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I was partially being facetious, but I don't think that size is the main problem. 90 hp is going to be a tough sell, considering that there aren't many cars on the American market anymore that get less than 100. Even a base model Corolla gets nearly twice the HP. Rear wheel drive is basically a nonstarter. The only people I know who have 2wd trucks are contractors. I know people who have been looking for used small trucks for a long time, and when I worked for the Boy Scouts we'd occasionally have a work truck we were getting rid of. I remember one was available, it needed a flywheel but they'd have let it go for $200. Everyone lost interest when I told them it was 2wd, because there's nothing fun about a 2wd Ranger. And while I have no real basis for this, I'd be willing to bet that the interior is chintzy as hell. I don't think it's that people don't want smaller trucks, it's that they don't want that specific small truck.
Ah, I see. You’re correct- Americans don’t want the kinds of base model cars that are commonplace in other countries, those base model Nissan frontiers that sell so well are still a lot more luxurious than Chinese or Mexican model cars. Heck, commercial vehicles tend to be more luxurious than the average car on the street in China.
Americans aren't really given the choice.
Many of the trucks I see in use commercially are much larger than they need to be for their role. Larger more expensive trucks then add to the overhead of many businesses that rely on them. You have to mow many more lawns at higher rates to move your equipment with a current year truck than a compact truck from the 1980's. Unless you needed the towing capacity the s-10 1/4 ton pickup adequate for many roles and were ubiquitous on job sites when I was a teen. We were still using 1970's Datsuns.
The interiors were spartan, I miss bench seats.
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