It is ironic that most or at least alot of these pickups get bought by people that don't use them as pickups for their rufty, tufty image and the fact that they are "safer" than a small car...
Those japaness pickups are pretty good utility vehicles, a friend of mine has one of another brand and it works hard and no self respecting muslim fundamentalist would drive his mates through the desert in anthing else. But they are not cars. Would a ladder chassis that has to put up with hauling stuff, towing too heavy trailers and serious off roading while loaded be able to deform in a collision? The L200, I think is used as a chassis for one of the Mitsubishi SUV's, would that vehicle have or need the same deforming charicturistics (sp) as the pickup donour vehicle?
As a side issue on big = safe. I used to drive one of 4 identicle American lorries. One day we had to do something behind the dash. Lurking behind the dash on a 377 is a horizontal aluminim plate about 0.25 inches thick. I said at the time that if anyone ever crashed one of them into something big enough to stop one of them the people in the cab would loose a leg. Last year I heard that one of them did crash into the back of another truck and the driver lost his leg.