I didn't realize Ram made that kind of a truck. Well I guess the question is will the ever bring something like that to the US along with the Dakota? If the Dakota is the mid-size truck this could be their compact one.
Exactly my thoughts as well. I've had full and midsized trucks but currently drive a 2013 Santa Fe Sport. It scoots with the 264hp turbo, looks good inside and out, and has been trouble free. But I do need a bed, from time to time, to haul stuff. So instead of the 2021 Ridgeline, which imho has a dated info/entertainment interface and a rather uninspiring interior, I'm really leaning towards the Santa Cruz. I really wanted to buy this year, but with the possible slow rollout and the ensuing hype of the long awaited SAV, I might sit out this year. My 2013 runs great and has relatively low miles so the need isn't pressing.
And no center armrest... not sure what they were thinking. Looking near me, pricing wise, I see before haggling they are asking $2k below MSRP. So for $36K you're getting a rather dated interior, bla exterior, on a base no-frills trim but what should be a reliable and overall well thought out in practicality design, and it does have some advantages like its bed "trunk" is much roomier and because of its unique tailgate easier to reach. Still, I can see why the F150, Silverado, and Ram all massively outsell the Ridgeline. Ridgeline sold 32,168 units in 2020 vs say 787,422 F-series, 586,675 Silverados, and 563,676 Rams.
Light trucks built outside the US and imported are taxed at a whopping 25% in retaliation to an old "chicken tax". A $20K vehicle would become a $25K vehicle just based on taxes alone, along with the cost of actually loading and unloading the vehicles onto cargo ships and sending them out and getting them crash tested and certified for US emissions etc. Makes it expensive.
Define young... lol! Average US life expectancy is 78, so I divide that into thirds, so "young" is under 26, "middle-aged" is 26-52, and "old" is 52+. If so, most in their teens and twenties in the major cities aren't even buying cars anymore from what I'm reading, and when they do, its usually older vehicles due to escalating car prices compared to wages. According to JD Powers, the average Tucson (on which the SC is based) purchaser is 58 years old.
May depend on how much of your disposable income you put toward transportation. Most people follow the 30% of salary rule, so if the average person is making $60K, that would allow them to purchase a $18K car comfortably which often predicates going used if you want a larger upmarket vehicle, and since average new vehicles are ~$35K+ after TTL/fees, you really need to have a triple digit income or make sacrifices in other expenses like housing, food, vacation traveling, savings, investments, etc. Of course there are recent graduates with no portfolio or savings that will just figure out the maximum they can afford in monthly payments for a new Camaro SS so the 30% rule certainly isn't set in stone for all, heh!
This is very true and is one of the reasons at 60+ I'm looking for something that is higher than my current Mini Cooper Daily Driver. In addition, I find myself transporting a 90+ year old parent more and more; so much so that we will be giving up her vehicle completely now that she no longer drives (2007 Honda CR-V).
As a certified Old Geezer, I can say that you're right on target with this. I am still driving my vintage Honda Element because I haven't found a suitable replacement. "Suitable" meaning a vehicle that, to enter, "you don't have to climb up into it, nor fall down into it."
