Having a tiny bed is totally OK because the people that drive these silly things dont put anything back there anyway. They even have locking hard covers on them.

These aren't trucks, they are lifestyle accessory vehicles for people who feel the need to prove that they are a big boy.

People that work in trades, construction or other manual work drive a van or they rock an old Chevy cruze to the jobsite. Why would they waste their own money on a truck when it doesn't make them any more money?

2 things:

1. The new truck has 4 doors. That's a crew cab.
2. Part of the reason for today's massive trucks is a change in CAFE regs starting in 2012 that bases fuel economy standards on vehicle footprint. It's easier to make a larger footprint than a more efficient vehicle.

This is all a result of the absurdly idiotic chicken tax + American automobile companies refusing to build small trucks

98 Ranger XLT extended cab. I've added trailer brake control for livestock hauling and a modern stereo with bluetooth, handsfree calling, and a sealed 10" sub cause I'm a metalhead.

It's got the pushrod V6 that will last forever, in 99 they switched over to those awful self-destructing cassette timed V6s.

It throws no codes. Redid intake manifold and valve gaskets about 18 months ago, but I've got increased Idle RPM and minor oil leak again. So, I have to redo it, looking for a more permanent fix.

My truck does 10x the work most of those oversized pavement princess trucks do. It's a little truck for our little play farm.

That sir is a trunk.

I really want a Kei Truck, and I can't be the only one.

Most new trucks are basically just luxury SUVs for men who stomp their feet and say they want the boyyyy car, not the mom one.

Note to any offended truck owners: I said most! Some of my best friends are truck owners! :>

Actually true! And the best part is that my truck-owning friends are petite women. But they both do actual farm work in addition to their day jobs, so their trucks are beat up and dirty workhorses.

They insist on lending me a truck any time I need to do a big lumber run to home depot. You know that old saying about instead of owning X you want multiple generous friends who own X, lol.

In addition, I have been busy this summer and I have literally spent a couple grand on lumber for what is hopefully a once in a lifetime project. Believe it or not, I'm still driving an old Mazda3 and didn't have to buy a truck! (Granted, my initial purchase was so big that I would have paid the delivery fee even if I daily drove a Canyonero with a trailer)

And more children die nowadays for the sake of... what? Small egos?

Cue the Australians laughing in Ute.

Yeah I really don't get it.

I drive an old pickup truck with a standard sized bed. Every time I've needed the bed of the truck, I've needed it to be as big as it is. If it was as short as modern truck beds I'd be making more trips or hiring a U-Haul or something.

I get a normal, functional bed AND it's still a normally sized vehicle that's easy to drive and park. When this vehicle eats shit, whoever makes a normal sized pickup is getting my money.

And now the Orange Turd wants these shits in Europe.

I have a midsize truck from a yester-decade that by now seems like a small truck. Even if it had a long bed and full cab it would be more practical, and I'd argue universally acceptable size and shape than full-sized trucks pulling even a crew cab + short bed combo. When you see a full size with a crew cab and a long or god help us extended bed, it just makes the blood boil. Because as we all know, on top of the "needs two parking spaces and probably takes 4-6 depending on the driver" situation, they have nothing in their beds practically all the time.

Trucks aren't inherently a problem, and it's okay if they're unladen plenty of the time. But most people need a truck like mine; most people have a truck like the full-sized nonsense described above. That's the problem.

A “regular bed” has always been an 8ft bed for the last 60-odd years. Look at any full-sized Ford, GMC, AMC, or Chevrolet pickup from the 70s, 80s, or 90s -- it’s nearly impossible to find one with anything but an 8ft bed. If you wanted anything shorter you went with a “toy truck” like the Mazda B2000 to B2600i, or a Toyota Tacoma.

It’s just the utter lack of 8ft beds in full-sized modern (last 10-15 years) trucks that has had the industry reclassifying uselessly lobotomized truck beds as “regular” and normal-length beds as “extended”

I had an 06 Ford Ranger (actually a Mazda). RWD with a 4 cylinder and a 5 speed. No frills at all. That was a phenomenal truck. You could put snow tires on it, throw some sand bags in the bed, and go just about anywhere.

How else do you expect to fit two morbidly obese American parents and their morbidly obese children?

Here's my usual comment about how awesome my 1996 Nissan hardbody pickup was, with its regular cab and 6 foot bed.

I needed a new vehicle this year and knew I wanted a small truck to help with my forever ongoing home renovation needs. A Ranger was definitely what I was targeting before ultimately falling in love with an 88 Jeep Comanche long bed. Perfect size truck that looks Comically small when parked next to any modern day truck