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I remember when my dad bought his first mini truck, a 1980 mazda B2000. We lived in the country and had another bigger truck for farm duties, but my dad loved that little mazda. He couldn't believe a truck could get 35 mpg but his did. It wouldn't get out of it's own way but that didn't matter, he put a topper on it and could load boxes of files for his businesses. He typically drove about 100 miles a day between his offices and that little truck was perfect for that. Not everybody needs or wants a truck to pull 10,000 lbs and get 16 miles to a gallon. Many people just want something fuel efficient that'll allow them to haul a couple of bags of dog food or a couple of bicycles.

I suspect a $20,000 small truck was cannibalizing the sales of their $80,000 F150's so they shut it down to force people into the more profitable trucks. If Toyota comes out with a unibody small truck that gets 35 mpg or more it'll be a runaway best seller. The Tacoma was that (minus the unibody) but it kept getting bigger, heavier, with bigger engines until it costs as much and gets the same fuel mileage as a full sized truck. What's the point of it then?

A small inexpensive unibody truck with good fuel mileage that can haul 1000 lbs or so is a very practical vehicle for a lot of people. I was noticing while driving the other day that about 7 of every 10 vehicles on the road are now some sort of compact utility vehicle. There's a reason for that, they really practical for a lot of people's needs. A little truck like this is the same way.