Harley-Davidson effect?

Lmao a frontier atleast has 4 wheel disc and optional power seats with a height adjustment. The 3rd gen is an old truck wrapped in new skin with a smaller engine. Id totally take a 2nd gen over 3rd gen just because it doesnt pretend to be something its not.

 

There must be something about the 3rd Gen you like--you keep posting here!

 

I agree with the cult following comment. Same can be said about Ford, Chevy or Dodge though.

I used to have this same conversation about sport bikes. Yamaha guys hated Honda guys, Honda guys hated Suzuki guys. The circle never ended.

I'm a Honda guy hence my name "Hondah".

However, one thing to be said is the Japanese are good at what they do in everything they do.

Toyota has the numbers to prove their worth. I don't know if Harley really has the "numbers" that Toyota does in their category.

 

It looks cool

 

Yep, I love opening the garage door in the morning and seeing it.

 

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Once infected with the "Honda or Toyota Virus" ... it is hard to drive another vehicle.

Or you could drive a Colorado and wear those skinny, stretch jeans and eat dat rose milk flavored tofu ...

Tacoma's hold their value because they are good trucks (with very few excepts) ...... same reason the old VW bugs (1960's & early 1970's) held their value so well.


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Have you owned either, until then that dosent carry much weight. The 3rd gen is a nice update to what was a great truck before even if some call it archaic.

 

Tacoma demographic is a lot broader. Lots of us Physicians and Attorneys have them as non primary transport. My gardener and handyman also has them. Very broad economic, race, gender encompasses Tacoma ownership.

I am a biker as well (Ducati and Gixxers only). I am familiar with the HD world, albeit I wouldn't take one for free, and the demographic there is lot more status quo.

 

My gardener has 470,000 miles on his 2nd gen 4 CYL Tacoma. He has 385,000 miles on his 2nd gen V6 4 door Tacoma. He doesn't own a computer or a smartphone.

 

I'll bet Harley's cruisers outsell the competition 5-1 if not more....Harley makes the liberal news whenever their sales dip a few percentage points because that's 1,000's of bikes since they are so big.....Most Harley owners are conservatives so the media loves to bash them.

 

I still don't get this desire for power seats in a truck. You want it to be inexpensive but you want the features of a luxury vehicle in a truck. My first three trucks had bench seats.

Put power seats in it and you're going to see $45K pricetags in a midsized truck.

 

That's what ive been thinking of. So many of these 3rd gen owners need to go buy themselves a Honda and join some lit up "race" car club. First time truck owners whining it doesn't sit like a Lexus want heated seats for their balls... I just want the sun visors to not fall and them to not put piece of shit leaf springs on it.

Unfortunately power seats sell to these folks but a quality suspension doesnt.

 

on a side note.

And i hope this doesn't sound like a dig on joe333x. It really isn't. Just something I noticed on this 'tacoma enthusiast' forum that i've never noticed on any other vehicle forums I visit regularly.

I see a lot of non-owners complaining about the truck.

I'm not a fan of the Plymouth Prowler. Never in a million years would I ever join a Prowler enthusiast forum and tell folks there are much better cars out there for the money, and how the Prowler is missing features that most cars have. If i'm not a fan of the prowler, or would I ever consider one. Why would I join a prowler enthusiast forum and talk trash abut the car?

your guess is as good as mine.

 

He's fixing opinions one post at a time.

 

exactly my point. The tacoma ownership is broad indeed. They sell a lot for a reason. They don't just sell to Toyota fanboys.

 

Why 45k? A pro4x with leather and power seats is 36k sticker and can be had for less. Once u make something standard it makes it cheaper since u dont have to install different mechanism on different packages. Imho power and height adjustment should be standard by now, its only been around for decades now. I mean you dont see a vehicle with a tape deck anymore do you? Dodge is the only company that does it right anymore. You can build a truck with or without what ever you want, most companies have went backwards with giving people options. If you watch car auctions and you see cars from the 50s 60s and 70s they had build sheets where the consumer could check off what they wanted and it would be built that way, now they just give us what they want and we deal with it. I mean give one legit reason why toyota cant build a long bed with a stick shift, or why they can only put leather in a limited or why nissan only gives leather to automatic pro4x and not sticks. You should be able to order a vehicle how you want it if you're willing to pay for it imo.

 

The difference is i woud buy a tacoma and my girl has a 2nd gen one that i drive and work on from time to time. Im in the market for a midsize stick shift truck so i join the related forums to gather further information about them. I dont come here to bash 3rd gens, i went to buy one at one point. I still may in a couple years when all the new model issues are resolved and maybe toyota adds some new features.

 

As long as we are tossing out theories, here's mine:

The Tacoma is going the way of the Land Rover Defender (hopefully without the "discontinued" part.)

My reasoning is that features that make a truck realistic for anything more than moderate off-road require real sacrifices. Things like step-in height, center of gravity, and gas mileage are going to take a hit in the name of ground clearance. Suspension type, tire selection, and ride quality will be compromises for off-road capability. It's just not going to handle as well and that high floor and the desire to fit in a garage mean the cab is short and the seating position is a compromise.

OK, so if the truck is less user friendly and has worse road manners and basically is worse than everything else in a Consumer Reports test, why do people buy them, and why do they pay a high price for them?

Two reasons: 1. People buy them because it does well off-road and it's not a Jeep 2. People buy them because they want to look cool in a vehicle that is known for off-road capability and the outdoor "lifestyle" (and it's not a Jeep).

I accept that you could buy one because you need a mid-size truck and you value reliability, but in that case I feel like other options are more competitive (Ridgeline?).

Like the Defender, (you could also compare the situation to the Land Cruiser) I see the price going up and up as buyers demand more comfort but want to keep the old-school design intact for capability and image. Eventually it gets so expensive that nobody really takes them off-road. At that point they really only sell to image buyers who think the more money it costs the better because it's more exclusive and cool.

Half-baked theory, but it's the internet, so I figured I'd share.

 

Speaking of the ridgeline, i just seen one on a transport truck the other day. Its not as ugly as it looks in pictures but they still could have done better with the front end. I recently watched a video that honda did in response to the ford vs chevy bed comparison with dropped rocks and the plastic held up better than both the ford and chevy beds. I commend honda for putting awd in the truck, much better for road use. If only it came in stick id consider one.

 

They dropped round river rocks in the Honda, not the sharp edged rocks they dropped in the Chevy / Ford test. Hate to see how the Taco composite bed would end up. Then again, I wouldn't load rocks that way in a plastic bed truck.