Whether you call it a Ranchero, El Camino, or, if your Spanish isn’t all that great, a Brat, the car-based pickup is a genre that is beloved by enthusiasts, but apparently not so much so that it’s a viable sales category.
The Brat is a special story seeing as it’s the only car-based trucklet to come to America from Japan. A quirky icon of the ’80s, the little Subaru with a bed is sought after today as few examples have survived time and the tin worm. There was brief moment when Subaru tried to revive the genre with the Outback-based Baja, but that was less a small pickup than some sort of plastic panel fetish’s peyote nightmare. To this day I have never met anyone who will admit to ever owning one of those.
The Baja is long gone, and the Brat even longer. Still, the original Subie pickup maintains a following, and the wonder is, would a modern iteration of such a vehicle find a market? What do you think, seeing as new car-based trucks haven’t been in fashion here for decades, do you think anybody in the U.S. would buy a new Brat?
Image: AutoTitre.com
Hooniverse Asks: Would Anybody in the U.S. Buy a New Subaru Brat?
By Robert Emslie
Apr 23, 2015
Jeff Glucker
The problem with all these things is that they aren’t good cars (too small on the inside, too little lockable/covered storage, compromised handling) and they aren’t good trucks (too lightly sprung, too little ground clearance, too small of a truck bed). Some of these don’t apply to the Brat (ground clearance), but as the former owner of a 1979 Ranchero, all the rest applied.
If you eliminated all the vehicles that “aren’t good cars,” half of us wouldn’t be here. Hooniverse would be nothing but Jeff’s video reviews of new cars none of us can afford.
I guess what I’m saying is they suffer from the Swiss Army Knife effect. If you try to do too many things, you end up not being very good at any of them. Of course I’m they guy that doesn’t understand why anyone that actually needs a truck would want one with a bed less than 6-1/2′ long and 48″ between the wheel wells.
Agreed. A few years ago I bought one of those soft sided pools you see at big box stores as an alternative to a spa tub but it ended up being too small to swim in and too deep to soak in. It was super cheap and super easy to set up, but it was still a bad deal because we hardly ever used it. I gave it away free the next year.
Should’ve filled it with jello. Would’ve fixed everything.
Speaking as a three-time Brat owner (who is perpetually quasi-searching for a fourth one), I’ll disagree on the suspension and handling fronts.
Brats handle surprisingly well, even unloaded. Bear in mind that they are running struts and coils in the front with a split torsion bar / trailing arm / shock absorber setup in the rear. Steering is very communicative, and road feel is good though not sports car sharp. It really is possible to hustle one of these little buggers on a back road surprisingly quickly, and a lot faster than their 73 Federal horsepower would suggest, even on Pep Boys’ finest all-season tyres.
As optioned in the picture? I could see a market.
Really? I wouldn’t think so; those sun reflectors thingies aren’t really a popular accessory anymore. Skin cancer and all that.
Somewhere, languishing in a Japanese storage facility are duplicates of those now long NLA HOV-lane-evading seat fillers.
I can tell you that at least one person would.
http://41.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lwtes7MBFJ1r041bco1_500.jpg
Unfortunately, use of the jump seats would be prohibited in our state.
Actually, fully legal in MO, only prohibited for children under 14 in KS.
REFERENCE: http://www.iihs.org/iihs/topics/laws/cargoareas
There are some restrictions in MO, but fewer than I anticipated. I remember it being in the news many years ago that kids were no longer allowed to ride in the back of a pickup.
It’s having seat belts that gets a pass in most states.
If it came with those two, I would.
BREAKING NEWS (AP NEWSWIRE) ——- AD MAN SAYS SEX AMONG MOST EFFECTIVE ADVERTISING TOOLS
Advertising professionals have discovered that the inclusion of sexually suggestive elements in ad layouts is one of the most effective mass-marketing techniques, according to Walter Simon, CEO of Madison Avenue ad agency Waldridge Cooper Simon (NASDAQ: WCSA). “The inclusion of an attractive, scantily clad woman is a a sure-fire way to increase an ad’s profile,” Simon told the Associated Press. “There’s no question about it. It’s been thoroughly tested, and it works. We see significantly longer reader interactions and increased retention of product awareness, especially when men are the target consumer.” Simon went on to say that the nature of the product being sold has little bearing on the improved results. “At first, we thought this was only true of products that had a logical connection to sexual appeal, such as fragrances or clothing. But the product doesn’t mater! Put a girl wearing a bikini next to a box of lag bolts or in the back of a subcompact pickup truck, and it still works!” Simon says that once more ad agencies discover this technique, consumers should expect to regularly see allusions to sexuality in advertising. “We don’t know if this phenomenon is simply due to the novelty of the concept, or whether it will continue to have legs after the public gets used to seeing suggestive ads. I have to believe that at some point, the public will get wise and recognize it for the contrivance it is. But at least for now, this is the closest thing we have to marketing’s golden bullet.”
2015APR23/1411GMT (IMMEDIATE PUB)
Wow who knew.
https://shard3.1stdibs.us.com/archivesE/upload/10126/10_15/pa0873/PA0873_l.jpeg
I’m not sure I follow you…
http://hooniverse.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/70_hurst_vaughn_2b.jpg
They didn’t buy the Baja (in large numbers)…
The internet would buy them.
Also, the only Brat for sale in Norway hides behinds the image of an Isuzu pickup in the same ad.
http://m.finn.no/car/used/gallery.html?finnkode=57715281
It’s sold though, cheaply.
The Baja was ugly, but it carried that ugliness with pride. I can like that. No use for a pickup though.
http://www.cdn.tv2.no/multimedia/TV2/archive/00822/Subaru-Baja_822056p.jpg
I seriously thought about a Baja back when we were big into jet skis. It would have no trouble towing a the weight of a ski trailer, and having a place to throw damp wetsuits and ski vests without messing up the interior was very appealing. Plus, I think it visually gets that pseudo-offroad beach vibe right.
That sounds like very sensible use indeed! I have a hard time to really understand the pickup market in the US – its massive volume, the demand profile (small trucks should be available at least for professionals like plumbers) and the whole masculinity culture around it.
The Baja should also be a hard entry into the Encyclopedia Hoonatica: Name other cars with lights integrated into the roof rails.
About 20% of the US population lives in Rural areas. That’s about 64 million people. Probably 70-90% of the households in these rural areas live on 1/2 acre or more of land and 80-90% of those own at least one pickup truck. At 3.5 people per household, that’s about 10 million trucks. This doesn’t count the other 255 million that live in urban and suburban areas that need a truck for business, towing (boats, campers, horse trailers, ATV trailers, etc.), or just because they want one. You are starting to see more plumbers and such using the Ford Transit Connect size vans.
Excellent argument. But…Europeans with acreages have cars with trailer hitches – and they usually know someone to borrow a trailer from in the rare occasions it is needed.
Also, regarding Alff’s comment, once a big market is established, economies of scale will make a big truck cheaper than a smaller SUV – somewhat counterintuitively.
While I have no doubt that some of these trucks are purchased for ego, a cost/benefit analysis of a full-size pickup vs. a mid-size or smaller almost always points to the former in the U.S. market… even if it is not a work vehicle. When I bought my Dodge 1/2, it was only $2K more than the equivalent Dakota with a small difference in fuel consumption and a big difference in towing and hauling capacity. Factor in the additional passenger space for family road trips and it became a no-brainer.
Same here, my Silverado was actually cheaper I think than a Colorado at the time due to rebates. I got the Silverado because I needed something with a back seat for a car seat, so I got an extended cab WT. To get a 4 door Colorado with a big enough back seat would have been about the same price and much less capable.
But how would the internet choose between a BRAT or a brown, diesel, manual trans station wagon? Could the BRAT be brown and diesel and have a clutch pedal?
The Subaru Janus Brat: Brown diesel wagon on the left, orange light truck on the right. Brilliant, I guess.
Didn’t the BRAT even have an optional or aftermarket camper shell? There you go, paint it brown and it’s a wagon!
I imagine my father-in-law might – owned pickups for years, misses his old Nissan Hardbodies, but just couldn’t justify the fuel bills on his current F150. He’s got an Elantra now, but a compact car with a pickup bed might appeal to him, or someone like him.
I like it as an idea too. I think the better question though, is would enough people buy one to make a business case for it.
The solution is a Datsun: http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/2439/046ux.jpg
http://datsun1200.com/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?post_id=392456
Yes, but it’d have to be a wholly badass little truck to get people excited about it.
I’m imagining something like a mini-Raptor. Thwack the rear off of the Crosstrek and enlongate therear overhang a bit to give it a useful bed size. Make all engines and trans available from the base 2.0L up to the STi’s drivetrain. Reinforce the bits in the suspension that are likely to blow out when, for example, landing. Or hitting a hidden rut that you didn’t see whilst blasting through the desert at ::redacted:: mph.
Then — make the entire car available anywhere from stripped to full-lux. From vinyl buckets and rubber floors con manuel, with no AC or radio, and crank windows all the way to leather/alcantara, full ICE. The trick is to keep the suspendy bits and AWD setup the same across the board, so someone looking for offroad thrills on a budget can pick one up in the low 20s, but someone looking for the comforts can get those as well.
Based on the flop of the new Brat…er…Baja…I doubt we would even have the opportunity. Subaru is unlikely to approach those waters again. Which is sad. Because if a new Brat did well, we might see Ford and GM wake up and realize that America would be a good place to sell things like this:
http://www.fpv.com.au/gt_showroom/pursuit
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f1/FPV_BF_Super_Pursuit_utility.jpg
If there is a market for a Murano Crosscabriolet, the Accord Crosstour, or anything with four or more doors and coupe in the name, there must be a market for Falcon utes, Maloos and the like.
At least there is a company in Colorado or thereabouts that will make you a ute based off of a couple of different US cars.
Well the Murano Crosscabriolet and Accord Crosstour were just pulled from the market, so…
Honestly? Like all these things, it depends on price, availability, and competition. These sort of worked, but you went to a dealership and there would be one or two and the price and incentives were not great compared to the other options. So there would have to be enough of them at a low enough price for any future Japanese brand car-like pick-up.
http://images.thecarconnection.com/med/2011-honda-ridgeline-4wd-crew-cab-rtl-w-navi-side-exterior-view_100317597_m.jpg
I’d like to see a Transit Connect-chero. Swing the pendulum way to the utilitarian side. Get a bunch of fleet accounts to justify production. Pool companies love vehicles like that because you don’t want the chemicals in a closed van. Maybe even offer a chassis-cab version like they do on the full size Transit so you could put a refrigerated box on it. Once you get production numbers up it would be easier to get into the Ranchero version approved. Maybe with a removable cap like a Bronco.
In Brazil they sell truckloads of Fiat Strada, VW Saveiro, GM Montana and Peugeot Hoggar http://quatrorodas.abril.com.br/imagem/610/comparativo/610_picape_abre.jpg
This looks like taken from a big test. Who won?
Don’t know which they chosen as winner but the only one that can hold together being used as a company car is the Fiat Strada.
Would anybody? Yes.
Would enough people for a major manufacturer to make a solid business case for offering one? Sadly, no.
Ain’t everybody buying trucks built like cars and cars built like trucks already? Ain’t that what this SUV-Crossover-Kadiddlehopper craze that’s sweeping the nation is all about?
…?
Yup, the SUV-that-can’t-go-offroad / lifted-minivan-without-sliding-doors market is quite healthy…
Here’s an early prototype:
http://i458.photobucket.com/albums/qq308/WestValleyCruisersPTCruiserArchives/PT%20TRUCKS%20AND%20OFF%20ROAD/DSC02577.jpg
Someone would definitely buy one, Lincoln sold at least like, three Blackwoods, but I don’t think that enough people would buy one to make a business case for it.
I saw a Blackwood at lunch today. Lincoln sold a little over 3,000 of them. But they sold even more Mk LT trucks after that. The LT did away with the silly tailgate and pin stripes. It is just a loaded F-150 with a Lincoln grill.
If I they built a baja sti and I could in any way afford it, it would be on my shortlist.
Getting my prejudices out of the way up front: I’ve owned three Brats. All were second-generation models, and the first one was a UK-spec MV model. They are hands-down some of the most useful vehicles I’ve ever owned, and I would have no qualms about having a fourth one.
That said, while I would happily buy a new Brat, what I really want is that kind of vehicle – a small truck that can be used for going out to the desert or up to the mountains, slogging through sand, snow, or fields, having the capacity to carry cargo that’s oversized, dirty, or just not convenient to put in the cabin, but that can also legitimately be used as something to economically commute in which drives better than it might first appear to.
Fiat has almost completely figured it out with the Strada Adventure Locker. As others have pointed out, it is the new Brat – almost.
Give me the seating configuration shown below (two up front, a little bit of extra room behind the seats for stuff you don’t want to put in the bed), real 4WD with a low range (but keep the E-Locker option, preferably at both ends), put something in the region of a 1.8- to 2.0-litre turbodiesel under the hood, and I’m sold. It can go places and haul stuff at the weekend, and get good mileage in and out of work during the week.
I don’t care if it can only handle a half-ton of cargo, or isn’t suitable for towing a 20-plus-foot boat. I just need it to be a useful workhorse that can handle 95% of the tasks I’m likely to need a trucklet for – and for the other 5%, I’ll beg, borrow, or steal something bigger.
Subaru had their chance with the Baja, which was the right idea but wrong execution. Unfortunately, I can’t see them going back to their roots on this one, and I can’t see FCA offering the Strada Adventure Locker / Ram 700 in North America. The plan? Keep looking for another really clean Brat, and keep this one this time.
people bought these….
.
http://i1147.photobucket.com/albums/o549/spotty666/cars/mighty_zpsz6w4wrsk.png
.
so anythings possible
.
the ad campaign tag line was “Mighty Boy – Beep Beep”, they sold literally dozens of them….
Hey, it had enough room in the bed for a large picnic hamper…or a 42″ flat screen TV!
Did you know that Alex Tremulis designed the Brat? You know, the same guy that designed the Cord 810/812, the Tucker, and the gyro-car that’s being restored right now. Add that all together, and you get one of my heroes.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Tremulis
I am sadly so very late to this discussion, but I owned both the Brat and Baja. It will forever be among my regrets that my Brat is no longer with us, a beautiful maroon ’87 model with the amazing T-tops. The Baja, on the other hand, was just not quite a good enough rebirth of the concept that I lose sleep over its disappearance.
i’d be shipping a ton of them to OZ… Over here they are still solid work horses and loved. Also called the Subaru Brumby. I’ve driven one for the past 10 years as my everyday drive…