Little Trucks Could Mean Big Gas Savings

One Green Country dealership is offering a small solution to the big problems posed by high gas prices.  All American Imports in Pryor is selling mini-trucks that get up to 50 miles per gallon.  The News On 6's Chris Wright reports the little truck may not fit in, but they are flying off the lot.

On Highway 69, in the middle of the Oklahoma, sits a row of Japanese mini-trucks.  They're tiny.  They're cramped.  And, the driver's seat is on the right side, but they are selling.

"A lot of them are really skeptical when they come to me, but the time they drive them around and see what they can do, they're sold on them," said Glen Passmore with All American Imports.

Passmore began ordering the mini-trucks from Japan a year and a half ago.  He has sold 55 of them, mostly to farmers who use them to haul feed.  He even started a website, and has received orders from as far away as Maryland and Wisconsin.

Glen says customers tend to put aside their pre-conceived notions as soon as they hear the trucks get 50 miles per gallon.

"I have a lot of farmers that are real interested in them. They're parking their diesel trucks, and starting to drive these," said Glen Passmore with All American Imports.

There is a catch right now, though.  The trucks are not street legal at the moment.  They have to be kept off road, and you can't drive them faster than 25 miles an hour.

That will change on November first.  Mini-truck drivers will be able to register their vehicles, and receive titles.  The trucks will be allowed on the road, but must stay off the highway.

In anticipation of the law change, Glen has ordered 40 more trucks.  He doesn't expect to have any problem finding buyers.      

"It's becoming a bigger thing than I thought it once would," said Glen Passmore of All American Imports.

A new mini-truck will cost you a little more than $4,000.  They have a thousand pound bed capacity, and can reach speeds of up to 70 miles an hour.

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