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.
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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.