Truck of the Year

Sorry, wasn't trying to imply that you didn't know about your own car but I'm sure there are plenty of owners that are unaware of that. When the GTO came back out everyone was blown away with the fit and finish of the car compared to the rest of the GM line. Unfortunately, everyone thought the styling wasn't bold enough to be a GTO but I always thought it was a very clean design and has aged very well so imo, still to this day, a great looking car.

Sorry for getting off topic...

 

Your right to an extent.

But head to head comparisons by these magazines are still subject to the reviewers opinion. There have been many a review where car magazines will says "this vehicle didn't stop in the shortest distance, didn't have as much horsepower, or didn't handle as well" but still give the win to that vehicle.

What vehicle is good for you might not be good for me, so hence saying one is better then the other is always subject to opinion and the conditions under which the car magazines conduct their reviews.

Sales do play a role because regardless of what award a magazine gives your vehicle, if it doesn't sell it won't be around. And customers will buy a vehicle that appeals to their wants and needs.

Hence I said, only time will tell if the GM twins will be around. They tried to break into the segment once and it didn't pan out. They won truck of the year for 2014 and they still couldn't outsell Toyota. So one has to ask, why is that? Is it market perception? Is it brand loyalty? Is it vehicle reputation?

I'm glad that GM has their hat in the ring, and I hope Ford gets back in the game too. Competition is a great thing for consumers and we will all benefit.

Personally, I went with a new Tacoma because it was the best fit for me. I liked the looks and the interior and QDR is a big plus. And after taking an ass kicking on a VW Touareg, I'm happy to have a vehicle with strong residual value.

 

Or perceived wants and needs....

I live in a large city adjacent to the Rockies (30 - 60 minute drive away). I see countless pickups, true SUV's etc. which you would think would be working or trail vehicles but you don't see a scratch on them or a speck of dirt in the bed. I suspect this is true wherever you go.

Don't underestimate the power of marketing in this. Companies no longer market practicality or true wants/needs of prospective owners. Marketing focuses on getting an emotional response on prospective owners so they purchase a vehicle based upon that emotion.

And I would suspect most people on vehicle forums (e.g. Tacomworld) are a little more serious about their vehicles, and do more research, rather than feeding into this marketing. That's not the norm for most people.

Ask any veteran car salesman about how much knowledge the average person who comes into the dealership has....it's not very good.

 

You forgot availability. Total vehicles sold can be misleading if there are not equal number of vehicles available. I don't know what the numbers are currently, but the Colorado was leading all trucks in shortest time spent on the lot.

However, I'm guessing the Tacoma will still continue to outsell the twins until there is more competition in the segment and GM has had a worthy product (as it appears the new trucks are) out for a while.

 

Concur, if you are doing a comparison like this, time on the lot is a better metric. I just went to a Toyota dealership and they had seven Tacomas on the lot. One block away the GM dealer only had two Canyons.

 

I knew you were just pointing out a fun fact by far highest quality GM has ever put out in my opinion. Some people don't like the look but I loved it from day one. The only GM cars I like as much are the G8 and the new Chevy SS (...also both Holdens lol).