United States and pickup trucks they go together like, well, trucks and the US The trucks built by the Detroit Three and by foreign automakers here in the US are among the best in the world. But there are still several amazing trucks on the foreign market that aren’t available in the US. Here are four I wish you could buy here. Unfortunately, a vehicle not licensed for sale in the US must be at least 25 years old before it can be legally imported. We will have to wait a few years before crossing the US in any of these trucks.
toyota land cruiser 79
Toyota replaced its iconic FJ40 in 1984. It built the slightly more luxurious FJ60 for the North American market and the basic 70-series for foreign markets. The 70 series SUV was known as the Prado in Japan and later in Europe. It also came as a long wheelbase truck version. The 70-series truck was rebadged as the Land Cruiser 79 in 1999, and is still available in African markets today, according to gear patrol. Although the 79 Land Cruiser’s sheet metal may look almost forty years old, its internal parts are not. It is now available as AWD with a center-locking differential on some trims. But it still has a manual transmission. You can even get a 79 Land Cruiser with a four-door cab and a pickup.
Read how the Toyota Land Cruiser can be more iconic than the F-150.
Utility/Ute Holden
Holden is the Australian division of General Motors. A ute (short for utility) is Australian slang for a pickup truck. So it makes sense that the Holden Utility/Ute was a diminutive coupe. You can think of it as a modern El Camino. And it almost sold out in the US! The Ute was originally based on the Holden Commodore sedan and thus shared components with the Pontiac G8. In Australia, you can order the Holden Utility as a stretched four-door, the “Holden Crewman”. You could even order a “Holden One Tonner” chassis/cab. General Motors made plans to sell it in the US as the Pontiac G8 ST, but the 2008 recession forced the company to reduce its lineup. South Africa and the Middle East got a Holden Ute identified as the Chevrolet Lumina SS. Sadly, Holden discontinued the Utility after 2017. No word yet on whether the automaker is planning a new coupe utility to replace it.
Fiat Strada/Ram 700
With the Hyundai Santa Cruz and Ford Maverick selling like hot cakes, the compact truck is having a big moment. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles was ahead of this trend, because Fiat has been selling its small “Strada” pickup since 1998. This compact pickup enjoyed several redesigned generations built both in Brazil and in Europe. Then in 2015 FCA started selling it in Mexico badged as a Ram 700 (half the size of a Ram 1500, get it?). The latest version of the Fiat Strada/Ram 700 (2020-present) offers two- and four-door configurations. Its capacity is up to 1,590 lbs. Every Strada has an I4 engine, though you can choose between a CVT automatic and a 5-speed manual. I think this little Ram could give Santa Cruz and Maverick a run for its money.
See the true compact trucks available in the US.
ram 4000
There’s another Ram unique to the Mexican market that couldn’t be more different from the Ram 700. The Ram 4000 is a chassis/cab with a 5.7-liter HEMI V8 engine paired with a Tremec TR4050 five-speed manual transmission. It also has a higher payload capacity than the Ram 3500, thanks to its heavy overload springs. This may seem like an odd setup, but the manual transmission allows the driver to compensate for the Ram 4000’s relatively small engine by shifting early and often. Buyers can transform these cab chassis into anything from box trucks capable of tackling mountain roads to small buses. It has the distinction of being the last full-size pickup with a manual transmission available anywhere, and sadly cannot be purchased in the US.
Next, read about the Mexican Ram 4000 or watch