>Now that the CAFE standards have been rendered toothless

Can you elaborate on this? I'd love to have a cheap small truck like they used to make, but CAFE largely killed those.

Kirby64 15 hours ago | parent | next [-]

OBBB removed any fines for violating CAFE standards. They still exist technically, but it'd be like getting a speeding ticket but the fine is always $0...

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LooseMarmoset 14 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

CAFE killed small trucks in part, tariffs in another part, but US manufacturers are the real reason small trucks are dead.

US manufacturers want margins, and they're not getting margins on little, efficient cars. They get enormous margins on gigantic trucks that start at $55,000. Have you noticed that all the sub $20k cars went away from all the manufacturers around COVID?

Ford makes the Maverick, which is a small truck. They were priced very reasonably at release, at $19,000 or so. However, Ford didn't make very many of them, and the ones they did make got up to $15,000 over MSRP from the dealers, who scalped them. Why would Ford want to cannibalize their pricy gigantic trucks when they know that they can get their $50k asking price because there's nowhere else for people to go?

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Jblx2 12 hours ago | parent | next [-]

>Why would Ford want to cannibalize their pricy gigantic trucks when they know that they can get their $50k asking price because there's nowhere else for people to go?

Why isn't Ford worried that Chevrolet, Toyota, Ram, or Nissan will bring back a small and cheap U.S. built pickup? Is that because all manufacturers are afraid of cannibalizing their more expensive offerings? Are they all colluding? Or do not many people want small pickups? I guess if the Slate becomes a breakout hit, we'll know that people really want the smaller pickups.

	▲	LooseMarmoset 9 hours ago \| parent \| next [-]
		Neither GM, Chrysler, or Ford wants to hurt their expensive offerings. Toyota and Nissan have less expensive offerings, but can't bring them here because the tariffs make them much less margin, and the CAFE standards kill the rest off.
	▲	cucumber3732842 11 hours ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		The Ford Maverick sold out for it's first few years despite them upping the price repeatedly. The demand is there.

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cloudfudge 12 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

I got a new Maverick last year for $24.5k.

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jasonwatkinspdx 15 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Cheap small trucks were killed by the chicken tax, not CAFE.

	▲	BirAdam 13 hours ago \| parent \| next [-]
		That’s not really sufficient explanation due to vehicles manufactured in the USA, CA or MX being exempt, and yet there are no small vehicles being made and sold in the USA in any large volume (despite clear demand). My understanding is that this is due to fuel regulations being enacted by size and weight where it’s simply easier to make bigger vehicles.
	▲	cucumber3732842 11 hours ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		The Chicken tax didn't kill the domestically manufactured Ranger and turn the Colorado into the huge thing it is today. CAFE killed them too. You can't have a small vehicle that gets fuck all MPG because it's built like a tank to do work. You gotta have a bigger one that gets slightly worse MPG but has a way huger footprint in order to make the math math. This didn't just kill compact pickups for 20yr. It also killed the Chevy Astro (the most "fullsize work van" of the minivans) and why you'll never see a car with a giant overhanging cargo area again.