IS THE TOYOTA TACOMA’S SALES LEAD UNTOUCHABLE?

Everything I've heard is no. Aluminum hood and possibly doors but the rest will be steel. The factory won't be setup for Aluminum and Ford is planning on updating the Ranger again within 5 years. They need to keep most of the parts common with the upcoming Bronco so steel was the way to go except for things that can be epoxied on easily. Plenty of time to roll out an aluminum version in a few years when the next refresh comes.

Overall Ford is extremely happy they went Aluminum. Feedback has been positive. GM hasn't been able to come up with a working Magnesium alloy for their trucks yet like they threatened a few years back so Ford is under no pressure to push Aluminum into the rest of the lineup... yet.

 

I was surprised they're building the F250s aluminum now. But it works. @Sterdog good talking to someone with so much knowledge of the industry. Made me think a little lol.

 

toyota's best selling US autos are 1)the Camry 2) the corolla and 3) the rav4 and 4) Tacoma.


Each one is a top-seller or best seller in their respective markets. Toyota seems like it has got really comfortable in its position, but it needs to step it up in terms power train options and interiors.

Seems like they got the hint with the 2018 Camry.

 

What's shocking with Toyota is watching how Honda has changed with the market but Toyota has not.
1) The Accord has some of the best performance in it's class. The Camry is back of the pack.
2) The Civic now comes with a turbo engine option and a true sport version. Corolla has NA engines that are aging and a couple of expensive badges.
3) The Rav 4 is still a mystery to me. Again, Honda has gone Turbo with a very advanced AWD system. The Rav 4... it's actually pretty ancient tech and it's not even fun to drive anymore.
4) The Ridgeline went for a totally different class than the Tacoma plays in so I'm not going to comment here.

Toyota is definitely looking like the old man of the import brands right now. One slip in sales of any of those brands or a misstep could cost them huge.

 

The new Camry is supposed to be a lot more fun to drive. It has a brand new chassis and the 4 cylinder engines are over 200hp and the V6 is over 300hp.

 

But would you say Toyota has never really been the leader in change? I've always perceived them as more conservative but high quality.

 

That's fair but Camry is not where Toyota needed to up their game the most. Corolla is where they needed to make the change sadly.

Keep in mind I compared them to Honda, not one of the big 3. If you are lagging behind Honda, you are probably crossing the line between lagging behind and straight out dropping out of the race.

Toyota sells a lot of vehicles right now because of the brand on the front instead of what's inside or how long it will last. I'm not sure that's a great spot to be in.

 

If pigs had wings they could fly too.

Face it man you have no idea what you are talking about. Seriously. If you do, prove it. Post links and quit just making stuff up.

 

wow that's ugly

 

The grills not large enough for you? How about the camo blanket?

Probably best to wait for full pics before judging lol.

 

I don't see a Toyota badge up there, so it's ugly

 

Toyota has rarely been at the front of the pack with any model as far as driving performance is concerned. Toyota's main customer buys them because they need reliable transport not a weekend racer. Old technology is well figured out and manufactured very well. I'll take boring and reliable any day. I'm still not on the turbo or the cvt train yet. Once they prove themselves thoroughly I won't have a problem getting either.

 

Will the ford be available in a manual? No - I'll stick with my 10,000 mi trouble free Taco!!

 

I hope they do offer a Manual in the new Ranger and Bronco

 

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This isn't supportable at all though with the Tacoma. Toyota went with an Atkinson engine in the Tacoma, which has never been done before and is far more complex than the engine Chevy is using in their truck. Issues with sensors for this system have left drivers stranded.

 

love my taco, mildly curious about the new Jeep truck. could care less about a Ford.

 

Makes sense in a turd gen sort of way .

 

If Ford puts the 3.5L EcoBoost in an Explorer Sport, why wouldn't they put it in a Ranger Raptor? Not the high output one the F150 gets, but the regular 365 hp version. I could see that happening. Otherwise, I would agree on engines - NA V6 3.3L, small EcoBoost, and maybe a diesel, since the international version already has one and the F150 gets one in late 2018.

 

I doubt it. There isn't the market out there anymore to justify the cost of carrying two transmissions in the same lineup. If anything perhaps the base engine will get one but I doubt it.