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Imagine how much nicer driving around in the suburbs would be if the majority of vehicles were town cars like Honda Fits, mini-mini-vans like Honda Freed, pre-2003 Tacomas, and kei trucks/vans instead of the usual mix of unreasonably tall and boxy crossovers/SUVs and brodozer trucks.

by ericmay4 hours ago|

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Well I don't think it would be that much different, truthfully. The problem of the suburbs is a matter of layout and zoning, not so much the vehicles used. If you fix the layout and zoning it'll naturally reduce vehicle size.

by jaredklewis3 hours ago|

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Would better zoning have a bigger impact? Of course.

But it would definitely make an impact. If you are driving a Honda fit, there is no distance at which you can’t see my kids.

In a ford f-150, the driver probably needs to be at least a dozen feet away to see my kids

by Amezarak3 hours ago|

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I think you probably know this because you used the US name for the car (internationally known as the Jazz), but for those who don’t, Honda discontinued the Fit in the US market due to poor sales. For every internet comment bemoaning the lack of these vehicles there’s the actual fact of revealed consumer preference in the US market.

by cosmic_cheese3 hours ago|

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Much of consumer preference doesn't originate from the consumers' own minds, though. It's shaped largely by marketing, and in the US car companies have been pushing bigger, boxier, more plush, and more expensive with its ad spend and incentives for decades now. It's way easier to find a dealership offering 0%-2% financing on some aircraft carrier of a vehicle than it is on a small car.

by kube-system2 hours ago|

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Americans' appetite for small cars seems to be linked pretty closely to the inflation-adjusted price of gasoline. Automakers always want to push more premium vehicles, because they make their margins selling to people with more money to buy more features, more space, more performance. The low end of the market is lower margin and you have to make up for it with volume.

When we hit another recession, we'll see smaller cars appear again.

by Amezarak2 hours ago|

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This is a roundabout way of saying Americans are willing to spend more money on bigger car because they like them better.

Aside from urban cores with limited parking and lots of narrow streets, it’s obvious that “bigger” means more utility regardless of marketing. You can fit more people and more stuff more comfortably (apparently people really prefer the spacious people room even above room for stuff). People are not being brainwashed by ads.

by kube-system2 hours ago|

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The current Hilux really isn't much different than a Tacoma to call it "amazing"

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f4/Upacara_...

The old Hilux that was on Top Gear hasn't been made for a quarter century.

by testing223212 hours ago|

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It is vastly different. Different engine, gearbox, axles, brakes.

They share no parts.

Its payload is double, its fuel economy is way better. It’s way, way tougher.

I’m an Aussie living in Canada, I’ve driven many models of both extensively, family have them all.

by kube-system2 hours ago|

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They are both offered in a variety of configurations, and some parts are sometimes shared between the two. e.g. the 2TR-FE engine and AC60 transmission. Parts sharing is routine in the industry. The vast majority of parts on most vehicles are shared with other vehicles.

But yes, the Hilux is built to be a work truck, the Tacoma is built as a passenger vehicle that can do truck things.

by testing223212 hours ago|

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Nobody in the history of ever bought a Hilux with a gas engine.

I’ve driven through 70 countries on five continents, I’ve never seen a non-diesel Hilux.

by hnav4 hours ago|

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Even vehicles that are largely the same as those we get here are banned from being brought in. All because Mercedes didn't like being undercut by gray market imports and lobbied the government.

by Tade04 hours ago|

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There's a similar thing currently going on in some parts of Europe, but the imported cars are for the Chinese market.

In one high-profile case a Berlin-based VW dealership was importing the VW ID.6, which is a model exclusive to China:

https://www.shop4ev.com/en/blogs/news/verkaufsverbot-id-6-bl...

by TitaRusell4 hours ago|

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America will become like East Germany and the Trabant.

And thanks to Trump's antics Detroit is losing the Mexican and Canadian markets...

by mywittyname4 hours ago|

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The Hilux isn't "banned" from the USA. Toyota can federalize it and sell it here at any time. Toyota doesn't bring it here because we have the Tacoma - a truck designed to be more inline with American consumer tastes.

If Toyota wanted to, they could readily start manufacturing Hiluxes in Mexico and importing them into the USA. Presumably, the reason they don't do this is because Americans hate small pickup trucks. Every single truck on sale in the USDM sells better in larger footprint spec.

There's maybe 20k American who are willing to buy a new truck with the wheelbase the size of a Mustang (smallest Hilux). Even small BoF SUVs have the same problem. Take the FJ Cruiser, despite being a cult classic, it sold terribly in the USA, likely due to being too small.

Plus, they are expensive. In Australia, the cheapest non-work-spec Hilux trim is ~$55k - which is like $38kUSD. A Tacoma starts cheaper than that and is much larger.

by HNisCIS3 hours ago|

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They can't produce them here because of CAFE.

by kube-system3 hours ago|

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CAFE doesn't prevent them from producing or selling it here, plenty of automakers just pay CAFE fines. The Tacoma and Hilux are very similar in overall size, but the Tacoma does have the wheels pushed slightly closer to the corners, likely for this reason.

However, current CAFE fines are capped to a whopping $0.00

The Hilux is also pretty tall and narrow, which I am guessing is very advantageous in markets where most buyers drive them on unpaved roads, and not very advantageous in countries where highway rollover tests are performed and they are primarily operated on highways with 12' wide lanes.

by rootusrootus4 hours ago|

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Toyota must not think it is that amazing, else they would use their pickup factory in Texas to make Hilux's to sell here.