Yeah, there are still affordable vehicles outside of the US m, but they are usually subject to massive tariffs so they aren't generally an option in the US.
If Toyota sold their Hilux work trucks they would absolutely own the market. But US manufacturers know that. So they have been tariffed to the point that Toyota doesn't even try.
And that particular tariff goes all the way back to the early 1960’s, because we (the US) were selling chicken super cheap to Europe. So then mostly France and West Germany tariffed the imported chicken. To retaliate, POTUS LBJ put a 25% tariff on all imported light trucks (and brandy, and potato starch- which were dropped eventually). Most of the auto imports tariffs were also dropped, but not the HiLux, because none of it is produced in the US.
Even with tariffs it's only $15,500. It doesn't meet safety and emissions regulation standards for current US vehicles. Most of the "amazingly cheap" cars of foreign markets exist because of less regulation.
The excessive tariffs on light trucks predate trump by quite a bit although they are a great example of why we already knew that poorly implemented tariffs do not benefit the country before he made it worse.
There are a decent handful of good things he has done but they are mostly overwhelmed by the harm of his other actions since he has done a lot of things that damage the US significantly with no obvious benefit.
Most of the good things are more of a broken clock being right twice a day situation like signing a bill that happens to have a section that reduced the mandatory minimum sentences on certain non violent crimes(the US has one of the highest per capita prison populations in the world in part because it has really high mandatory minimum prison sentences for relatively minor crimes). As far as I can tell reducing the number of non violent people who end up stuck in prison for long periods regardless of whether or not the people sentencing them actually deserve it probably wasn't actually Trump's priority but he did sign that particular bill.
Manufacturers have enormous upcharges for every trivial amenity they sell as "luxurious".
When I was a kid my grandpa had an early 70's Ford pickup. I don't remember what model it was, but he was so proud of the fact that it came with literally no options from the factory. He had a transistor radio which slid around on the dashboard and was powered by plugging it into the (standard equipment, obviously) cigarette lighter. The wiper had two modes: on and off. It did have heat but no AC, manual windows, a 4 speed manual transmission (1st gear was a granny gear which I never saw him use. It came with manual locking front hubs to put it into 4WD. It had a single solid vinyl bench seat. He had to cut scraps of carpet as it came with no floor mats. It was a badass truck. He had to order it special from the dealer because the dealership never requested bare bones vehicles from the manufacturer. They got to make money on options packages, so even back then it was a tactic.
The 1964 ‘Chicken Tax’ is still limiting choices in the USA and unfairly protecting the domestic market. Combined with stupid rules that classify almost anything remotely utilitarian as trucks in order to bypass CAFE and safety rules and we are being forced into vehicles that we may not want. I have no interest in anything resembling an SUV yet that’s pretty much all that is offered here. I’ll just hold on to my simple 2012 base-model minivan until I’m too old to drive.
I get what you’re saying, but that specific truck doesn’t meet us emissions laws or crash test standards. It also doesn’t have AC, which I think most people in the us and Canada would demand. I’d think it could still be done for 20k.
It has an AC, but no heat iirc. I have no idea about crash ratings.
I have heard about the emissions standards. Don't light trucks have an exemption or are easier requirements, which is one reason why American cars keep getting bigger?
The Tacoma is the US and Canada equivalent for the Hilux. I have friends abroad and the Hilux is a common option for a reliable vehicle for many. They fail emissions standards because they’re diesel vehicles.
Airbags too. Americans cruise at 80 MPH with one finger at the bottom of the steering wheel. Plus it is a super litigious country. NHTSA's safety mandates protect passengers and drivers, but they also protect car companies from being sued for negligence, even if the operator is the negligent party.
If it's a truck and not made in North America then our chicken tax makes it too expensive to import. There's a reason Tacomas are built in Mexico and Frontiers in the USA.
Also why my 1989 made in Japan truck was shipped without a bed or rear bumper. It was shipped as a commercial chassis and cab rather than a light truck then assembled by dealers.
It basically doesn't matter how cheap they are in other countries. They automatically cost 25% more if imported here from outside North America. So we can't get cheap trucks unless made here.
And just for the record, this idiotic tariff predates the orange asshole's idiotic tariffs by over a half century.
Dude, just looked it up there’s an article from Dec 2025, “May be coming to US markets soon”, then May 2026, “all you need to know about the $13k Toyota truck”
From what I gathered, Toyota created it for the Thailand market, they’d have the import tax bringing it to the US, PLUS the emissions testing that will cost then and increase the price. There are also safety features they’ll have to modify.
I’d love to have one of those trucks.
Edit: been eyeing the Suzuki Kei for a while as well!
I really love utilitarian design, and I absolutely would buy this if it was available in the US. I'd pay double for a PHEV version with decent towing capacity and a backseat.
Unfortunately our country is too big and there will always be some rich losers buying the latest stuff just because it’s the new version of a thing. Even if you managed to convince every single person on this thread to never buy from a company ever again, it wouldn’t even amount to a scoop of water out of the bucket.
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u/Terminal_Insomnia_ 6h ago edited 6h ago
Toyota recently made a $12k pickup truck that has no bells or whistles. There's no touch screen and the windows are manual.
Y'all are getting fleeced because they refuse to make cheaper cars, and prevent them from being imported too.