The compact pickup truck was an American staple through the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s, but it’s as if something happened to change that. A switch flipped, and over the last several yeas, two of the Big three, killed off their compact truck lines and remain absent from the scene. These trucks are useful, rugged, dependable, economic and I always though those truck were cool; I’m especially thinking the single cab, okay maybe the extended cap, with off-road tires, a roll-bar, some lights on a brush-guard. 
I am exaggerating a little bit, but that is only because the compact truck is not completely extinct, I would still place it on an endangered species list. Of the Big Three, GM is the only game in town, after a 2 year hiatus and a 2014 reintroduction of there Colorado/Canyon ($20,100 starting MSRP for the Colorado): Ford and Chrysler (Fiat Chrysler Automotive) both bowed out in 2011, respectively phasing out the Ranger and Dakota. If you want to drive an “American” compact truck head over to GMC or Chevrolet, because that’s your only option. However, the two Japanese car companies serving up compact trucks in the US, Toyota and Nissan, both have plants here in the States that produce their iconic Tacoma ($23,300 starting MSRP) and Frontier ($18,290 starting MSRP) trucks.
Why do I care? Well, I think these a great vehicles. 
When you have a compact pickup, like the red Mazda B2000 my dad used to drive you now have what I like to call “pickup truck capabilities.” This is just a fancy way of saying you can throw stuff in the bed of your truck and haul it from one place to another, things like; bikes, bbq’s, furniture, large tools, junk from IKEA, etc. Also, these compact trucks, namely the Toyota Hilux (Tacoma) have been super reliable, becoming the workhorses of countless militias and rebel groups around the word and even surviving Top Gear’s “The car that Clarkson Couldn’t Kill. This thing was amazing, they left it under water over night, set it on fire, dropped from the air, crashed, placed on top of a controlled building demolition and still runs!
Being resurrected by a staff mechanic with nothing more than basic hand tools after each trial.
Durable, useful, AND easy on the wallet! This is true when first buying, when it comes to maintenance and when considering the cost to gas up. Because Toyota pretty much dominates the compact truck market, lets compare the Tacoma to the Tundra, with it’s $28,640 starting MSRP. For starters, the Tundra costs $5,340 more to buy, next consider Toyota’s oh so famous MPG’s 15/19 vs 19/24, which translates to $3.19 to drive 25 miles in the Tundra and only $2.43 for the Tacoma.
Last but not least, these trucks are COOL!!! Four words Back to the Future, Toyota recreated the 1985 McFly Tacoma for Back to the Future day 10/21/2015. If that’s not cool enough, consider US special forces have taken a bunch of American Tacoma trucks and had them retrofitted to get them around in the Iraq wars of the last decade.
I know it sounds like I’m all about the Tacoma, but really, Toyota has really kept their eye on the prize here and it shows. Personally, I’m partial to the Madza/Ford style because that’s what the ol’ man used to drive, but well that’s not an option. Look out for an in-depth review of the Frontier, Colorado, Canyon and Tacoma.