The most capable small pickup trucks came from brands you wouldnt expect today, but were some of the top choices at the time. The original compact truck era began in 1957 with the Datsun 220 ...

The source of inspiration appears to be a Nissan/Datsun sedan from the ’70s. It’s hard not to appreciate Japanese kei cars and trucks ... sitting above a small air intake.

But in the mid-­Sixties, when the first little Datsun pickup trucks were just making inroads ... were licensed copies of small Austins). Hino’s partner was Renault, and its very first cars ...

Selling compact trucks in the United States under the Datsun brand for the first time in the late 1960s, Nissan has shown a constant effort to broaden their presence in the work vehicle segment.