Here’s how the Chevy S10 pickup and Blazer were the first American built compact trucks

[NINETY EIGHT REGENCY]

 

[balthazar]

There were others, prior to.

[Robert Hall]

10 hours ago, balthazar said:

There were others, prior to.

The Chevy LUV, Ford Courier, and Dodge D50.  But those badge engineered from Isuzu, Mazda, and Mitsubishi, respectively and built in Japan. 

There was the Corvair Rampside pickup, Ford Econoline pickup and Dodge A100 in the 60s, but those were very different types of trucks. 

Edited January 9, 2022 by Robert Hall

[balthazar]

Studebaker Champ was very close in size to the S-10, compact-based, and there was a full-sized Transtar pickup in the line as a comparison.

[Robert Hall]

3 minutes ago, balthazar said:

Studebaker Champ was very close in size to the S-10, compact-based, and there was a full-sized Transtar pickup in the line as a comparison.

True, but it was a low volume novelty that no one remembers.  The S10/S15 and Ranger were the first mainstream compact pickups of the relatively modern era.

Edited January 9, 2022 by Robert Hall

[surreal1272]

9 minutes ago, Robert Hall said:

True, but it was a low volume novelty that no one remembers.  The S10/S15 and Ranger were the first mainstream compact pickups of the relatively modern era.

The Champ was also never considered a “compact” when compared with the D3 full size offerings. 

[balthazar]

9 hours ago, Robert Hall said:

True, but it was a low volume novelty that no one remembers.  The S10/S15 and Ranger were the first mainstream compact pickups of the relatively modern era.

You have a curious manner of justifying things sometime; whether you remember it or not has zero effect of whether it existed. Reminds me of the qualifiers Daimler uses to claim they 'invented' the automobile.

[Robert Hall]

1 hour ago, balthazar said:

You have a curious manner of justifying things sometime; whether you remember it or not has zero effect of whether it existed. Reminds me of the qualifiers Daimler uses to claim they 'invented' the automobile.

Obviously I don’t ‘remember’ it, it was from before my time, nor do you.  But as car enthusiasts, we are aware it existed.  The typical car buyer neither remembers it (unless they are really old) nor is aware of it…

(in my reality context ‘remember’ implies existing in the same time frame as an event or object and being aware of it then.  I don’t ‘remember’ WW II or a 1930 Blah-blah but I am aware of them, through reading, study, etc).   Or maybe I’m just weird..)

Edited January 10, 2022 by Robert Hall

[balthazar]

I 'remember' the Champ because they continue to exist well beyond the year they were built, and I've looked a handful over in person over the years. That's the pretty cool thing about motor vehicles; they last quite a while. Prolly last saw one about 6 years ago.