When you drive down any given highway in the U.S., chances are you’ll pass a Mazda car or SUV, but have you ever wondered why you don’t see any new Mazda trucks on the road? Mazda makes small pickups but stopped selling them in the U.S. in 2010. Here’s the odd reason why you won’t see a new Mazda truck on the road anytime soon.
The Chicken Tax – It’s Not Really About Chickens Anymore
The Chicken Tax started in 1964 when President Lyndon Johnson issued an executive order that imposed a 25% tariff on potato starch, brandy, dextrin, and light trucks. It was issued in retaliation against tariffs in Europe on imported American chicken. While all the other tariffs have fallen away over the years, the tariff on light trucks still remains.
Some automakers have lobbied to keep the chicken tax alive; it’s one of the main reasons why American-made trucks dominate in the U.S.
No New Mazda Trucks?
The last new Mazda truck came to the U.S. in 2010. They were a part of the small truck market in the 60s and 70s with their B-series pickup trucks. If you want to drive a Mazda that’s not a car or an SUV, you’ll have to search used cars and find one of the B-series, which still has a big following to this day.
The latest truck developed by Mazda is the new BT-50, but we won’t get to see this at Mazda dealerships in America. With the domination of American trucks, it doesn’t make good financial sense for Mazda to sell trucks in the already crowded market. They decided to focus on sedans, sports cars, and crossovers instead.
The Mazda B Series Pickup
Since we’re talking about used cars, it just makes sense to talk more about the Mazda B Series, since it’s what you can find in the U.S. The B-Series first came to the United States in 1970 and soon led to a partnership with Ford. At the time, Ford wanted to offer a small truck, and Mazda had one called the Process. This was rebranded as the Courier and sold as a Ford.
It was probably not a surprise to anyone that the Courier sold as a Ford was much more successful than the Mazda Proceed. The Ranger came next, and the rest is history.
The Latest Mazda Truck
The newest Mazda pickup truck is the BT-50. It arrived in 2006 and is sold in almost every market except the United States. The midsize truck is a larger version of the B-Series and, as of 2020, is in its third generation.
While we won’t see the BT-50 here, mostly because of the chicken tax, this truck shows Mazda’s ability to produce a pickup truck that could give any of our American-made midsize trucks a run for their money.
Want to Drive a Mazda Truck? Head to the Used Car Lots
Maybe you don’t need a pickup with monster power but something with just enough versatility and capability to handle your weekend projects and can double nicely as a daily driver. That’s what made Mazda trucks (and their Ford cousins) popular among their fans in the U.S. Alas, if you want to have that experience today, you’ll need to do your research and hope to find that it’s still in good shape on the used car market.
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