Mitsubishi to Launch Electric Mini Truck in 2012

Generally, I like this. I only wish they'd make it just a bit larger . . . but not by much. Back in the 1970s, a variety of manufacturers - mostly Japanese - marketed so-called mini trucks that were sized like this old Datsun . . .

www.ajovalo.net/Historia/images/Pakettiautot/69Datsun1300Pickup.jpg

. . . and they filled the bill very nicely in regards to balancing practical load carrying needs with good mileage. Sadly, it seems that most of today's mini trucks have morphed into something akin to flashy small cab sports SUVs on stilts, with big knobby tires.

Bring back something like the no-nonsense 70's proportioned mini trucks and make them electric . . . something relatively roadworthy that can move a few sheets of plywood and sacks of potting soil all at once. Lots of room underneath that flat bed for plenty of lithium batteries. So, if the budget permits, there shouldn't be range issues.

Wow, if they could make that in a regular cab like the old yellow '85 Nissans, that would be awesome. I would trade in my '04 Civic for a snickers bar tomorrow and get one. ;)

If this costs just 19,300, then many can buy and use this for daily commute and < 100 mile trips.

Hmmm . . .

For some reason, the truck picture link I posted earlier today couldn't be viewed when
I just went back to look at it. Here, for sake of perspective, is another photo link to an old Datsun 521 mini truck . . .

image.classictrucks.com/f/8379849+w750+st0/0701cl_16_z+goodguys_n...

These things used to be everywhere back in the day. Most who owned them really loved them, as they were tough, cheap and reliable.

Mitsubishi or Nissan . . . please give us a no-frills EV updated version of something like this for us here in the US.

Yay! Now we're thinking in the right direction! Go Mitsubishi!

But I bet I know what the guy in the picture is thinking: "I wish this had a full size bed so I could fit this 8 foot post."

Austerity coming fast at the larger part of the American population! This will shrink the great heavy bodied folk back to a "normal" size and make these smaller cabs form Asia more amenable.
Diesel engined Datsun's like the one in the comments would be a boon to all "unemployables", yielding cheaper transport for small enterprise and possibly jointly or communally financed.
America faces desperation in the advances of the Pan Eurasian Empire, and without severe paradigm shifts, she will sink like a stone - her economy already is owned by China! Time for really dramatic change is now! Folks are so hungry, children going without, a generation of poorly educated "entitled" Americans is upon us!
Small Cheap Work Trucks austere and practical, durable and without the chrome and trimmings to save costs, for working folk only of course, as America the "Classless Society" show at least three distinct classes if not more under pressure. Enough of the 'Liar's Club Bull Shiite" time for reality folks. Give the poor some good land let them create some "Real Wealth" with their hands with their backs for themselves as a separate class by themselves, while the rest manipulate paper and property for "Paper Wealth" in another sphere. The America we knew? long dead I'm afraid, long dead and gone.

Yes, Mr. Fusion, my thoughts exactly: Make that truck just that much larger to accommodate the 8 foot long 4X4 post. . . but not "super size" it, as Uncle B observes, which is what auto companies are prone to do to us Americans these day.

An interesting personal aside to your diatribe, Uncle B. I found myself growing uncomfortably large this past year and decided to finally do something about it. It's been noted in many studies that if the typical American red meat diet - a very resource intensive thing - for a single person could be eliminated, it would be the approximate energy equivalent of taking a gas powered auto off the streets. Well, I "put my money where my mouth was" and - with the exception of some wild salmon and eggs - pretty much went vegan this past year. Although not directly related to meat = energy angle, I should also note that deep frying of foods is now avoided and the consumption beverages with added sugar has also been curtailed. Within 6 months, I lost 40 pounds and I'm in much better health for it. Resultingly, I now "fit" much better into my car.

Part of the new diet also involved a complimentary exercise regime, which also found me being able to - for the most part - take the equivalent of another car off the road. I have largely parked my 16 year old Saturn for the winter (we've got beautiful and clam weather here in the dry southwest desert, which allows me to partake in that luxury) and I now walk to and from work most days.

So, yes . . . a lower body mass index means a greater number of Americans would be able to fit into more realistically sized cars. Those more realistically sized cars consume less energy, regardless of what powers them. A more thoughtful diet to get to that lower body mass index would also get us to consume less oil. Those revitalized lower body mass index Americans - possibly walking or biking more now than before - also consume less oil and would certainly put a lesser long term strain on the health care system. My case study may not be easily reproducible by all, but it could for many.

Finally (I can start to see the steam rising off the foreheads of the fast food Tea Party minions, so I'll start running for cover while I can,) let's see if we can get even more petroleum out of our cars. A lot of it is there in the form of interior trim, to keep things soft and pliable in case of a crash. Fair enough . . . the foam dashboard in my '95 Saturn is certainly more forgiving than the solid steel one in my old '51 Chevy. But it's now possible to engineer durable alternatives to petrochemical plastics from plant based materials. The auto industry is finally coming around to this, I think, but not fast enough.

I happen to be a Larger person not just carrying extra wieght but also a larger muscle mass. Yet I fit in these so called fit people vehicles just fine I own a bug that I love I have a 75 Datsun truck that I also love and soon will have a hybrid of some sort just not settled on what yet. The moral here is you don't have to be a vegan or a thin ass model to go small you just have to want to save yourself money.