#CompactPickupTrucks

Bigger isn’t always better, although domestic automakers are pretending not to hear you when it comes to compact pickups. Why?

These days, for the sheer number of different nameplates on the market, it appears that actual choices in the types of vehicles available is becoming increasingly limited. One segment that’s probably hardest hit are small pickups. Compared to their heyday in the 1980s, when more than 1 million compact trucks were sold;  just 87,985 compact and mid-size pickups were through April this year (according to J.D. Power and Associates), though many cite the poor choice of vehicles as a major contributing factor to the sales decline in the segment over the last few years.

We’re perhaps starting to wonder if the Mahindra TR20 and TR40 diesel powered pickups will actually ever make it to U.S. shores. Recently it was reported that the trucks had completed all the necessary testing to meet Federal requirements including those set out by the Environmental Protection Agency. However, according to a statement from Pawan Goenka, Mahindra’s President of Automotive Operations, the U.S. launch has been postponed – from Spring until December 2010.

Indian vehicle manufacturer Mahindra, has reportedly completed testing to ensure it’s compact, diesel powered pickup will meet US Federal emissions requirements. The vehicles will be available in regular and crew-cab configuration, are expected to be priced at around $22,000 and will boast a 1.3 ton payload capacity. But while smog testing might have been completed, according to Mahindra’s stateside distributor, Global Vehicles USA, the company has yet to settle on an official on-sale date.

These days it seems everything costs more. When it comes to buying  a new full-size truck, start being liberal with the options and before you know it, the sticker price is well north of $35,000, before taxes, freight and the rest of it. But compared to some parts of the world, we have it comparatively easy. In Europe, the concept of a full-size pickup is virtually non existent – instead manufacturers peddle what we would call compact or mid-size pickups, but frequently charge what we would consider full-size prices. Nissan sells the Navara (a localized Frontier), Toyota has the Hilux, Mitsubish has the L-series and Volkswagen has, well this: