In this week’s Ask Nathan:
- Will this tiny Fiat pickup truck be built?
- OEM’s need to rethink their “innovations”
- You always say that Toyota is perfect!
The first question comes from a fan who was asking about a tiny Fiat pickup truck concept. This is an old question that sat for about a year, but I finally have an interesting answer.
Q: (Via: AskNathan@TFL.com) RE: Tiny Fiat pickup truck.
I saw a tiny Fiat pickup when I was in Europe a long time ago. I think it was called a Strada and it looked smaller than your Santa Cruz. Lots of people get all insulted if you dare mention small pickups like this, I don’t care. I think it’s cool.
Do you think something like this will come to the U.S.?
– LuNaughty80
A: Howdy!
Well, look what just dropped – several Fiat concepts, including a futuristic tiny Fiat pickup based on a future Fiat Panda. I truly hope this is something real, because it could make Fiat relevant in our market once more. This isn’t just a pie-in-the-sky concept. The Fiat Panda will evolve, and this little pickup could be part of that Panda platform.
This is what Fiat said:
- All the new models will share a common global platform, making them available to customers all over the world.
- FIAT will offer electric, hybrid and ICE powertrains to ensure maximum relevance to customers wherever they live in the world.
- The first car of this new family will be presented in July 2024, followed by the launch of a new model every year for the following three years.
You read that right, this little truck-let could be powered by a gas, hybrid or all-electric powertrain. For me, that’s a win-win.
I mean, Ford proved that small, inexpensive pickups could be wildly popular in the United States, so there may be room for a tiny pickup like this. In the press release, they mentioned the popularity of the Fiat Strada in South America, but didn’t mention our market.
The biggest struggle would be production and possible Chicken Tax. I hope they can find a way around that.
We’ll know the fate of this little pickup soon!
– N
In this promotional video from Fiat, recommend going to 3:50 to hear about the upcoming Panda, and how this pickup could be a part of it.
The next question comes from a longtime fan who is sick of OEM’s making bad calls with their innovations. He has a creative way to address this issue.
Q: (Via: AskNathan@TFL.com) Topic: Should NHTSA mandate car release reviews by real world owners with tasers?
Dear Nathan,
Some OEMs seem to be out of control. Turning signal buttons on steering wheels. No rear view mirrors. A million other unnecessary and dangerous “innovations”. I believe the NHTSA should put the OEM program managers in a locked room filled with real world car buyers wielding tasers. Eliminate the turn signal stalk – you get tased. Swipe the screen to shift – you get tased. You get the idea. What do you think? Should we all petition NHTSA to add customers with tasers to the certification process.
– Scott S
A: Hi Scott, thanks for the email!
When I bought my wife’s Mini Cooper Countryman (a few years back) I remember grumbling about the turn-signal stalk. It rubber-banned back to position in such an unnatural way. BMW engineers swore it worked better than the stalk that’s been doing a fine job for nearly a century.
All in the name of “innovation.”
I thought that would be the end of fruitless, unnecessary tech. Boy, was I wrong. Some of these gimmicks are downright dangerous, and (to me) seem like vanity projects carried out by the automaker in the name of bragging rights.
“Ah, well who needs a steering wheel?”
“Oh, just swing your finger near the screen and (maybe) something will happen!”
I’m sick of it too. Very few modern innovations are intuitive, and fewer still seem to benefit the driver’s safety.
So, YES – I agree with you. I think mom-and-pop-America should be armed with tasers and pepper spray, and be allowed to confront engineers who build superfluous, unnecessary, and ridiculous tech. That goes for their bosses too.
– N
The last question comes from a viewer who feels like we favor Toyota too much.
Q: (edited for content) Why do you constantly say that Toyota is so reliable and perfect?
What the —- is wrong with you guys!? I have had my share of Toyota products and some of them were fine. But there were plenty that were steaming hunks of —— . It’s such bull—- that everyone falls for the fake media surrounding Toyota! Every one of you is sucking up to someone that builds mediocre cars and trucks. They don’t give a —- about you or your followers!
– DModeFan11
A: Hold on sport.
Sure, there have been quite a few times when we lauded Toyota, but most of that was based on material sourced by entities who obtained information from a variety of sources about the brand. For example: quality, reliability, resell and performance data we get tends to show Toyota’s on top.
We’ve seen the evidence ourselves. Some of the most reliable vehicles we’ve encountered were Toyota products.
With that being said, we call them as we see them. I am not a huge fan of the new Tundra, and some of their design choices for Lexus is annoying to me. In addition, we recently posted a MAJOR malfunction with our brand-new Tacoma. I posted the video below.
One final note: if you ever send another explicit email like the one I just edited and posted, I will delete it and block you.
– N
