2016 Tacoma nose seems too long (purely for styling?)

Do you have an official source from Toyota? This is the first I've heard of making a front end longer for that purpose. Differences in the height of truck vs. car bumpers have been a concern but Google just finds this very thread and an earlier comment by you with no source (Internet rumors grow that way). I'm not ruling it out by any means.

Pedestrians can't always get hit dead center, and if someone wants to replace the factory grille with a shorter one or install a metal guard, would that be illegal? I have seen no info banning aftermarket grilles.

 

Do you have an official source stating that? I never liked the whole trend of making these trucks mid-size and now they're adding bloat that has questionable function. My understanding of crumple zones is not so much length, but materials and breakaway points. I know the issue with trucks is that people get smacked higher on the body and can't roll onto the hood, so there's logic to that theory but it still looks awkward.



I plan to wait a few years and see if nose-reduction happens. Other theories about a bigger future engine don't make sense because they went from 4.0 to 3.5, and how much power does anyone really need? If one needs a V-8 for major towing there's always the Tundra. (related reading for guzzlers)

 

well we know it isn't for the V8

 

The only valid "Pedestrian crumple zone"

 

No I don't because I don't internet that hard or need to prove anything.

That's what it is for, per Toyota. If you want to see a document you'll find it yourself.

 

What I think my friend here is saying is that you need to eat a dick. No telling though

 

Presumably you already know where said document can be found, or are you just guessing? If I had a source I'd just post it vs. being a KIA. I'm sure I can find out something at a dealer (if I get past some pitch) but I'm looking for Web info first.

This search and variants just ends up back at this site:

https://www.google.com/search?q=2016+toyota+tacoma+grille+pedestrian+crumple+zone

This article mentions crash safety for riders but not walkers:

http://www.motortrend.com/news/10-most-important-changes-to-the-2016-toyota-tacoma/

 

The heck with that standard forum ego nonsense. If anyone has a source from Toyota, just post a link. I'm trying to find out if this is the future of those trucks, or I could wait until they ditch the grille in a few years. It just doesn't look right.

 

What is the bed down to now, 48 inches?

 

Bags are almost a must with a Tacoma if you plan to tow more than 3,000 lbs.

 

Brilliant! It even has a built in aiming point/front site.

 

From the horses mouth...

Sweers: We seriously looked at making dramatic changes to the packaging of the truck. But after lots of consideration and debate, as well as talking extensively with our current owner body, we decided to keep essentially the same size for the overall package. Now we did make the cabin slightly larger inside … we'll offer a bit more hip room and shoulder room. So with that our customers get a bit more wiggle room. Essentially we're working to provide a cabin that overall is more spacious and comfortable.

The wheelbase of the truck is the exactly the same, but the overall length is 107 millimeters longer [just more than 4 inches]. We added 97 millimeters [3.82 inches] in the front and 10 millimeters [almost a half inch] in the rear. The front overhang was increased to accommodate future pedestrian safety requirements that the industry anticipates will be coming from the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration by 2018. We expect these will be similar to what is currently in effect in Europe, which requires a change in the bumper configuration of trucks and commercial vehicles.

Also, we raised the hood 30 millimeters [just more than an inch] and the deck 33 millimeters to accommodate other customer requests as well as some production requirements.

 

Oh, and here's the link...not hard to find, just got to know how to search Google.

http://news.pickuptrucks.com/2015/05/up-close-tacoma-chief-engineer-goes-deep.html

 

Yeah all they did was thin-out the door panels to make an insignificant increase in interior room while putting the longer hood on it to make a longer overall truck. It is still bascially a gen 2.

Sweers is trying to make it sound like they they totally re-envisioned everythign when in reality they just made some real small changes to the gen 2. Not saying it's bad, but buyers shouldn't expect a ground up change from the gen 2 because it's not.

 

Actually its the opposite, sharper edges is more aerodynamic hence the big box front ends. Sharper edges has less drag coefficient. if you notice sharp lines on cars and trucks and in rear of cars. Not that this has any relevance to the topic on hand.

 

I'm familiar with the Kutta Effect. This assumes the trailing edge is sharp as in an airfoil. This isn't practical for objects that must envelope real cargo. This is why the boat tail shape exists, to reduce drag without wasting a whole lot of space impractically. The ideal nose shape for relatively slow bodies is generally blunt, like the tip of a handgun bullet. The front end shapes are designed to prevent a bubble from forming in front.





Which was what I was referring to, that having a distinct bumper that interrupts the profile of the front end is less aerodynamic than having the bumper smooth into the sides and grill. Cars have lost their bumpers long ago and trucks have been slow to adopt that smooth front end because it's less practical when off road and working on job sites, also there's more damage potential. Now the CAFE standard is starting to push designers to get MPG performance up for trucks, too, so they're getting the bar of soap smoothing.

From your post topic the research done at NASA Dryden Flight Research back in the 1970s may be of some interest to you. You'll notice that some of these techniques and fairing shapes showed up in passenger vehicles as well as commercial trucks.

http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20120000497.pdf

https://www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/multimedia/imagegallery/AeroTruck/AeroTruck_proj_desc.html

 

This is it Id say, take that extra space out of the front (ok ok and make the grille smaller) and it would be much better

Its funny, Ive had numerous people say good heavens thats a TON of space there between your radiator and grille. Now it makes sense. Pedestrian crumple zones who would have thought.

Styling still looks good from the right angle though

 

I think this whole "redesign" can be sum up best by this...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOgS8gTATv8&feature=youtu.be&t=68

 

The one Toyota has flat out said won't be released in the US?