5 Amazing Trucks The US Can't Have Because Of The Chicken Tax

The Ford Ranger may be coming back, but the Dodge Dakota certainly isn't anytime soon. Even though there is high demand for a midsize pickup truck in the market, Dodge has no plans to revive the Dakota, which it killed off in 2011. This is quite a shame because Dodge's parent company, Fiat, actually has a truck that it could base a new Dakota on. It's called the Fullback, which we think would be a great name in the US. The fullback is a tough, under-appreciated position in American Football, and the truck could be marketed as tough and reliable. We would love to see a diesel version of the Fullback in the US, but that seems even more unlikely.

Before the Chicken Tax existed, Volkswagen sold a pickup truck based on the Rabbit. We would love to see a tiny truck like that once again, but the mid-size Amarok would be awesome as well. We've heard rumors that VW could build a new pickup truck model based on the new Atlas SUV, which would be awesome. Turning the Honda Pilot into the Ridgeline pickup truck worked well for Honda, so we would love to see VW employ a similar strategy with the Atlas.

Mercedes-Benz has gone back and forth several times on whether it will sell its new X-Class pickup truck in the US. The final decision is that it will not, which is hugely disappointing. We think that the X-Class would be a huge success in the US. It would sell to people that want a pickup truck with a luxury badge. The X-Class is based on the Nissan Navara, which is also not sold in the US. Mercedes will add many luxury features to the truck, but the platform will be shared with Nissan much like the Mercedes GLA and Infiniti QX30. Perhaps more than any other truck on the list, the X-Class is the one that we think could sell in the US without any changes.

The Toyota Hilux is far from the most interesting truck on this list, but it was launched into the hearts of enthusiasts thanks to three appearance on BBC's Top Gear. The Hilux was used by Jeremy Clarkson and James May as the first car to ever reach the magnetic North Pole. James May then took one of the camera cars from that polar voyage right up to an erupting volcano. If those stunts didn't prove the reliability of the Hilux, then dropping it from the top of a building and having it still start up definitely did. The Hilux may not be that different from the US market Tacoma, but there are some subtle differences that make Americans pine for this forbidden fruit.