Unibody Pickups Available in the USA

[JasonDroninAround]

I knew of at least three currently available unibody pickups available in the USA. I googled it to see if there were any more and I discovered some disturbing news: There are four.

First, the Honda Ridgeline. The living OG of the unibody pickups and the one thing that seems to bring old Ford, GM, And Dodge rivals together under one banner to declare that the Ridgeline is "not a truck".

Second, the Ford Maverick. The one that almost everyone here loves and, at least on the surface, is not that different from the Ridgeline but for some reason the Big 3 truck group does not seem to hate on as much. Maybe because it's a Ford? Don't tell them it is made in Mexico and everything will be all right

Third, the Hyundai Santa Cruz. The one that took what the first two really are underneath, a compact SUV disguised as a pickup, and took off that disguise. It looks exactly like a compact SUV with a pickup bed.

Lastly, the one that I did not realize until now, the Tesla Cyber Truck. It is unibody! Maybe that's why the Maverick does not seem to get much hate from the Big 3 truck guys. They spend all their energy hating on the Ridgeline and the Cyber Truck

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[Blue_Max]

Don't ignore the used market:
https://macsmotorcitygarage.com/the-baby-ram-trucks-dodge-rampage-and-plymouth-scamp/

 

[icegradner]

Subaru Baja as well. No doubt Hyundai got it's design language from this one.

 

[kidshelleen]

As a Ridgeline owner and recipient of unibody disdain, I'd clarify that the Ridgeline combines frame rails and unibody in a single structure. It's really a "unibody-on-frame" with integrated frame rails.

 

[Tbone289]

Subaru Baja as well. No doubt Hyundai got it's design language from this one.

If we're going to include unit body pickups no longer produced, don't forget these:

1979-1984 VW Rabbit pickup
1982-84 Dodge Rampage (mentioned by @Blue_Max )
1986-1992 Jeep Comanche (unibody/frame hybrid)
1961-63 Ford F100 Styleside 2wd
1957-1979 Ford Ranchero
1964-1977 El Camino

It should also be mentioned that there are unit body pickups available in other parts of the world that aren't available in the US.

 

[Tbone289]

As a Ridgeline owner and recipient of unibody disdain, I'd clarify that the Ridgeline combines frame rails and unibody in a single structure. It's really a "unibody-on-frame" with integrated frame rails.

That's somewhat true, but the Ridgeline incorporates front and rear subframes for the suspension like all lighter-duty modern unit body designs, unlike older heavier-duty unit body designs that incorporated full-length rails. For example the 1984-2001 Jeep Cherokee/Comanche, which was a unit body with full-length rails that the suspension was mounted to, and didn't require subframes. This allowed heavy-duty suspension and axles from body on frame models to be incorporated into the design.

Note that there's not a significant difference between Maverick and Ridgeline payload ratings, so it's debatable that the chassis design is significantly more heavy-duty.

 

[Triangle6887]

Subaru Baja as well. No doubt Hyundai got it's design language from this one.

I got a hunch that if Subaru brought these back, they'd do really well. There's a lot of people who want a truck but don't need or can't justify a half-ton truck. I think this is why the Maverick has done really well. It used to be that you could buy a little truck like a Ford Ranger, Nissan Frontier, Chevy Colorado, etc. but trucks have grown into these giant armored personnel carriers in order to comply with US emissions regulations. Until the Maverick, I think the smallest truck you could get was the Nissan Frontier D40.

Supposedly Toyota will be releasing their response to the Maverick soon. Rumors are that Chevy and RAM are going to do the same. I think in a couple years, most major manufacturers will have some sort of unibody "little truck" in their lineup of vehicles. I think competition is a good thing and will only improve what we see being offered to consumers.

 

[ScottyC]

Unpopular opinion - in 5-10 years, a "full size 1/2 ton truck" will appear as a unibody design.

 

[icegradner]

Unpopular opinion - in 5-10 years, a "full size 1/2 ton truck" will appear as a unibody design.

It’s very likely. Most of the EV trucks, F-150 Lightning aside, are moving to unibody construction. The gas models will likely follow suite, because they are cheaper to make that way.

 

[Blue_Max]

1957-1979 Ford Ranchero

Ranchero had a full frame from 1957 through 1959, and then from 1972 until 1979.

 

[Tbone289]

Ranchero had a full frame from 1957 through 1959, and then from 1972 until 1979.

That's right--it was just the Falcon-based ones that were unibody I suppose...

 

[Joe Strummer]

Lastly, the one that I did not realize until now, the Tesla Cyber Truck. It is unibody! Maybe that's why the Maverick does not seem to get much hate from the Big 3 truck guys. They spend all their energy hating on the Ridgeline and the Cyber Truck

The Cybertruck is not a Truck; it's a Delorean...

 

[JasonDroninAround]

When I started this post, I was thinking about what new ones were available from dealerships in the USA. I knew there were some from the past but this has been a nice history lesson and learning new stuff

This leads me to another question: Are there any new popular ones being built today that are not in North America?

 

[Escapologist]

Also the Subaru Brat was the older Subaru entry.

As far as they all went the Baja was the one I was most likely to buy if Mavericks didn't come along. See one pop up for sale from time to time. It did have the same problem as many of them from my POV though, "can carry more in a minivan with better gas mileage"

Chevrolet missed a trick by not doing a HHR based pickup, they did the SSR which was on an SUV frame, which was premium/sport rather than utility/everyday. HHR was in the small minivan, large wagon class for cargo space, and if I was in barely surviving mode still it might have been a choice for used vehicle with decent space without sucking too much gas.

Anyway, I think the Australians would tell us about some unibody "Utes" of note, but I think there's not many on here due to no Mavericks in Aus yet, though they sent the Escape there.

Previously featured in my avatar and sig was the Austin Tilly "semi unibody" they said it was, but for having a rear frame that looks a hell of a lot like a maverick's does. I thought that one was like the "great granddaddy" of unibody trucks and was invaluable to the commonwealth forces in WWII http://austin.tillyregister.com/ I see some there with stars on but I think that was probably post D-Day "friendly" ID while operating alongside US divisions.

 

[Blue_Max]

That's right--it was just the Falcon-based ones that were unibody I suppose...

Falcon and Fairlane based were unibody. When the Fairlane became Torino and switched to full frame for 1972, so did the Ranchero.

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