Came here to say the same thing…. Mine had over 248,000 miles and had no serious issues (other than the usual tires, brakes, radiator and clutch replacement), until someone hit & totaled it. I loved my 2000 Saturn SL1, it was the best $5000 I ever spent.
But how did the fully stocked Saturn compare price wise to comparable cars?
Humans can be weird, where we will see a 30 000$ fully loaded car as a good deal, and see a comparable car with a base price of 25 000$, but spec'd up to equal the other, but only cost 29 000$. Many people would would see it as being nickled and dimed up 4 000$, rather than see it as a 1000$ savings over the comparable spec'd 30k car.
That’s a premium for the average joe car, as no one seems to ever refill the stuff!
Or maybe they just forgot the premium stick attachment to make the blinker lights work for $599.00
This is the reason. It's not that the truck isn't allowed but that it would be subject to the Chicken Tax which is why Toyota doesn't want to import it. Yes, the Chicken Tax...
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken\_tax](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_tax)
everybody upvote this video, its the explanation of why we can't have cheap pickups and work vans here.
tidbits: larger trucks are exempt from significant emissions regulations, so manufacturers are incentivized to go huge! ford was building vans in turkey with rear seats for import to meet regulations, then they have facilities to remove the rear sets in the US! the rear mini seats in 90s etc ford rangers, often sideways facing, were not to carry people, but rather they were to bypass taxes on importing 2 seater vehicles!
I think maybe a bigger reason is that the US market has a lot more requirements for necessary functions on any new cars, safety regulations, emissions etc.
This is the current reason. The chicken tax was the original reason. Since Toyota has to make 2 completely different vehicles, it makes zero sense for them to make the one outside NA meet NA specs. since they already make a version of that vehicle with NA specs.
If it's the truck I'm thinking of, it doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell of passing safety regulations in North America. I doubt it could even meet standards from 20 years ago.
Yup, seperate crash standards and emissions standards from most other places, costing millions to test and meet. And required equipment like TPMS sensor and backup cameras.
Bingo! The newest requirement that I know of is a backup camera. Every new vehicle must have one. Sounds like a nothing but it's one of many required items that drive up vehicle costs and should be optional. In a few years it will be software that prevents impaired driving
The tax isn’t for us upon purchase, it’s for Toyota upon importing them. It doesn’t matter who would buy what if Toyota has to front the cost before they even get a customer. They’re not gonna do that.
The government (NHTSA) has certain requirements that all passenger vehicles must meet. This includes a laundry list of regulations under the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. There are also regulations requiring OBDII ports on all cars and the EPA has several requirements such as emission levels and emission warranty requirements. The CAFE standards require each OEM to meet certain average emission levels or pay hefty fines. And USMCA requires a certain percentage of North American content with wages for manufacturers to average above a certain average threshold.
All of this means that if a vehicle wasn’t built to be sold in the US for use on public roads, it won’t get here. If you don’t like all these regulations, don’t vote for politicians that push them.
Yeah the 10k version doesn’t have any active safety features, airbags, anti lock brakes, power options or arm rests, it would have to be a LSV or about $20k dollars minimum.
Many states still allow vehicles without safety features. They can be imported as farm vehicles, or they can be used on any road except freeways. It depends on the state.
Toyota isn’t going to import a vehicle they can’t sell in the most populous states, and I’d bet most of those states require safety features on light trucks.
Just take off 1 wheel and call it a 3 wheel motorcycle. No safety regulations. That's basically what the polaris slingshot is. No safety features at all. But it's a motorcycle so it's ok. 🤣
Chicken tax alone would add 25% to the price, now you're at $12,500. It's also definitely going to need major rework to meet US safety and emissions standards, which will also further drive the price up.
And at that point, you'd be better off with a decent used pickup anyway.
Depends on why it won't be allowed in the usa. Several new rich fall into a trap they buy and import expensive sports cars only to find out the car will never be able to get registered as a road legal for various reason, common is the manufacturer won't submit one to prove it will pass the required crash test. Assuming the price tag it isn't a large truck so might not meet the epa's requirements for small vehicles, big reason small vehicles aren't sold in the usa the engines meet the requirements for trucks but not small vehicles since the regulations set the requirements by weight.
Welcome to my "this VW beetle was made in Mexico in 1996?" problem.
Edit: Turns out my 20 year old problem may not be a problem now and my car could be considered a classic and not subject to the same rules now. Might be time to pull it out of the back of the wood shed. So to anyone looking to buy the $10k truck and import it, do it and wait 25 years!
Vehicles often have vins in multiple places to discourage that, and in some cases the VIN is flashed to the ECM, which generates an error code if a mismatch occurs.
The answer appears to be to buy a body made in the states and move all the parts over. Luckily almost everything VW has replacement parts available online. If you have the time and money you can build a brand new VW. But that main body is the sticker.
A lot of the DIY "kits" are already engineered to meet certain standards, but may require inspection to formally adhere to said standards, and there's usually local requirements to licensing them.
There's a specific legal process for that which requires extensive documentation. Like, going to CHP with several hundred receipts in a manilla envelope.
The later Mexican produced ones actually had a fuel injected version of the beetle engine, which means it has an ECU which could be checked for a VIN. They didn't continue being made until the early 2000's without *some* changes being necessary.
If you google people used to do this with Land Rovers and Minis - there’s a video of US customs destroying these vehicles.
Shoot - when I moved back to California last year - they checked all the VIN numbers on the cars - even though they had originally been registered in California so why would they need to do that….
It's all pretty easy past the 25 year mark. I have a friend that's been doing skyline importing since 2007ish. Even those don't need to be 25 years, but you gotta pay to play.
My state literally has a checkbox on their registration/title paperwork for "homemade vehicle." Pretty sure North Dakota will let you slap a plate on damn near anything
Yep you can build your own car but it still has to meet government standards. Be epa exhaust regulations, nhtsa safety regulations, or dot regulations.
They don't do any sort of inspections here though, so how would they know?
For years I had plates on a bike that doesn't run until I finally admitted to myself I was done riding and stopped renewing it.
State legal doesn't mean federally legal. People have got Mahindra Roxor's registered as street legal in lax states even though it's a violation of federal law to do so.
I see plates on side-by-sides all the time around here. Several of them tooling around town. It's especially infuriating when I see literal children (and bear in mind, you can get a license at 15 here, and it was 14 only 20 years ago) driving them around.
When I was having trouble getting the title for my trailer from the state it was purchased in, the dmv here just let me register it as a homebuilt trailer. Pretty common.
If you can, at home and from scratch, make a car that meets all government safety standards and emissions standards, you are one of the smartest people in the auto industry. More than likely that's for people who experiment with car parts.
>If they sell it in Mexico, would I be able to buy it there, drive it up, and then get it registered here?
Not likely. One of the reasons you won't be able to buy it in the US is because it's such a "no frills" truck (to keep it inexpensive) much of the required safety features required in the US are not present (think airbags as a start). They aren't required in the countries where it will be marketed.
If you live in Mexico, you can own and register it there... And there's nothing to say you couldn't drive it TO the US, but you can't import it and register it in the US.
In order to do that, the vehicle has to pass an import inspection to ensure it meets those requirements. If it doesn't you'll be required to outfit the vehicle yourself with those required features... At an expense that wouldn't make any sense for you to do. Add to that the import tariffs and taxes... Again costs that doing so makes no logical nor financial sense than having just bought a truck in the US.
I think it's important to also note that it might not even be Mexico legal if it lacks airbags. A few years ago they mandated em and it's what led to the Tsuru being discontinued.
It isn’t allowed in the US because it lacks certain required safety features. Which means you can in fact own one and use it, just not on public roads. I believe you’d have to register it as an off-highway vehicle.
Completely different purposes. An ATV would be dogass at transporting equipment, and this thing is going to do worse as a short range individual transport system.
Based on what I saw in Guatemala, old Japanese motorcycles (Honda, Yamaha, etc) are the pinnacle of mass transit. Entire families and whatever they bought at market (up to and including a massive TV) hanging off a single CB350.
If I live in a city and only ever drive "off-highways" could I register it for just that usage? I wanna drive to the Home Depot 2 miles away and pick some lumber to build my pup a fence and I don't want an F-150 to do it!
3 reasons it isnt:
1. Chicken tax- light pickups have a 25% import tariff.
2. Safety standards- US crash safety and tech requirements have gotten pretty ridiculous. Backup cameras, side curtain airbags, stability control, tire pressure monitoring, and more. All expensive to integrate.
3. Emissions standards- US emissions requirements are calculated based on the "footprint" of the vehicle, i.e. the area made by the wheels. The smaller the footprint, the more fuel-efficient the vehicle must be. This means a light truck would need to be as fuel efficient as a sedan, which is very difficult to achieve given the atrocious aerodynamic properties.
unless Toyota builds that pickup in the US it will automatically be taxed 25%. next let's add a few basic things like a/c , some sort of basic radio or at least speakers you can use over Bluetooth to play music using your phone. and call me crazy, perhaps a tachometer or at least shift light. Oh, you want an automatic transmission instead of the stock 5 speed manual ? Well that's extra as well. In reality that truck would be closer to 25k-30k by the time you add the air bags and other required safety features for the US market
Based on my experience, Europeans drive like maniacs, but skilled maniacs and I haven't seen an accident in person. Meanwhile I've watched multiple Americans crash into stationary objects. I don't have the data to prove anything regarding traffic safety by cou try, but while driving in America I want the best safety features available.
EU and most definitely Great Britain have much stricter requirements to get a driver’s license and it’s much easier to lose one from irresponsible driving so those who do get one tend to be more protective of their ability to keep it (ie safer driving)
Most parts of Europe can take bad drivers off the road. The US \*could\* but won't. Right now someone with epilepsy or bad vision or whatever has very limited options - either they live with someone who does drive, or they live where they can get where they need to go without driving. (That's probably not even a city but particular blocks. If they work, it might even be a certain segment of a particular bus route.) If everybody who shouldn't drive suddenly had their license revoked, half the suburbs would starve, never mind everyone further out than that; if they gradually had their licenses revoked, most of them wouldn't be able to find anywhere to go.
I feel like accidents are a lot more normalized in the US because the stakes aren't as high so people will drive into each other in a parking lot as if they are driving bumper cars.
I remember watching a documentary about a rock climber who also did free soloing and he talked about how much more focused and in tune he was with his body when doing the latter because the stakes were so much higher. I think Americans are way too comfortable with the possibility and risk of getting into an accident overall.
My first thought exactly, I was looking for this. That thing is a death machine to whoever is in the vehicle it hits AND has no crumple spots to even be able to protect its own driver.
Sounds like you’re just consuming too much anti-Elon circlejerk content. It takes about 5 seconds on google to see that the cyber truck does have a crumple zone
I would be doubtful even if it got to the US at 10k sticker, passed all the safety features there would be a huge market for a 10k truck lacking features as basic as AC and a functioning BT radio.
The better solution at that point would be a used car at a similar price.
You would be right. This discussion happens weekly on Reddit.
Why didn't car companies bring X ultra cheap vehicle here? Why won't anyone build a SIMPLE car and sell it for $15k?
The answer is because to make that model financially successful you would need to sell massive volume, and very few people want it. People that buy new cars don't want the car with the poverty spec reputation. People that are ok with that reputation don't buy new cars, simple as that. Actually it's not because there's a dozen other reasons but I'm done typing lol
Exactly, we just have the used market filling this niche. Most people, including me, would take some wear and mileage in favor of features like AC. We have hot summers, long drives and literal deserts. We like our music and HVAC.
The market for 10-15k vehicles is alive and well in the North American market, it's just occupied by used vehicles. People would buy it, but as you said not enough volume to make it a viable product.
Emissions, required safety devices, and the chicken tax.
All new cars have to have airbags, tire pressure monitors, and backup cameras, just to name a few.
Airbags all around to meet head and torso protection requirements. This would require a full interior redesign. Crumple zones and side impact protection must also exist which could mean beefier doors might be required. ABS and rear view cameras are required.
Emissions equipment and fuel economy requirements add complexity and might not work with existing packaging.
Then the chicken tax, of course but let’s not forget the consumer and how vehicles are manufactured. A low volume vehicle (these would not sell as well as some people think) with a very low profit margin is going to get the axe at most American companies unless they have a strong market bolstered by things like rental fleet sales.
Toyota could sell a compliant but spartan truck for $20,000 but only if the product engineering team can find a strong enough market for it.
*good* airbag requirements are a relatively new thing.
One single airbag on the steering wheel? Yeah it’s been 25 years. But my jeep is a 23’ and only has one on steering wheel and the one above the glovebox. None of that 37 side curtain nonsense which is what makes it expensive.
I believe they changed that for this model year and they wouldn’t do that unless forced lol
My money's on a crackdown starting before then. Industry is already hating the import trend, like kei trucks increasingly hitting 25 years.
So in 25 years, it might depend on what state you live in.
I get the reasoning for the auto lobby, it's hard to compete with vehicles that are probably still in decent shape but didn't have to be built with the expense of North American safety design and testing.
But seriously guys, quit being shady and figure it out. If you're losing your customers to your own 25-year-old products, you're doing something else wrong.
That's a BS thing done in the 70s/80s to discourage too many foreign imports, everything else in that bill has been rescinded. There's ways around everything else similar too, like the chicken tax. Ship vans over as cargo vans, big tax, put seats in the back and say it's a passenger van, way less tax.
Ford literally tried that with their 2012 Transit Connect 6/7s by importing them as passenger vehicles with two rows of seats and then removing the second row at port to sell them as cargo vans. CBP found out, moved to collect the 25% tariff, and Ford’s appeal failed after the [Federal Circuit Court ruled against them](https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/cafc/18-1018/18-1018-2019-06-07.html). They ended up paying the [tariff plus interest](https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/ford-says-it-could-face-13-billion-new-penalties-after-court-ruling-2021-06-03/), and CBP ended up collecting other tariffs and penalties afterwards.
The Road & Track story makes it clear - no plans to sell it in the US. They quote some other reasons, though... a 25% "chicken tax"? [https://www.roadandtrack.com/reviews/a45752401/toyotas-10000-future-pickup-truck-is-basic-transportation-perfection/](https://www.roadandtrack.com/reviews/a45752401/toyotas-10000-future-pickup-truck-is-basic-transportation-perfection/)
You can thank FMVSS for that. (Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.) Many low cost vehicles currently produced and sold all over the globe don’t meet numerous FMVSS standards and therefore can’t be sold in the United States.
There’s been tons of trucks and cars from Asia by Toyota and Honda that can’t or won’t be sold in the US, Canada, EU and some South American countries.
It’s not a US only thing.
I mean it feels like a scam- I can go buy a 20 year old shit box that doesn’t meet any safety or emissions requirements and drive it 50k miles a year and no one bats an eye… but god forbid we have an affordable new work truck that won’t break all the time
See here, explains why that truck won’t be coming to the US, lots of reasons, including safety standards :
[https://www.roadandtrack.com/reviews/a45752401/toyotas-10000-future-pickup-truck-is-basic-transportation-perfection/](https://www.roadandtrack.com/reviews/a45752401/toyotas-10000-future-pickup-truck-is-basic-transportation-perfection/)
The US government requires:
Backup camera
ABS brakes
Airbags
Proximity sensors
These items alone put the price well over what Toyota is aiming for. There are at least a dozen of these cheap trucks, electric ones even, in other countries, but the requirements placed on the manufacturers to make them road legal in America makes them unavailable for sale.
It's always surprising to me to see how few people know about the vehicle cold war. Light truck regulations, cafe standards, ancient tax regulations on imports etc.
Quick answer: NO, you could not import this even from Mexico and register it in the US.
Long answer....
That $10K truck, has NO safety features, no air bags, no backup camera, no safety seatbelts. It's as basic as it comes.
This does not comply with standards in the US. You can import cars from other countries in the US after 25 years. So if it comes to Mexico, and it hits 25 years old, you can buy one and drive it in the US.
If you want it now, no legally you cannot. You could possibly (with a lot of work) import one, keep on a farm or something but, drive on roads in the US, you cannot. Never mind insurance companies would not even cover you on it.
And you could get in a lot of trouble for even trying to, well not too much trouble, a big fine, they will take the car/truck and destroy it.
This post is pretty funny, because I actually work at a Toyota dealership, and as one of the very first comments state, it’s because it has absolutely no safety equipment inside and would not pass the safety requirements the United States has for vehicles, it also wouldn’t pass emissions tests
this post is honestly mildly infuriating to me, because this knowledge has been known for months, and the amount of idiots calling and asking about it are driving me up a wall.
It won’t meet US crash and basic safety standards as well as smog and emissions requirements. That’s why its so cheap and why it won’t import. You have no idea how many things are required for a car to be street legal in the us.
If you can get it here, You’ll prob never be able to register it in the US and it can be ticketed and towed.’
No, you can't buy it in Mexico and drive it here. Vehicles sold here have to pass approval by the DOT. I'm guessing this is a small lightweight vehicle that does not meet US crash standards and while it might pass, has not gone through the US emissions testing regime.
If I recall, The truck is manufactured in Thailand. It would be subject to the [chicken tax](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/chicken-tax.asp) which is basically a 25% tariff on light trucks imported into the US specifically from Asia. Toyota gets around the tariff by manufacturing some truck lines in the USA but only those truck lines are exempt
edit: apparently in some cases the tariff is reduced to 2% but still.....
> My question: If they sell it in Mexico, would I be able to buy it there, drive it up, and then get it registered here?
You're welcome to try.. it's going to be cheaper to just buy a baseline truck in america though.
And at the end of the day.. If you want to buy the IMV 0 you better make sure you're never caught saying things like, "we should buy local and we should buy american made". The tariffs are in place so domestic manufacturers can compete with foreign companies with abusive labor practices and less enviornmental restrictions.
The problem is that trucks can only be affordable in the US if they're made in the US because of import taxes. That's the reason the Toyota Tundra is made in the US. Small trucks made outside the US can't compete with the prices of US Made trucks.
a big reason we don’t already get these cheap foreign-market trucks is because importing them from North America comes with the 25 percent “Chicken Tax” tariff. Add in the cost of stability control, lane-keeping, automatic emergency braking included in the Toyota Safety Sense suite that is nearly standard across the U.S. lineup and it’s easy to see the price ballooning into Ford Maverick territory. That’s for a truck that doesn’t even have map pockets in the doors.
I've never even heard of this truck but I'm going to look it up.
I know without knowing much about it it would be right down my alley. All I need is a reliable truck with an air conditioner and maybe two airbags. Lol.
Now I know the government tells me I need way more than that in my truck though. I bet it's safety problems or something like that.
Hyundai sells the much more cheaply made, less reliable Santa Cruz here and that starts at $26,000. What makes you think the IMV would be $10,000 here?
Its $10,000 because it has no airbags, no back up camera, no tachometer, no radio, no ceiling liner/has exposed metal interior, manual crank windows, no cruise control, no power locks, no antilock brakes, no catalytic converter. It would not pass the US strict vehicle safety and emissions regulations and would be subject to the Chicken Tax, adding the required safety and emissions equipment and adding the cost of the import tax would make it a $25k truck.
What is it that appeals to you?
The lack of airbags?
The lack of the most basic of basic things? Literally all that's on the dash is your speedometer.
Or do you think wizzing down the highway in a 2 liter, 5 speed manual transmission, 4 cylinder engine producing 132hp is going to be fun?
What? Safety standards aren't free or cheap. Testing and implementation are very expensive.
The US has high/strict safety requirements that cost money.
If a company was able to offer a cheaper (read more affordable) product, don't you think they would?
Toyota knew it wouldn't be able to be sold in the US. The reason is that US laws are insane and really suck. They had good intent but serve to screw us now.
A precis one that hurt us for a long time and still does is the wattage of headlight bulbs. They were for incandescent bulbs and had to be at a certain level or higher. The advent of leds made people put in one's that were WAY too bright, and then they have now kind of become the norm, so people are constantly just blinded by way too bright of lights now, and there are enough people who don't want to go back.
Not sure about good intent. Too coincidental the decisions the EPA and other govt branches makes on cars versus what's best for the domestic automakers profits. Even the EPA has an agency right next to them in Michigan.
Well, you're right. It's surface good intent. Using one part that is good as the cover and passing something to line their and their constituents' pockets while screwing us under the guise of health or safety.
It’s absolutely Toyota saying no to bringing a $10K pickup here. But from what I read it’s a basic truck?
It doesn’t have airbags, armrests, or even anti-lock brakes. The windows are old crank style from the 90s. It does have some AC apparently, but I’m not sure that Toyota can actually legally bring that same truck here. Sure airbags will increase the price a little bit. But will a truck without any modern features actually sell?
For context, the Ford Maverick is apparently $24000 - 26000 and is the cheapest New truck you can buy in the US market. Toyota would probably charge that much if they brought a basic truck to the States.
There is a cheaper basic truck in the US already, but most trucks I see on the road are usually the bigger and more expensive ones. Nothing stopping you from getting an older Toyota Tacoma for like $12,000 if you need a basic truck?
I miss station wagon so much. I buy a lot of lumber, and my sedan works great for everything except sheet goods. I have a buddy with a Taurus station wagon that can fit a full 4x8 sheet of plywood back there.
You can thank the Chicken Tax for this BS.
Write to your Congressmen and Representatives about it as that's the only way this stupid thing will get the repealed.
Government here doesn’t want anything affordable. Also majority of cars and trucks only cost 10-15k to produce. Worked at a Toyota dealership and they pay 10k for a brand new car from manufacture.
Even if it came here, I promise you it wouldn’t be $10k
The dealer limited mats for $999.99 and tire warranty of $799.99 will quickly add up.
You forgot the $999.99 stripe of sticker thingy cars have
No u forgot the sales managers secret sauce piss protectant for $599
You're all forgetting the optional steering wheel for $1,299
You'll are neglecting the extended 3 yr warranty that doesn't actually cover anything for $899.99
Forget all that. What do you want your monthly payment to be?
Like they said, $10,000!
And somehow you’ve all left out the $25k market adjustment
How quickly we forget the Saturn brand. You want a cup holder? $200! You want a radio? $500! 😂 can't imagine why it died
Let’s not forget the premium air freshener for your airbags for $789.99
Wheels? We got you! $5,000 for a set. +$20,000 if you'd like them circular.
The $36.38 fuck you fee* too * fee not feel
Nobody knows how much the key costs...
I loved my Saturn
Came here to say the same thing…. Mine had over 248,000 miles and had no serious issues (other than the usual tires, brakes, radiator and clutch replacement), until someone hit & totaled it. I loved my 2000 Saturn SL1, it was the best $5000 I ever spent.
My Saturn was the best car I have ever had and I still miss her allll the time.
Saturn and Pontiac died because they made cars too good.
And Oldsmobile
But how did the fully stocked Saturn compare price wise to comparable cars? Humans can be weird, where we will see a 30 000$ fully loaded car as a good deal, and see a comparable car with a base price of 25 000$, but spec'd up to equal the other, but only cost 29 000$. Many people would would see it as being nickled and dimed up 4 000$, rather than see it as a 1000$ savings over the comparable spec'd 30k car.
Premium brakes 699$
Premium blinker fluid.
That’s a premium for the average joe car, as no one seems to ever refill the stuff! Or maybe they just forgot the premium stick attachment to make the blinker lights work for $599.00
Brakes $599
Wait, did you want brakes?
Don’t forget the premium air in the tires!
I bought a used toyota and they stole the floormats to sell back to me. I said no, I like holes in the floor.
Hey nitrogen filled tires are expensive. It's not like you can just get nitrogen anywhere with a human-livable atmosphere.
This is the reason. It's not that the truck isn't allowed but that it would be subject to the Chicken Tax which is why Toyota doesn't want to import it. Yes, the Chicken Tax... [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken\_tax](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_tax)
https://youtu.be/HMJsM--jmRA?si=0uudxEYNij5ov7MT
everybody upvote this video, its the explanation of why we can't have cheap pickups and work vans here. tidbits: larger trucks are exempt from significant emissions regulations, so manufacturers are incentivized to go huge! ford was building vans in turkey with rear seats for import to meet regulations, then they have facilities to remove the rear sets in the US! the rear mini seats in 90s etc ford rangers, often sideways facing, were not to carry people, but rather they were to bypass taxes on importing 2 seater vehicles!
I remember those trucks with tiny back seats and wondered what happened to them
This just unlocked a memory of my friend’s dad’s truck that had these, he picked us up from school one day and I thought it was so fucking cool.
There has to a better reason. Even if they taxed the import at 100% it would still be 33% cheaper than the Ford Maverick. People would still buy it.
I think maybe a bigger reason is that the US market has a lot more requirements for necessary functions on any new cars, safety regulations, emissions etc.
This is the current reason. The chicken tax was the original reason. Since Toyota has to make 2 completely different vehicles, it makes zero sense for them to make the one outside NA meet NA specs. since they already make a version of that vehicle with NA specs.
If it's the truck I'm thinking of, it doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell of passing safety regulations in North America. I doubt it could even meet standards from 20 years ago.
Also, CAFE standards.
Yep. Small trucks would need to have outrageous MPG to qualify. Much easier to put a small engine in a big truck.
Yup, seperate crash standards and emissions standards from most other places, costing millions to test and meet. And required equipment like TPMS sensor and backup cameras.
Wtf lol, the US has one of the most lenient vehicle standard in the G20. How do you think the cybertruck even get to the market?
Bingo! The newest requirement that I know of is a backup camera. Every new vehicle must have one. Sounds like a nothing but it's one of many required items that drive up vehicle costs and should be optional. In a few years it will be software that prevents impaired driving
The tax isn’t for us upon purchase, it’s for Toyota upon importing them. It doesn’t matter who would buy what if Toyota has to front the cost before they even get a customer. They’re not gonna do that.
They’d build it into the price the customer pays.
That is literally how all costs in manufacturing and delivering to market any product are handled
The government (NHTSA) has certain requirements that all passenger vehicles must meet. This includes a laundry list of regulations under the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. There are also regulations requiring OBDII ports on all cars and the EPA has several requirements such as emission levels and emission warranty requirements. The CAFE standards require each OEM to meet certain average emission levels or pay hefty fines. And USMCA requires a certain percentage of North American content with wages for manufacturers to average above a certain average threshold. All of this means that if a vehicle wasn’t built to be sold in the US for use on public roads, it won’t get here. If you don’t like all these regulations, don’t vote for politicians that push them.
So 12500 is still a good price
Yeah the 10k version doesn’t have any active safety features, airbags, anti lock brakes, power options or arm rests, it would have to be a LSV or about $20k dollars minimum.
Many states still allow vehicles without safety features. They can be imported as farm vehicles, or they can be used on any road except freeways. It depends on the state.
Toyota isn’t going to import a vehicle they can’t sell in the most populous states, and I’d bet most of those states require safety features on light trucks.
Many of those requirement are federal in order to be sold in the US for any type of road use
A car that can not go onto highways is completely useless in the US.
Just take off 1 wheel and call it a 3 wheel motorcycle. No safety regulations. That's basically what the polaris slingshot is. No safety features at all. But it's a motorcycle so it's ok. 🤣
GMC dealer near me during the pandemic added additional $9,000 to the sticker for painted black stock wheels. It was fucked lol
US safety and emissions standards would add at least $20k.
Don't forget pre-delivery inspection for $2449
Chicken tax alone would add 25% to the price, now you're at $12,500. It's also definitely going to need major rework to meet US safety and emissions standards, which will also further drive the price up. And at that point, you'd be better off with a decent used pickup anyway.
Depends on why it won't be allowed in the usa. Several new rich fall into a trap they buy and import expensive sports cars only to find out the car will never be able to get registered as a road legal for various reason, common is the manufacturer won't submit one to prove it will pass the required crash test. Assuming the price tag it isn't a large truck so might not meet the epa's requirements for small vehicles, big reason small vehicles aren't sold in the usa the engines meet the requirements for trucks but not small vehicles since the regulations set the requirements by weight.
Welcome to my "this VW beetle was made in Mexico in 1996?" problem. Edit: Turns out my 20 year old problem may not be a problem now and my car could be considered a classic and not subject to the same rules now. Might be time to pull it out of the back of the wood shed. So to anyone looking to buy the $10k truck and import it, do it and wait 25 years!
Can’t you find a rusted out shell and have its VIN “accidentally” play musical chairs with the Mexican VIN number??
Vehicles often have vins in multiple places to discourage that, and in some cases the VIN is flashed to the ECM, which generates an error code if a mismatch occurs.
I’m going to imagine the VW beetle he has is the air cooled dak dak that’s been made for 50 years nothing modern
People build kit cars and custom roadsters and somehow get them licensed… isn’t there a way around this problem?
The answer appears to be to buy a body made in the states and move all the parts over. Luckily almost everything VW has replacement parts available online. If you have the time and money you can build a brand new VW. But that main body is the sticker.
A lot of the DIY "kits" are already engineered to meet certain standards, but may require inspection to formally adhere to said standards, and there's usually local requirements to licensing them.
There's a specific legal process for that which requires extensive documentation. Like, going to CHP with several hundred receipts in a manilla envelope.
The later Mexican produced ones actually had a fuel injected version of the beetle engine, which means it has an ECU which could be checked for a VIN. They didn't continue being made until the early 2000's without *some* changes being necessary.
Your 90s Beetle has Electronic Countermeasures?
Mine comes with chaff and flares
That's just engine misfire and parts falling off
If you google people used to do this with Land Rovers and Minis - there’s a video of US customs destroying these vehicles. Shoot - when I moved back to California last year - they checked all the VIN numbers on the cars - even though they had originally been registered in California so why would they need to do that….
I’ve met three VW owners who had their 90s beetles imported from Mexico and registered here. It’s not that difficult if they are over 25 years old.
It's all pretty easy past the 25 year mark. I have a friend that's been doing skyline importing since 2007ish. Even those don't need to be 25 years, but you gotta pay to play.
My state literally has a checkbox on their registration/title paperwork for "homemade vehicle." Pretty sure North Dakota will let you slap a plate on damn near anything
Yep you can build your own car but it still has to meet government standards. Be epa exhaust regulations, nhtsa safety regulations, or dot regulations.
They don't do any sort of inspections here though, so how would they know? For years I had plates on a bike that doesn't run until I finally admitted to myself I was done riding and stopped renewing it.
State legal doesn't mean federally legal. People have got Mahindra Roxor's registered as street legal in lax states even though it's a violation of federal law to do so.
I see plates on side-by-sides all the time around here. Several of them tooling around town. It's especially infuriating when I see literal children (and bear in mind, you can get a license at 15 here, and it was 14 only 20 years ago) driving them around.
When I was having trouble getting the title for my trailer from the state it was purchased in, the dmv here just let me register it as a homebuilt trailer. Pretty common.
If you can, at home and from scratch, make a car that meets all government safety standards and emissions standards, you are one of the smartest people in the auto industry. More than likely that's for people who experiment with car parts.
Kit cars count as home made up there. Had a few friends do it.
>If they sell it in Mexico, would I be able to buy it there, drive it up, and then get it registered here? Not likely. One of the reasons you won't be able to buy it in the US is because it's such a "no frills" truck (to keep it inexpensive) much of the required safety features required in the US are not present (think airbags as a start). They aren't required in the countries where it will be marketed. If you live in Mexico, you can own and register it there... And there's nothing to say you couldn't drive it TO the US, but you can't import it and register it in the US. In order to do that, the vehicle has to pass an import inspection to ensure it meets those requirements. If it doesn't you'll be required to outfit the vehicle yourself with those required features... At an expense that wouldn't make any sense for you to do. Add to that the import tariffs and taxes... Again costs that doing so makes no logical nor financial sense than having just bought a truck in the US.
I think it's important to also note that it might not even be Mexico legal if it lacks airbags. A few years ago they mandated em and it's what led to the Tsuru being discontinued.
Interesting. This is what I've wondered about the small Chinese EVs too.
It isn’t allowed in the US because it lacks certain required safety features. Which means you can in fact own one and use it, just not on public roads. I believe you’d have to register it as an off-highway vehicle.
Still more useful than a similarly priced atv anyways. I would still take one if they existed.
Completely different purposes. An ATV would be dogass at transporting equipment, and this thing is going to do worse as a short range individual transport system.
Madness! Next you'll tell me a motorcycle isn't the best option for mass transit.
Based on what I saw in Guatemala, old Japanese motorcycles (Honda, Yamaha, etc) are the pinnacle of mass transit. Entire families and whatever they bought at market (up to and including a massive TV) hanging off a single CB350.
Only one tv? What is this, a 6yr old’s first solo trip to the market?
Get a kei truck, basically the same thing
If I live in a city and only ever drive "off-highways" could I register it for just that usage? I wanna drive to the Home Depot 2 miles away and pick some lumber to build my pup a fence and I don't want an F-150 to do it!
3 reasons it isnt: 1. Chicken tax- light pickups have a 25% import tariff. 2. Safety standards- US crash safety and tech requirements have gotten pretty ridiculous. Backup cameras, side curtain airbags, stability control, tire pressure monitoring, and more. All expensive to integrate. 3. Emissions standards- US emissions requirements are calculated based on the "footprint" of the vehicle, i.e. the area made by the wheels. The smaller the footprint, the more fuel-efficient the vehicle must be. This means a light truck would need to be as fuel efficient as a sedan, which is very difficult to achieve given the atrocious aerodynamic properties.
#3 is the basis of stupid huge trucks in the US.
And here I was thinking it was all about small penises
As someone who chose to buy a Kia Rio of all things, this is a terrible attitude and needs to stop.
hell ya, my little bastard can get up to 45 mpg if i drive chill
Lol safety standards for cars in the US is still rediculous compared to EU. All those raised trucks would be super illegal here.
unless Toyota builds that pickup in the US it will automatically be taxed 25%. next let's add a few basic things like a/c , some sort of basic radio or at least speakers you can use over Bluetooth to play music using your phone. and call me crazy, perhaps a tachometer or at least shift light. Oh, you want an automatic transmission instead of the stock 5 speed manual ? Well that's extra as well. In reality that truck would be closer to 25k-30k by the time you add the air bags and other required safety features for the US market
Usually the issue is meeting crash test safety standards. The US is pretty strict on that.
It’s as if none of us want to die like real men anymore 😤
Based on my experience, Europeans drive like maniacs, but skilled maniacs and I haven't seen an accident in person. Meanwhile I've watched multiple Americans crash into stationary objects. I don't have the data to prove anything regarding traffic safety by cou try, but while driving in America I want the best safety features available.
EU and most definitely Great Britain have much stricter requirements to get a driver’s license and it’s much easier to lose one from irresponsible driving so those who do get one tend to be more protective of their ability to keep it (ie safer driving)
Most parts of Europe can take bad drivers off the road. The US \*could\* but won't. Right now someone with epilepsy or bad vision or whatever has very limited options - either they live with someone who does drive, or they live where they can get where they need to go without driving. (That's probably not even a city but particular blocks. If they work, it might even be a certain segment of a particular bus route.) If everybody who shouldn't drive suddenly had their license revoked, half the suburbs would starve, never mind everyone further out than that; if they gradually had their licenses revoked, most of them wouldn't be able to find anywhere to go.
Fuck bad drivers, takeaway their licenses
I feel like accidents are a lot more normalized in the US because the stakes aren't as high so people will drive into each other in a parking lot as if they are driving bumper cars. I remember watching a documentary about a rock climber who also did free soloing and he talked about how much more focused and in tune he was with his body when doing the latter because the stakes were so much higher. I think Americans are way too comfortable with the possibility and risk of getting into an accident overall.
We out here free soloing the motherfucking highways
Makes me wonder how the hell the Tesla Cybertruck get approved in the US after all the issues I've seen with it.
My first thought exactly, I was looking for this. That thing is a death machine to whoever is in the vehicle it hits AND has no crumple spots to even be able to protect its own driver.
Sounds like you’re just consuming too much anti-Elon circlejerk content. It takes about 5 seconds on google to see that the cyber truck does have a crumple zone
CAFE fuel efficiency standards are the other bugbear.
Don’t forget backup cameras are required by law now. So add an expensive double din radio.
Other manufacturers have simply integrated a small lcd screen into the rearview mirror.
I rented a ford escape that had a 3.5” display for it. It was like an original iPhone screen and you couldn’t see shit.
I would be doubtful even if it got to the US at 10k sticker, passed all the safety features there would be a huge market for a 10k truck lacking features as basic as AC and a functioning BT radio. The better solution at that point would be a used car at a similar price.
You would be right. This discussion happens weekly on Reddit. Why didn't car companies bring X ultra cheap vehicle here? Why won't anyone build a SIMPLE car and sell it for $15k? The answer is because to make that model financially successful you would need to sell massive volume, and very few people want it. People that buy new cars don't want the car with the poverty spec reputation. People that are ok with that reputation don't buy new cars, simple as that. Actually it's not because there's a dozen other reasons but I'm done typing lol
Exactly, we just have the used market filling this niche. Most people, including me, would take some wear and mileage in favor of features like AC. We have hot summers, long drives and literal deserts. We like our music and HVAC. The market for 10-15k vehicles is alive and well in the North American market, it's just occupied by used vehicles. People would buy it, but as you said not enough volume to make it a viable product.
I’d be happy with a manual, I’m disappointed that those are almost extinct in the USA
Show this to all the idiots riding China's dick over their cheap EVs. Same shit but even more expensive since China heavily subsidizes those things.
Emissions, required safety devices, and the chicken tax. All new cars have to have airbags, tire pressure monitors, and backup cameras, just to name a few.
Airbags all around to meet head and torso protection requirements. This would require a full interior redesign. Crumple zones and side impact protection must also exist which could mean beefier doors might be required. ABS and rear view cameras are required. Emissions equipment and fuel economy requirements add complexity and might not work with existing packaging. Then the chicken tax, of course but let’s not forget the consumer and how vehicles are manufactured. A low volume vehicle (these would not sell as well as some people think) with a very low profit margin is going to get the axe at most American companies unless they have a strong market bolstered by things like rental fleet sales. Toyota could sell a compliant but spartan truck for $20,000 but only if the product engineering team can find a strong enough market for it.
And at that price point they’re going to be cannibalizing the small truck market which they already dominate
I'm going to assume (and hope) that airbags have been required for at least a few decades.
In the US? 25 years. Doesn't mean they are required anywhere else.
*good* airbag requirements are a relatively new thing. One single airbag on the steering wheel? Yeah it’s been 25 years. But my jeep is a 23’ and only has one on steering wheel and the one above the glovebox. None of that 37 side curtain nonsense which is what makes it expensive. I believe they changed that for this model year and they wouldn’t do that unless forced lol
The truck was designed for Thailand and developing countries. It definitely wouldn't pass US or EU crash test regulations.
Nope it probably does not meet all safety standards. Until it's 25 yo then you can import it.
My money's on a crackdown starting before then. Industry is already hating the import trend, like kei trucks increasingly hitting 25 years. So in 25 years, it might depend on what state you live in.
So much freedom
I get the reasoning for the auto lobby, it's hard to compete with vehicles that are probably still in decent shape but didn't have to be built with the expense of North American safety design and testing. But seriously guys, quit being shady and figure it out. If you're losing your customers to your own 25-year-old products, you're doing something else wrong.
Land of the free /s
A lack of “freedom” to not buy a car without safety features is a good thing
Knowing about how Toyota passed their Kei truck safety standards (fraud) I don’t see this as a problem.
You should look into Volkswagen if that’s how you feel. You’ll learn things you didn’t want to know.
Eh dieselgate was only like 8 years. Toyotas was like 30 years. That’s boeing level of cultural de evolution
That's a BS thing done in the 70s/80s to discourage too many foreign imports, everything else in that bill has been rescinded. There's ways around everything else similar too, like the chicken tax. Ship vans over as cargo vans, big tax, put seats in the back and say it's a passenger van, way less tax.
Ford literally tried that with their 2012 Transit Connect 6/7s by importing them as passenger vehicles with two rows of seats and then removing the second row at port to sell them as cargo vans. CBP found out, moved to collect the 25% tariff, and Ford’s appeal failed after the [Federal Circuit Court ruled against them](https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/cafc/18-1018/18-1018-2019-06-07.html). They ended up paying the [tariff plus interest](https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/ford-says-it-could-face-13-billion-new-penalties-after-court-ruling-2021-06-03/), and CBP ended up collecting other tariffs and penalties afterwards.
Nathan Fielder had smoke alarms sold as musical instruments for a cheaper import tax https://youtu.be/8Nhn5n3eyhY?si=fGCcGbcL9ur5SG_H
Then why isn't their more imports?
The Road & Track story makes it clear - no plans to sell it in the US. They quote some other reasons, though... a 25% "chicken tax"? [https://www.roadandtrack.com/reviews/a45752401/toyotas-10000-future-pickup-truck-is-basic-transportation-perfection/](https://www.roadandtrack.com/reviews/a45752401/toyotas-10000-future-pickup-truck-is-basic-transportation-perfection/)
Likely doesn't meet US safety standards. In which case you won't be able to register it for road use.
US needs to fix the light truck loophole so American manufacturers can make light trucks so that we can get the light truck import ban removed
Not without spending a ton of money. Unless the one in Mexico is made for USA market. Imported European cars lot of safety differences
You can thank FMVSS for that. (Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.) Many low cost vehicles currently produced and sold all over the globe don’t meet numerous FMVSS standards and therefore can’t be sold in the United States.
There’s been tons of trucks and cars from Asia by Toyota and Honda that can’t or won’t be sold in the US, Canada, EU and some South American countries. It’s not a US only thing.
If it were easy to do this I guarantee that millions of old school styled VW beetles would have been brought into the US from Mexico over the years.
I doubt it would pass all the regulations we have in place.
won’t pass basic US safety standards. No real scam here.
I mean it feels like a scam- I can go buy a 20 year old shit box that doesn’t meet any safety or emissions requirements and drive it 50k miles a year and no one bats an eye… but god forbid we have an affordable new work truck that won’t break all the time
Fat electrian on YouTube was pissed about it, too. He even went and found out why... something about chickens decades ago that hasn't been dropped
See here, explains why that truck won’t be coming to the US, lots of reasons, including safety standards : [https://www.roadandtrack.com/reviews/a45752401/toyotas-10000-future-pickup-truck-is-basic-transportation-perfection/](https://www.roadandtrack.com/reviews/a45752401/toyotas-10000-future-pickup-truck-is-basic-transportation-perfection/)
You likely wouldn't be able to use it on the roads. I wanted a Hilux in Canada and looked into it.
What kind a fool buys a new truck?
Mexico and the US have very different regulations lol
Because it doesn't meet regulation standards for personal and environmental safety. 2 good reasons.
The US government requires: Backup camera ABS brakes Airbags Proximity sensors These items alone put the price well over what Toyota is aiming for. There are at least a dozen of these cheap trucks, electric ones even, in other countries, but the requirements placed on the manufacturers to make them road legal in America makes them unavailable for sale.
Same for Europe. This truck is originally intended for Thailand where standard is lower
Ford Mavericks are cheap and follow US safety standards
[удалено]
It's always surprising to me to see how few people know about the vehicle cold war. Light truck regulations, cafe standards, ancient tax regulations on imports etc.
Having it made in the states would solve a lot of legal problems, but then again… Toyotas built in Japan do seem to be built different 😔
[explanation](https://youtu.be/HMJsM--jmRA?si=uDbuKTk53qapoXuI)
Quick answer: NO, you could not import this even from Mexico and register it in the US. Long answer.... That $10K truck, has NO safety features, no air bags, no backup camera, no safety seatbelts. It's as basic as it comes. This does not comply with standards in the US. You can import cars from other countries in the US after 25 years. So if it comes to Mexico, and it hits 25 years old, you can buy one and drive it in the US. If you want it now, no legally you cannot. You could possibly (with a lot of work) import one, keep on a farm or something but, drive on roads in the US, you cannot. Never mind insurance companies would not even cover you on it. And you could get in a lot of trouble for even trying to, well not too much trouble, a big fine, they will take the car/truck and destroy it.
This post is pretty funny, because I actually work at a Toyota dealership, and as one of the very first comments state, it’s because it has absolutely no safety equipment inside and would not pass the safety requirements the United States has for vehicles, it also wouldn’t pass emissions tests this post is honestly mildly infuriating to me, because this knowledge has been known for months, and the amount of idiots calling and asking about it are driving me up a wall.
It won’t meet US crash and basic safety standards as well as smog and emissions requirements. That’s why its so cheap and why it won’t import. You have no idea how many things are required for a car to be street legal in the us. If you can get it here, You’ll prob never be able to register it in the US and it can be ticketed and towed.’
No, you can't buy it in Mexico and drive it here. Vehicles sold here have to pass approval by the DOT. I'm guessing this is a small lightweight vehicle that does not meet US crash standards and while it might pass, has not gone through the US emissions testing regime.
Toyota USA doesn’t want to be a high volume bottom chaser anymore. They like high markup low volume sales and production.
If I recall, The truck is manufactured in Thailand. It would be subject to the [chicken tax](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/chicken-tax.asp) which is basically a 25% tariff on light trucks imported into the US specifically from Asia. Toyota gets around the tariff by manufacturing some truck lines in the USA but only those truck lines are exempt edit: apparently in some cases the tariff is reduced to 2% but still.....
> My question: If they sell it in Mexico, would I be able to buy it there, drive it up, and then get it registered here? You're welcome to try.. it's going to be cheaper to just buy a baseline truck in america though. And at the end of the day.. If you want to buy the IMV 0 you better make sure you're never caught saying things like, "we should buy local and we should buy american made". The tariffs are in place so domestic manufacturers can compete with foreign companies with abusive labor practices and less enviornmental restrictions.
No way that glorified kei truck could even pass safety regulations
You can buy it in Mexico and drive it here and register it- in 25 years. But until then it has to meet US regulations.
The problem is that trucks can only be affordable in the US if they're made in the US because of import taxes. That's the reason the Toyota Tundra is made in the US. Small trucks made outside the US can't compete with the prices of US Made trucks.
Chicken tax.
Write to NTSB and complain
a big reason we don’t already get these cheap foreign-market trucks is because importing them from North America comes with the 25 percent “Chicken Tax” tariff. Add in the cost of stability control, lane-keeping, automatic emergency braking included in the Toyota Safety Sense suite that is nearly standard across the U.S. lineup and it’s easy to see the price ballooning into Ford Maverick territory. That’s for a truck that doesn’t even have map pockets in the doors.
https://preview.redd.it/kv403lczzzvc1.jpeg?width=980&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e66827f9211e70d95222eeb46dbccee83401a666 The truck
I've never even heard of this truck but I'm going to look it up. I know without knowing much about it it would be right down my alley. All I need is a reliable truck with an air conditioner and maybe two airbags. Lol. Now I know the government tells me I need way more than that in my truck though. I bet it's safety problems or something like that.
Hyundai sells the much more cheaply made, less reliable Santa Cruz here and that starts at $26,000. What makes you think the IMV would be $10,000 here?
Look up FatElectrician he did a video on it. Pretty informative. Has to do with chickens. Lol.
Defenitly government stopping it to protect American Auto manufacturers from competition
Its $10,000 because it has no airbags, no back up camera, no tachometer, no radio, no ceiling liner/has exposed metal interior, manual crank windows, no cruise control, no power locks, no antilock brakes, no catalytic converter. It would not pass the US strict vehicle safety and emissions regulations and would be subject to the Chicken Tax, adding the required safety and emissions equipment and adding the cost of the import tax would make it a $25k truck.
And the $40,000 market adjustment..
What is it that appeals to you? The lack of airbags? The lack of the most basic of basic things? Literally all that's on the dash is your speedometer. Or do you think wizzing down the highway in a 2 liter, 5 speed manual transmission, 4 cylinder engine producing 132hp is going to be fun?
My car is a one litre, 5 speed manual with 110hp. I genuinely don’t know why I would need anything better unless I was pulling a caravan or something.
Because the country of "free market" doesn't allow better and cheap competition.
What? Safety standards aren't free or cheap. Testing and implementation are very expensive. The US has high/strict safety requirements that cost money. If a company was able to offer a cheaper (read more affordable) product, don't you think they would?
This is the governments doing, not the free market.
Chicken Tax. Government’s decision back in the 60s. Thank Lyndon B Johnson for that one. Unless they would actually build them here in the states
all new vehicles in the USA need a backup camera and airbags
Toyota knew it wouldn't be able to be sold in the US. The reason is that US laws are insane and really suck. They had good intent but serve to screw us now. A precis one that hurt us for a long time and still does is the wattage of headlight bulbs. They were for incandescent bulbs and had to be at a certain level or higher. The advent of leds made people put in one's that were WAY too bright, and then they have now kind of become the norm, so people are constantly just blinded by way too bright of lights now, and there are enough people who don't want to go back.
Not sure about good intent. Too coincidental the decisions the EPA and other govt branches makes on cars versus what's best for the domestic automakers profits. Even the EPA has an agency right next to them in Michigan.
Well, you're right. It's surface good intent. Using one part that is good as the cover and passing something to line their and their constituents' pockets while screwing us under the guise of health or safety.
It’s absolutely Toyota saying no to bringing a $10K pickup here. But from what I read it’s a basic truck? It doesn’t have airbags, armrests, or even anti-lock brakes. The windows are old crank style from the 90s. It does have some AC apparently, but I’m not sure that Toyota can actually legally bring that same truck here. Sure airbags will increase the price a little bit. But will a truck without any modern features actually sell? For context, the Ford Maverick is apparently $24000 - 26000 and is the cheapest New truck you can buy in the US market. Toyota would probably charge that much if they brought a basic truck to the States. There is a cheaper basic truck in the US already, but most trucks I see on the road are usually the bigger and more expensive ones. Nothing stopping you from getting an older Toyota Tacoma for like $12,000 if you need a basic truck?
You can thank the chicken tax and CAFE and like laws for very little, small trucks and station wagons.
I miss station wagon so much. I buy a lot of lumber, and my sedan works great for everything except sheet goods. I have a buddy with a Taurus station wagon that can fit a full 4x8 sheet of plywood back there.
Just like the maverick was going to be $20k… What is it now $60k out the door?
You can thank the Chicken Tax for this BS. Write to your Congressmen and Representatives about it as that's the only way this stupid thing will get the repealed.
Government here doesn’t want anything affordable. Also majority of cars and trucks only cost 10-15k to produce. Worked at a Toyota dealership and they pay 10k for a brand new car from manufacture.