Everything was affordable back then because the 1990s were benefited from the incredible economic policies of the 1980s. Bidenflation and the Biden/Obama regime have absolutely destroyed the American economy and way of life. Nothing will EVER be affordable again all by design.
@@shadowopsairman1583 BeeeeeRock Obama was the snowball that rolled down the hill and absolutely destroyed the American civilization as we know it. If we went back in time to ourselves in 2009 and warned everyone what would happen by 2023 if they all voted for the Muslim terrorist loving POS who hates America they wouldn't even believe us. That's how bad it has gotten since that literal male genitial-sucking bastard became president.
Trucks from the 70’s to the 90’s all had very unique and cool features. I had a 78 Dodge lil red truck. Ive also owned a few 70’s Chevy Square Body’s, and a few Classic Broncos. My current daily is an 86 Bronco, and a 77 k-10. They are just as comfortable, but much more durable than any new truck offered today. Plus they are going up in value. Nice bonus for is owners.
Being a graduate of the class of 1990, I remember all of these trucks well! The only new vehicle I ever owned was a '91 S-10 with the fuel injected 2.8L V6, 5 speed manual, and 2wd. I lusted after the S-10 Baja, with the 4.3L motor, roll bar with lights, lifted suspension, and 4x4, but at 18yo, it was out of my price range.
This will make you cry. Back when they did cash for clunkers a few youtubers went around showing the nice cars that were going to get scrapped. One was a red Baja, all it needed was a buff job. I think the video is still up.
If you do an 80s version there were many Dodges like the Macho Power Wagon, and I think a Fall Guy edition. There was also a Ranger GT (as well as a Saleen Ranger). There was even a mini/small truck racing league circa 88-91ish iirc. Jeep, Mazda, Saleen, Ford, Isuzu all ran entries or had private teams.
My '88 Toyota 4x4 has 348,000 miles and STILL does exactly what I need it to do. It's a work truck, carries motorcycles, tools, lumber etc. No gps, air conditioning, infotainment or other crap that breaks and is useless to me anyway (ok, I'd like air conditioning). Slow as an 8 year old waiting for Christmas, but it ALWAYS does it's job. Shooting for 300k more miles.
The commercials were also unique and different compared to today. They have more character and allowed more emotions. Now most commercials are so boring and serious. Man, i wish i grew up in the 90’s
Probably the best thing about the '90s was that you could still get standard cab 2 door trucks. I have a 1993 S-10 standard cab, 2 door, 2 wheel drive, short bed that I converted to a carbureted 383 small block V8/5 speed that makes just under 400 rwhp at 5K rpm.
Just like with 'standard' transmissions, is it really 'standard' anymore if theres only a small minority percentage of trucks on the road that are single cabs? I always thought that nomenclature was funny because in America at least the 'standards' are anything but the standard! lol
@@sergeantbigmac Actually I have always referred to that type of transmission as a "manual" transmission, because it must be manually shifted. To me, a "pickup" is something to haul cargo, not people. I call 4 door "trucks" either taxi trucks or limo trucks, depending on how fancy they are. They usually have a tiny bed about half the size of a "pickup" truck, and are intended to carry people instead of cargo. Sadly, most of them can only carry 4 people, because they no longer have bench seats. Even my little S-10 can carry three people, because it has a bench seat.
I still drive a 96 single cab ranger and a 06 as well. The 06 just got the first half of an overhaul, but just upgraded stock build. I am thinking of doing something a bit wilder for the 96. Likely sas and turbo the lima, or floating a 302 or ls swap.
The Baja and Nascar editions are frickin awesome. Little Red- sheesh, I've not seen that before, very cool. I like rear wheel flares, and the blue/gold accent blazer was beautiful. I love conversion vans, my uncle had one when i was very young. This vid was a wonderful "way back then" ride, thank you.
My first new vehicle was an 87 GMC S-15. I was in college, and it was the most basic vehicle. No air, manual brakes, steering, 2.5l four cylinder and 4 speed stick. I put some BF Goodrich white lettered tires, new wheels and a tonneau cover on it. It looked great but was slow as hell. I don't think it would do much better than 80 wide open on the highway. It was just plain and simple, wish I still had it. It only cost me little over $6,000 at the dealer brand new. I wish the automakers would consider simplifying their vehicles and bringing down the cost today. Maybe not this simple but you know what I mean.
@@MeLoNHeAd00 In the 60s and 70s I could tell the brand of cars and trucks just from their tail lights at night. Today a lot of the time I can't tell what brand a vehicle is without seeing badging. While I understand vehicles are supposed to be primarily utilitarian in nature. Point A to point B. Haul things etc. If someone is spending as much as some vehicles are these days they want a certain amount of what they consider good looks. Unfortunately very few vehicles built today actually look good. And far too many are not as functional as they should be. I would like to own a small truck. But there are none on the market really. Instead I drive a substitute. A minivan. But they are slowly disappearing too.
The 70s popularized the factory “custom” trucks but yeah the 90s had quite a few interesting ones. I went to the new car show every year back in the 80s and 90s and my Buddy and I absolutely were blown away by the Typhoon especially.
Trucks today cost more than any house my father bought. Tgats the real problem. In the 80s, you could get a light truck with a 4 cylinder and five speed with A/C for less than an economy car if the same era.
When riding 4x4 trails , bigger usually means easier getting stuck.. I remember taking my jeep once off road and kept going some ways after the trail ended squeezing between trees in a hardwood forest, making a trail and not tearing up the scenery either. A full size truck of any kind would've had to be carrying a chainsaw.
This is good stuff! You can go allot of places with this. Cool to see these models again. I remember when the S-10 came out in the early 80s they had so many color combos and trim levels. If you do the 80s trucks Ford takes the cake for ugly!
I always found that NASCAR F-150 to be a bit embarrassing. It's like telling everyone you drink beer and watch wrestling (and NASCAR, obviously), and you probably have bad teeth and chew tobacco. Yeah...that's a lot of stereotypes. All fitting.
I agree the BAJA is tops without question. I would put the Nite and Xtreme in the B category. The Nite is basically cosmetic but it’s done right and the Xtreme gets a B because while it was truly a cosmetic and mechanical improvement, I would argue keeping the LN2 2.2 as an option was a mistake. The 2.2 is a SOLID little motor (I’ve owned 3) but it’s really got no place in any kind of performance application. I mean even the Z24 Cavalier upgraded to the DOHC 2.4L. The 2.2 is what you buy when starting every time is more important than 0-60. The Splash and Convertible Dakota should be in the C category. Convertible Dak did a good job of taking an off the wall idea and proving that it’s truly doable. The Splash captured the cuteness of the 90s but not much else. The NASCAR F150 falls in the D category. Let’s face it, 50 years of history and all you can muster is a couple decals? Boo. And the Lil Red Dakota? I mean the Mopar Bros of your local trailer park could do better with half the budget.
I normally don’t engage which the like button but when u said u only need 100 likes for a another sweet 90 trucks video and u had 89 I clicked right away beat of luck dude
1989--"YOU got a CASSETTE PLAYER in Here?!?!?!😮😮". Things were SOOO much simpler in The 80's. Y'all Missed It! And those alloy Baja wheels are like some of The Most BEAUTIFUL Wheels Ever Created in. the. WORLD!!!!😎🤓
That's when trucks were cool...! I own a fleet of 94-96 f-series with the 300cid/5-speed for my lawn service...! They're the only trucks I will drive... My other dailys are a 79 Z28 & 72 SS Camaro...! Anything built after about 98 is pure garbage...!!! Thanks, keep up your awesomeness...
A friend of mine in HS had a Dakota convertible. Definitely not D tier. It sucks but in all the right ways. Got all sorts of reactions. Looks of confusion, wonder, disgust, lots of people asking "did you do this yourself?" and not believing it was factory. It was a conversation piece. And we got flashed a lot driving around in that. Like 5 or 6 times over 2 years compared to twice the rest of my life. B tier IMO.
Everybody has nostalgia for the past or assume a earlier time was better but looking at the 90s from today it honestly was a better time in many many ways
I miss my old Ford rangers. They were good looking and did 100% everything I needed a truck for. Also the custom options were endless and cheap back then.
@@jonathansmith3031 I wish I could have my old one back. My first one we bought new for my dad. He passed it down to my sister and when it was a rust bucket I got it. I rebuilt the whole truck from the ground up. I had kids and had to get a minivan lol.
Back when trucks were affordable. Had a 1988 S10 standard cab short bed 2wd with 2.8 V6 5 speed. Good truck. Later had 2000 S10 regular cab short bed with 4 cyl 5 speed. Another good truck. Replaced with 2000 S10 extended cab 4wd. Looked good but crappy mileage and rattly. 'Small' trucks these days are as large as full size used to be and cost a fortune.
My first new vehicle was a 1995 Dodge Dakota sport, it had 6 miles on it. It was a great first 'real' transportation for me. I put 250K on it but needed a new transmission at 180K I'd buy another one in a minute maybe the convertible.
Clicked off the video after 5 seconds. Your voice sounds so bored like you so do not care about this topic. Change how you present stuff and maybe your videos will be a better quality.
The only reason North America doesn't have smaller trucks like the rest of the world is because of EPA mileage standards, they use too much gas for the miles driven based on their square area... yes folks a truck that only gives 26-30 mpg is not as good as a 15-20 mpg truck for the environment...
Great video my friend,I had a 92 s-10 truck with a 5 speed manual and baby was awesome. Still have a s-10 blazer in my garage. 😎 Keep up the good work.🇺🇸
In the late 80s ford had the STX ranger with a roll bar and nasty graphics and I remember the original lil red express. Those were some of the first “different “ trucks produced leading the way for the ones on your list. I always thought the splash was a nice looking little truck. On a side note.. I remember convertible trucks “hard tops” but I don’t remember them being a factory option. They made conversion kits but you had to cut the top off yourself.
You forgot about the Ford Ranger Thunderbolt. Ford's answer to the Chevy xtreme. Also, the Ranger Splash was the first one that I remember being known as a vehicle for girls. Cool video.
Oh, you have to be kidding. I was 19 years old in 1989. I was in the Navy. I had no idea that Dodge was making a convertable truck and if I did I was too young to have the established credit to buy a new vehicle. I was drivinbbg a 1975 VW Bug with the floorboard rusted through on the passenger side. But if I DID know about a convertable truck at that age, and I had the ability to buy one...I would have been ALL OVER that! That would have been awesome at that age!
you forgot the 90s nissan SE V6 D21 hard body king cab. you can see them modded like mine from others on google images/youtube videos. lifted, KC bars/lights, front bull bars, with unique top of the bed push in/pop out tie downs
They made a late 80s Shelby Dakota with a 5.2 V8. Only made a few hundred of them. Specs say only 175 HP but 270 torque. I worked on one to restore it (I do paintless dent repair and paint restoration) and it had 20k miles on it. It was purchased by a truck museum, I believe, after it was finished.
Too bad the Chevy Blazer and Truck Extremes didn’t come with the hi output 4.3 that the ZR2 came with… that would have been real extreme. 210 hp verses the standard 185….
I have a 1989 S10 Baja. Red over black single cab short bed. Fun truck. One you should've added, though: the 1989-1991 S10 Cameo. Just an appearance package, but it was the predecessor of the 1992 GMC Sonoma GT, which they only produced 806, and was the cousin truck of the 1991 GMC Syclone, and 1992-1993 GMC Typhoon.
The Dodge 3.9 V6 was based on the 318, 5.2L V8 LA engine platform, and actually made 175 HP, NOT 125 HP... the 4 cylinder engine made 125 HP.. The 3.9 liter was actually a 5.2 with two cylinders removed. It was more peppy that most gave it credit for, but I still feel it could have used more power. We got a 1994 Dakota SLT 4x4 brand new in 94, and my dad still has it. IT WON'T DIE. That truck can't be killed... Dad recently got ahold of a parts truck that has the 5.9 L, 360 CU IN V8, and we're going to swap that into our 94, as well as use it's hood, doors, and front clip to replace the ones that were damaged by a pretty severe encounter with a deer...
You could also get the GMC Sonoma with all the fun bits about the Xtreme but without the body kit! Stiffer and lower suspension, and classier looking 5 spoke wheels 16"x8" wheels
I loved both my 82 & 96 XLT ford F150 4WD with the 4.9L (300) inline 6cyl pickups. I put 500K and almost 700K miles respectively. We currently own a 11 Ranger 4WD XLT super cab with only 36K miles on the 4.0L V6.
I had a 1990 S10 Baja I bought brand new. It was the black regular cab just like the one shown here. Had the 4.3. I only had it for less than a year but didn't like the cramped cab. I was 21 at the time and pretty dumb and immature. One night me and a buddy left a bar at about 2:30 and decided to take a ride. On the way back at about 5:30AM I was taking my buddy home and dozed off going around a bend. Opened my eyes just as I was about to go off the road. There was a slope with about a 3' drop. Went airborne over that and landed and kept going right back onto the road. Bent the front skid plate a little but other than that everything was fine. Marks in the grass looks like I landed about 10' into the grass...lol. Pretty tough truck considering build quality at the time.
First truck was a 91 ford ranger 2wd/5spd/ extended cab. The 3.0L 'taurus' engine was in it which was a slow as molasses however, it was very durable and never broke down. Plus it was great on economy. The truck itself was rusty but damn near indestructible. Made instant heat on those minus degree winter nights. So this truck will always be near and dear to my heart. Then I got what I wanted: A black 1993 extended cab Chevy S10. Equipped with sliding rear window, AC, 4x4, bucket seats. It had everything I wanted. The 4.3L throttle body injected was great and reliable as well. Drove in the 5-8 inches of snow with ease like it was never there. If it wasn't for the body rusting terribly I would of still had that truck now! Finally my current truck is a 1996 black Chevy S10 LT. Equipped with the 4.3L/auto / 2wd. All power options and everything works however I did several "ZQ8 upgrades" which included adding the axle hop shock system, frame brace, thicker front sway bar, quick ratio gear box, rear sway bar added, Bilstein shocks all the way around, 16x8 zq8 wheels and upgraded the front brakes to the dual piston trailblazer brakes. Even though it rides on stock Z85 springs, the truck handles like my trans am in the turns while still can carry a decent amount of payload. Love these little trucks!
I think I'd murder to get a modern Syclone. I'd definitely mug someone to have a new replacement for my 94 Precoma. I'd LOVE a convertible Dakota. 90s trucks were awesome. Cheap, reliable, practical.
Honestly, if I was living in the mountains, I'd drive the convertible. And as for the F150 NASCAR Edition, I wouldn't drive it with the 5.4 Triton. The only Tritons you can trust are the 4.6
In 1993, I owned an '85 Scirocco Turbo. I liked my Scirocco, but wanted something new since I had been driving it for seven years. I entertained the idea of a Ford Ranger Splash after my dad rode in one and since I was so into vintage Honda CB-750-fours back then it made sense for him to tout this car to me. Problem: I actually test drove one of these and it was HORRIBLE~! What? This truck rode worse than the riding lawnmower I used to use at my parents house in Michigan, and I'm pretty sure it handled worse! It had NO power at all and in the end I bought '92 Volkswagen Corrado SLC. About nine years later I bought a used Ford Aerostar minivan and it was 100% better than that Ford Ranger. The Aerostar drove like a car and towed my 2000 pound boat/trailer combo so well that I actually....Forgot it was back there one day!
I was in high school in the 1990s and that Baja S-10 was SUUUUUUPPPPER Rare. But like all cool cars, you have a chance to see one and I did. Gloss black looked amazing. every teenage country boys dream truck for real....So cool. with the big 4.3!
Why would you put the NASCAR edition in D tier. Im sure they would have loved to put a bigger engine in it, but they didn't HAVE one, one didn't exist. Remember Ford's never had theyr version of the Corvette, and they went absolutely All In on the 4.6 Modular putting it as standard in their full size trucks, V8 Mustangs and even the Police Interceptors. That NASCAR edition was badass ..
For God so loved the World, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him shalt not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16kjv For by Grace are ye Saved through Faith; And that not of Yourselves: It is the gift of God; Not of works, lest any man should boast. Ephesians 2:8-9kjv Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. Acts 16:31kjv
Toyota did the "convertible pickup" well before Dodge did, it's called the 1st Gen 4Runner (I own a 1989 22RE version myself). Being in my mind 40's I remember all of these trucks and the advertisements that went with them.
I can say I have seen exactly 2 Chevrolet Baja S-10s. I see one of them a few times a year as it is in my current town. As sport appearance packages for the S-10 go, the Xtreme package is my favorite. Could say it was "played out" in my area as I have known 6 people with on since my time in high school when they were new and there were tons of others. However, the Blazer Xtreme? I can legitimately say I have never seen one in person. Plenty of ZR-2 Blazers, but fewer of the S-10 ZR-2s. I also had a neighbor with a Little Red Express Dodge truck, and that was the reason I have a love for old Dodge trucks. And to me, on that list, the S-10 Baja is A tier, and I did not know how rare they actually are....
Bought a ‘97 S-10 ZR2 4x4 regular cab for $22K brand new. Roll up windows. Baby blue and it turned heads wherever it went. It was like a lil toy. I miss trucks like that. Closest thing we got to that today is Nisssn Frontier king cab.
I have a buddy,he's a Mopar car collector, he's got a BRAND-NEW Dakota sport convertible, he literally drove it from the lot to his garage....the truck don't even got 500 miles on it,he drives it just enough to keep it running good...beautiful truck
I had a ranger with a 4.0l 6cyl and it was a beast. My brother had the 4.3l s10 that was a monster. We both wanted the gmc syclone but it was expensive for the time at $30k ($67k in todays money) but it was turbo charged and THE fastest car, beating Ferrari etc. the deal is there was way more choices in styling/engine you won’t get now. Rangers are a joke with a 2.4 4cyl hunk of shit that’s costs $50k. No other engine, just that piece of shit 4banger. Todays truck are overpriced garbage.
I couldn't help but notice a common theme... "Sold 1000" "a little under 1000 were sold" "They didn't sell very well.." "in their highest year they sold 3000 units" That's, um, that's why they aren't a thing anymore. These super-special, "you're so unique" versions are one of many things that led to the destruction of the US auto industry.
Your Chevy Baja info is incorrect in the narration. You stated it came with an inline 4 cylinder or the 4.3 liter. It was available in either a 2.8 V6 or 4.3 V6 just as the information states on the screen at 5:25 - freeze frame and read for yourself. I almost traded in my 1989 Z24 (2.8 V6) in 1990 for one, but decided to keep my Z24. Which I still own 34 years later and love it.
Opens video with a (false) statement about how trucks of the 90s were cooler because they were offered with "unique trim levels and options". @ 3:18 he proceeds to describe Ford's current and extensive number of trim offerings as "ridiculous" 🤦♂️ Love the nineties. Spent most of my teen years there... but it was a dynamic period. Literally everything that came out prior to 1998 appeared dated in 5 years or less. Even the beloved S10 Xtreme was sheerly a niche market truck... and they were nearly shamed to non-existence, as it was seen as a "catalog custom" attempting to mimic custom mini trucks of the period.
Small trucks are STILL popular. Automakers can't make them because of ridiculous government regulations regarding the footprint size of the vehicle and the required mpg. A small truck today would be required to get about 52 mpg. Automakers don't even bother to try.
I’m a Honda/Toyota guy but my my 1994 B3000 manual transmission roll up windows was extremely reliable started every time for 10+ years should have kept it.
Dude, the S-10 Baja brochure you show in the vid states the engine options were both V6s, the 2.8 and the 4.3. Not an inline 4 like you say in narration. Although $s were available in other S-10 trim levels.
The ford nascar edition CAME WITH A 5speed manual transmission that made it wayyy more fun to drive .. in high school I would see them at the dealership all lined up
I had an ‘82 Toyota sr5 extended cab truck. I LOVED that truck. Drove great, reliable, affordable, comfortable, great on gas. I had to put one of my other cars in the shop back then and they gave me a “lil red wagon” as a loaner over the weekend…..lol….I ran the piss outta that thing.
The real differences that they were still trucks trucks. Now, trucks aren't trucks, they have leather seats, power Everything TV screen in the dashboard. And in the back seat .air conditioning Every single perk you would find in a luxury Lexus, they are cowboy cadillacs They've become a status symbol, and most of the people that drive trucks never actually do any work with them or leave the pavement.
I had a ‘89 Baja extended cab in black. 4.3L it was a nice truck. But it taught me a lot about working on vehicles. It seemed like it always had something going wrong with it. It kept slinging the serpentine belt one day. And I traded it in on a red Lumina Z34 that car sucked.
if you order a 2024 F150 with a standard cab and short bed you can only get it with the 5.0 auto in about 6 different colors, none of them being red or blue, and forget about interior colors. I don't know why people like these 4 door trucks for but i think they look stupid and most people who own them never even use them as trucks, which is okay, i'm just saying. the 90's were way cooler.
Small trucks never stopped being popular, the EPA rules changed to make them almost impossible to make, that is why pickups keep getting bigger. The EPA doesn't want people to have light trucks so it is forcing automakers to slowly evolve them into commercial vehicles the average person wouldn't or can't buy.
New trucks(and vehicles as a whole) are not only nearly impossible to user-service, in my opinion they're all ugly as hell. Everything looks cheese-ily futuristic with too much shit going on. My favorite vehicle ever is the cateye Silverado. Perfectly balanced with enough modern comforts to not be a pain as a DD, while maintaining a simplistic, solid look.
The list is bass ackwards except the baja s10. That and the convert dakota are the only ones that aren't a sticker upgrade. The list should be all in F except the dakota and baja, maybe move the extremes up to D.
Don't forget that unlike today's silly excuse for pickups, you can actually afford them. Nowadays everyone and the stealerships want them to be Maybachs with truck beds stuffed with speakers and hewg ass lights.
All the new stuff is garbage and way overpriced. My Dad bought a Dodge Dakota back in 1987 for a little over $2,000 brand new of course it was standard it ran for many years
Everything novadays is just way too big, expensive and full of useless luxury tech that also when it breaks it costs stupid amount of money to maintain. I just rather spend few thousand euros on stuff from 30-40 years ago and maintain it with few cents compared to crap that has been made after 2005.
Gm, Ford and even Chrysler; they used to make some really good looking trucks. The passed 20 years, they have been making garbage, what happened to them...
In 1994 there was a S-10 pickup called the ZM-6 Off Road. It had larger wheels and tires, aluminum skid plates, coil over shocks, and a few other things. I have one but it is the only one I have seen.
Used to haul 100 gal water drum and pressure washing gear with a little 5 speed Nissan truck and it was great. Reliable, efficient, cheap, and the four banger was just fine ..not having to haul the size and weight of todays trucks.
duuuude i miss these small trucks! you cant find an affordable truck these days unless you buy used with 150k miles. the modern "small trucks" with an engine worth half a shit is gonna cost you at least 35k. i just want a cherry low mileage manual ranger from the mid 90's lol also for brevity, im 41, so i definitly lived through these eras and saw these trucks and miss them dearly.
People think I'm nuts...Mid Nineties was peak automotive in the US. Im not talking about performance or gadgets. I mean value for money and overall appeal.
