cheapness?

I never own a Pick up, but I am looking and willing to buy one.
I have been reading different forums on the Tacoma.
I read someone on how the tacoma tailgate is cheap and also the bedliner..

I dont know much aboute tailgate. What makes it cheap? Is only a piece of metal that opens and closes the bed. So what makes it so cheap looking or whatever? I know it has a rear drum... that's cheap.

I wish i can go to see how the truck build in the assembly line!!
that way i know how cheap can it really be...

 

I wouldn't say The Tacoma is exactly cheap. Sure, I would have liked to have seen some things better built and designed; however, considering whats available in the current market... I have no regrets. IMO...best overall pick-up for the money.

The tailgate issue is that it's somewhat soft in the middle. Many, myself included, have rolled or loaded something heavy near or on the 'center portion' of the tailgate and as a result... the metal has folded or bent. The outside of the tailgate is fine it's just the middle portion. Toyota has issued a TSB to address this; however, as many are finding out... Toyota will only install the reinforcement kits when or if the tailgate is actually damaged.

As far as the bedliner...I have no complaints. Seems extremely tough and durable and beats having to install a bedliner or spray-in bedliner.

 

I posted a while back that the new Tacoma's were rolling off the line with the reinforcement kits already installed; however, now I'm hearing some with a manufacturing date of 5/07' and later are not having the reinforcement installed. What I understood it to be..when Toyota's parts verified the part number's for the kit it showed 2 dates, one prior to issuance of the TSB and one after. The parts dept told me all the tailgates now come installed with the kit, hence the latter date. Obviously,as many are reporting ...this simply is not true.

 

Linkfeeny-

I am in the process of purchasing my new Tacoma. I have looked at SO many different brands of trucks! Seriously- if you want to see a cheap looking tailgate- go look at the new Frontier! Now THAT has a cheap looking tailgate!!! Look at all the plastic. Besides- In my opinion american trucks are crap- especially if you want a truck to last. and the fronier is just a little bit too "weenie" according to my friends and Girlfriend! lol

 

Tacoma's are American trucks.

 

lol. well- Japanese engineered, jap/mexican built- with respect to whatever you mean-lol.-I was referring to Chevy,Ford,Dodge,GMC, & Lincoln

 

I think you've got it backwards, champ. Last time I checked, Freemont, CA, wasnt in either Japan or Mexico.

 

no its built in the usa. and true they give jobs to american people. but a lot of the money is sent overseas for research and basic cost of the truck. not that i am complaining about it. i own two tacoma's. just making a point!

 

LOL! i know Freemont, CA is not in Japan or Mexico

I was mistaken I suppose by the inside of the door on a Tacoma I was looking at- there was a big sticker saying Built (or Assembled or something of that nature) in Mexico....perhaps I misread and it was New Mexico? Ya know- Like the big sticker on the inside door of the FJs that say assembled or something...in Japan.

You should be proud of your Tacoma-Buts in my opinion its about as american as shrimp fry Rye (shrip fried rice)- And to me thats a good thing!- but an asian baby born in the US is still an asian!

Your Tacoma- regardless of where it is put together is considered an ASIAN AUTO- (er.. From an Asian Auto Manufacturer)

I Cannot Wait To Get Mine Wherever The Hell Its From! LOL

 

Nope....mine was built in Baja, Mexico. VIN # begins with a 3, door jamb sticker says built in Mexico. Not all Tacomas are assembled in California.

Stratton...as far as engineering, you'd be surprised where a lot of Toyota engineering and design work is done. Toyota has a design studio in California, and a huge engineering facility in Ann Arbor, MI. Take the Sienna for example....that minivan was conceived/designed in California, engineered in Michigan, and built in Indiana by American workers using 85% US/Canadian parts content. We can compare that to many "American" cars that are designed in the US and then built in Mexico or Canada by non-American workers using 60+% foreign parts. The auto industry is becoming more global. I was reading somewhere that the "foreign" automakers are building more vehicle in the US now than the American Big Three are. It all makes sense considering the tariffs and taxes involved. For a foreign company, it is actually cheaper for them to build their vehicles in the US because they are not paying the huge import tariffs. For the American automakers, it's cheaper for them to build in Mexico or Canada due to lower wages and not paying the import tariffs due to NAFTA. Where I live, many people still have the "Be American, Buy American, I buy Ford, GM, Dogge, because I support the American worker, blah, blah, blah, ad nauseum" attitude. If only these people realized how much the American automakers are screwing them out of jobs, and the foreign automakers are GIVING Americans jobs, that attitude might change, but the fact is that the foreign automakers are generally building factories in the southern states where labor is still less than here. For some reason, auto workers here think they are worth $30.00 an hour to do simple, repetitive work that a monkey could do. Anyway, that's a whole other discussion....

 

Tacoma was made in Mexico,
Not anymore, if you go to any dealers... all the tacoma will say 20% Japan parts and made in fremont, ca!

I like vehicles made in Japan, they build quality their.

I dont know how mexico made the cars. But for some reasons, i think they made it less quality. They get paid less so I think they put their truck cheaply, and since they are consider 3rd world country. They have lesser education on automotive industry. I dont know, that's how i think.

 

Not true.... 30,000+ plus Tacoma's for the US market are now being built in Tijuana, Mexico. Even though this is still a small percentage overall ...the trend is discouraging. Toyota corporate in Japan has recently talked about closing the Nummi plant and moving it's entire operation overseas. The UAW contract expires in 09'.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20050202/news_1b2toyota.html

 

I think this responses adds alot of narrow mindedness... (if such a thing)

First of all, just because a Japanese car isn't made in Japan, doesn't make it NO LESS a Japenese car...

And secondly, Just because some Tacoma's are made in Mexico also doesn't mean that they are made with poorer quiality than the Tacomas built in the US. and lets not get started on the education. You can teach anyone to stand on a production line and do a job, its not rocket science. I also believe that the same amout of quaility is put into the truck with it being a Toyota no matter where it was made or put together.

With this said.. I think one should not knock other people's education when he himself can't write so that people can clearly understand them.

 

Don't forget that unions are virtually non-existant in the south. I think the "idea" of unions is a good one but they've gotten out of hand. I work with people who come down from NY to work with us. I've heard that if an electrician leaves a toolbox in your way, and your not an electrician, you can't move it without the union freaking out. You have to call an electrician and wait for one to come move the toobox before you can do what you need to do. In my opinion unions have become counter productive and way to costly to do buisiness with. Lots of companies are opting to move their operations south instead of north for that simple reason.

 

To address those that think Japanese cars made in America or Mexico are substandard, thats simply not true. It's not nessacarily the workers that have a high standard of quality, it's Toyota. That standard of quality follows Toyota wherever they decide to build. Toyota's not gonna say "well, we can't expect much from underpaid mexicans, so we'll allow the vehicles coming out of mexico to be built with a lower standard of quality", the adhere to the same quality standard no matter where their vehicles are assembled. Same thing with the BMW plant here in SC. I have a problem with newer BMW's, but not because the American workers are making bad products, but because BMW is not as quality concious as they use to be. American workers are simply putting out vehicles to BMW's specifications. To put it shortly, big companies, no matter who they are, do not have different standards for different plants around the world.

 

People who talk bad about unions are either misinformed or jealous of the wages of the union members.If there were or never was any unions sat. and sun. would be another day of the work week.

 

Just another day of the work week??? Double time!!!

$50.00/mo. to make an extra $2500.00-3,000.00/mo after taxes aint bad in my book. Thanks CWA Local 9505.


Ted

 

Unions are like every other man made institution. Religion is a great idea but it has been perverted over the years by corrupt officials etc... same thing with unions. I think they are a great idea, and i think at one time they served a purpose, but i think they have gotten out of control. I understand and support workers being protected from unfair working practices, but i dont support the idea of workers being protected from their own laziness and lackluster efforts. I think its great that someone with a high school education can make a good living for their family, but many of them make enough to support 3 families. They are costing the companies they work for (and as a result the consumer) way to much, simply because they will strike whenver their request for a raise is denied. I live in the South, i'm 25 years old and i make a damn good living. I make enough to afford my truck, college loans, and make a mortgage payment (although i haven't found a house yet), and i got here through working hard and being a good employee. Staying late when i have to, doing other people's job occasionally, even when my contract says i don't have to, getting an education, but mostly, because i bust my ass or i won't have a job. Unions served a purpose at one time, but they have become corrupted, out of date, and becoming a hinderance for companies up north because of the difficulty meeting their financial demands. Why do you think the South is booming the way it is? the majority of companies are now moving or expanding down south where unions aren't an issue, and still treating their employees right. the BMW plant here in SC pays EXTREMELY well, even for just the floor workers and is such a coveted job, that no one ever leaves. They don't do this because they are forced by unions, they do it because they know if they treat their employees right the employees will treat them right.