It’s boxy, but it’s good
Bring back the Scion xB box car it was perfect. Reliable, good gas mileage, bigger interior, seats that fold down. I mean other than its ugly exterior what is the downside?
Suggested by Gerrit DeBoer
I prefer the Suzuki Hustler
If they could get NHTSA to lower the safety requirements, they could bring back the Suzuki Samurai (Jimny). When I went to Iceland last September, I saw them everywhere. Just the kind of inexpensive, go anywhere vehicle America needs.
Suggested by ncted
The Fit has always been go
Right answer is to bring the Fit back
Suggested by Saut T Sack
Keep it simple, stupid
How about a modern version of the S-10 and S-10 Blazer? Cloth seats (maybe a bench?), keep ’em simple… I’d imagine GM still has the capacity to build small trucks, right? I suspect there are tax/epa loopholes to exploit in making a truck vs a car, and if you keep out a lot of the fancy electronic stuff you’d probably minimize imported parts.
Suggested by BuddyS
Modular is the answer
We need to see a small modular platform that can run gas, diesel, hybrid, PHEV, and EV, with a 1-, 2-, and 3-box design with a small-bed pickup as well.
Similar to what the Corvair and Flacon did decades ago, or the C1 platform did with the Focus, C- and S-Max, and Transit Connect at launch but with a full portfolio of engine and drivetrain options, so basically exactly like the C1 platform was intended to be.
Suggested by potbellyjoe
Gin & Stonic
Kia Stonic – a small crossover SUV that’s built on the Kia Rio. It’s affordable, super reliable, and great on gas. It’s the perfect size – not too big, not too small. Similar in size with a 4-door VW Golf. It would fit right in. Plus, Kia’s rolling out a new facelift soon!
Suggested by Tropic Thunder
The people yearn for B13 Sentra SE-R
Make low hp, fun cars again. It can have any powertrain!
Give me the Versa R or something like that. They don’t even need to reinvent the wheel as they have economies of scale on their side.
Suggested by Canard
46 MPG from a pickup
Any compact regular-cab, manual transmission pickup truck. I don’t care if it’s fwd or rwd. And a bonus if they could work out making it a plug-in hybrid as well. I would love to be able to buy a small 2-door truck with the mpg of my old ’91 Geo Metro.
Suggested by Anonymous Person
Cheap low-effort garbage, the American way
Dreams of light nimble hatches be damned, the answer is probably dust off the Dodge Journey and start building it in Belvedere. Something dated enough that previously amortized development costs can keep it cheap, passable fuel economy, and sized slightly closer to North American expectations.
K-Cars and J-bodies weren’t good, but they were good enough to get you to work.
Suggested by Maymar
Ten years at 11.5% APR
Nah, they’ll just start offering 120 month loans on pickups.
Suggested by Pernicious BM
