u/MayonaiseBaron

Probably a US-specific thing but growing up my dad and grandad always drove super simple but useful trucks. I'm talking a two-door, 4WD pickup with a long bed. These things had manual everything and were no frills work vehicles that got ran into the ground but still managed to last decades.

I'm looking at getting a simple work pickup (I have a small native plant nursery I run in my back yard) because renting a pickup every time I need to move something larger than a small shrub is getting annoying and expensive.

I started looking at new and pre-owned vehicles and they're asking $40k+ for 4-cynlider RWD half ton trucks now? What the fuck? Who's buying these and what are they even using them for? My 12-year-old Hyundai SUV has a more capable drivetrain than a base Tacoma or Maverick and they're cramming them full of a bunch of shit you don't need to jack the price up on base models while asking over $50k for anything with 4WD. you *can't even get* a Tacoma with a V6 anymore.

What gives?

Edit: I understand I can always buy used, but living in New England substantially raises the odds that anything 15+ years old is going to be rotted out and anything in good condition is still going to be very expensive ("I know what I got")

Edit 2: alright, maybe I'll head to a southern locale and see if I can procure a used truck. I didn't realize there were emissions mandates that were so new, in my mind that was a 70s thing (for emissions) and 90s thing (for the Chicken tax). I was aware both were in existence.