strangle on free enterprise, that I'm surprised we see anything from Japan!

I have lusted after and dreamed about one of those Australian Rangers with the diesel and manual transmission for years. Now after seeing the Ranger Raptor I’m even more disappointed. Heck, I’d even drive on the wrong side in order to have one, might freak out folks, what with me being in oncoming traffic, but whatever...