8 Pickup Trucks You Probably Forgot Existed
Pickup trucks are becoming more and more popular not only in the United States, but also all over the world. Hardly a day goes by that you don’t see a Ford F-Series, Chevrolet Silverado, and more. Gone are the days when pickup trucks were considered “work only” vehicles. Today, pickup trucks serve as everyday drivers and great classic collectibles.
But despite the plethora of pickups demanding your attention today, we’d like to take a moment to look at the ones that have been lost to history. While some of these forgotten pickups didn’t stand a chance among their mighty rivals, others were unique and cool but failed to win over pickup buyers. Here are 9 mics you probably forgot or didn’t know existed.
8
1972 Chevy LUV
The light utility vehicle (LUV) was originally designed by Isuzu, before being introduced to the US market in 1972, and lasted a decade before being discontinued due to its inability to keep up with the competition and its dismal sales figures.
Rivals like the Dodge/Mitsubishi and the Datsun (now Nissan) offered the level of comfort and speed that the LUV simply couldn’t achieve. The 1972 LUV’s 1.8-liter inline-four mated to a four-speed manual transmission develops 75 hp and 88 lb-ft of peak torque. Even though Chevy sold about 21,098 LUV pickups in the first year alone, these days hardly anyone remembers them ever being there.
7
1992 GMC Sonoma GT
The GMC Sonoma GT was also known as the Syclone, for its ability to balance performance and impressive towing capacity while achieving a reasonable price. The 4.3-liter Vortec V6 engine develops 195 horsepower and 260 lb-ft of torque, with support from a 4L60 4-speed automatic transmission.
Although the Sonoma GT hit 60 mph in 7.6 seconds and reached a quarter mile in under 16.0 seconds, it wasn’t as quick as the Syclone due to the lack of an AWD system and a turbocharger. GMC only made 806 units of the Sonoma GT, and you rarely see that today.
6
1976-1983 jeep honcho
The Honcho trim package was available from 1976 through 1983, and only 1,264 units were produced throughout that time. Although Jeep changed the contents of the Honcho from year to year, the wide-track look, which was adopted by the Cherokee Chief, remained unchanged throughout the production life.
Some might argue that the Honcho’s bright, contrasting sporty graphics aren’t appealing, but we’ve seen worse designs. The interior of the Honcho features iconic Levi’s denim upholstery and a shiny chrome roll bar. The J-series line plug was retired in 1983 and the Honcho fell into oblivion before the late 80s.
5
1993-1998 Toyota T100
As Toyota tried to consolidate its presence in the North American market, it decided to offer an alternative to compact pickups, which led to the introduction of the T100. Since the T100 was bigger than a compact truck, but not as big as a full-size pickup, it struggled to keep up with rivals like the Chevrolet C/K and Dodge Ram.
The T100 didn’t really win the hearts of North Americans, perhaps due to the lack of a V8 engine and an extended cabin. While the Chevrolet C/K sold nearly 700,000 units a year, the T100 only managed to sell around 20,000. Due to poor sales, Toyota discontinued the T100 in 1998 and introduced the Tundra, a full-size pickup that debuted in 2000.
4
1997 Chevrolet S-10 Electric
General Motors’ ambition to extend its wings to the electric vehicle segment gave birth to the Chevrolet S-10 Electric. Powered by a 114 hp liquid-cooled AC motor, the S-10 electric pickup topped out at 70 mph and sprinted to 50 mph in 13.5 seconds.
The S-10 Electric’s 16.2 kWh battery weighed around 1,300 pounds and charges with a weatherproof inductive charging paddle. Chevrolet has only built 492 S-10 electric vehicles and many of them haven’t even been sold.
3
1990-1993 Chevrolet 454SS
Competing against flashier, more powerful pickups like the Ford F-150 Lightning, it’s not hard to see why the Chevrolet 454SS, which lasted 3 years from 1990 to 1993, is now a part of forgotten history.
Although Chevrolet outfitted the 454SS with a 7.4-liter V8 that puts out a staggering 230 horsepower and 385 lb-ft of torque, the gas-guzzling V8 was an outing for many people. Although Chevrolet sold around 17,000 units of the 454SS, the high price hindered more sales.
2
2006-2009 Mitsubishi Raider
Mitsubishi replaced the Powerful Max with the Raider, which debuted in 2005 for the US market. But even the 210 horsepower V6 and 230 horsepower V8 engine options available for the Mitsubishi Raider could not leave a lasting impression in the minds of its target audience.
The Mitsubishi Raider was available in two- and four-door versions, and throughout its four years of operation, only around 20,000 units were sold before being replaced by the popular RAM Dakota.
1
1991 Ford SkyRanger
Ford has teamed up with the American Sunroof Company (ASC) to transform an extended cab Ranger into a convertible, featuring a massive roll bar and a multi-tone stripe graphic pattern on the side of the pickup . As a convertible extended cab, the SkyRanger’s soft top is perfect for any weather.
Under the hood of the SkyRanger hides a 4.0-liter V6 engine with a power of 155 horsepower. With only 17 SkyRangers built, it’s the rarest Ford pickup ever, and nothing really helped it stand out, nobody really remembers it today.
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