Why are there no more small pickup trucks? That's the question that we are looking to answer in this episode of Stick Shift Stories. We use a first-generation Toyota Tacoma as a baseline and benchmark to determine what made regular-cab, rear-wheel-drive pickups so great to own. There were also other great options too, like the Chevy S10, Nissan Frontier, and the Ford Ranger. They were all inexpensive, yet very useful vehicles. They were cheap to buy, easy to maintain, and offered a pretty good-sized bed to haul and carry things.

When comparing size, this 1st gen Tacoma seems to be just the right size for a compact pickup truck. This 4x2 regular cab has a 103.3" wheelbase, with an overall height of 62”, an overall width of 66.5”, and an overall length of 184.5”. The Bed measures 74.5” long, 57.9” wide, and 15.9” high. When compared to the current 3rd gen Tacoma, we see that Toyota no longer makes a single cab model. In fact, it was discontinued in 2014 with the 2nd gen Tacoma. The smallest 3rd gen Tacoma has a wheelbase of 127.4” and an overall length of 212.3”. That makes the 3rd gen accesscab’s wheelbase exactly 24.1” longer than the 1st gen regular cabs, while also making the overall length longer by 27.8”. The 2001 regular cab has a curb weight of 2,580lbs, while the base 2020 Tacoma has a curb weight of 3,980lbs! Truly a massive difference! What if we want to buy a pickup that is agile, easy to park, fits in the driveway or garage without fuss, and is easy to drive?

Watch this episode and write some comments below to let us know what you think about small, compact pickup trucks.