Toyota investing nearly $400 million in TX plant

Toyota doesn’t do turbos man

 

Lets hope not...

 

Is that why they are expanding the recall/warranty extension all the way up to 2017’s? Toyota’s frames have been crap under anything less than ideal conditions for the last 30 years.

 

If it is I won’t be upgrading, keep the MT love going!

 

Nope. Here is a sneak peek of the new Tacoma that I received from a double ought spy:

Same platform. Not same frame. Big difference.

 

The general trend with Tacoma’s is each Gen is a downgrade, at least according to TW. Us 3rd Genners will be the next to huddle in our home forum while lurking the 4th Gen forum, sniping at them for their stupid battery recalls, lack of MT, and frame rust issues (Toyota will never get this right I swear).

 

I think you are referring to that Swedish study that Popular Mechanics said this about: “Basically, this eight years thing is bupkis—one more example of nonsense people love to share on Facebook.” Check out their article.

As I’ve said in other threads like this one, the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) explored the cradle-to-grave environmental impacts of ICEs and hybrids and full electrics and came away with a nuanced, data-heavy analysis. You can check out the details yourself, but the impact that comes from the batteries and sourcing other exotic raw materials is usually negated in half a year (hybrids) to a year (fully electric), at which point such vehicles are exponentially cleaner for the rest of their lives. The actual breakdowns of how clean a plug-in hybrid or full-electric vehicle are depend on what charges your traction battery (solar versus a coal-fired plants), and the UCS has a way for you to calculate that too.

 

I believe no one is going to buy an electric Tacoma to save the planet. 99% of people don’t give a fuck about anyone but themselves and maybe their kids (if the kids are lucky). People will buy the electric Tacoma because it will be a better, higher performing truck. You’ll be an idiot, or a long suffering nostalgia victim, not to want one when they hit. And the more people that want them, the more expensive it will become to be dedicated to a niche technology like ICE will become with time. It’s still years away, but it’s coming in fast.

 

I don’t disagree.

And I’m not going to try to talk anyone out of their “I don’t care” mindset. But I think it’s important to share accurate information.

 

Why Cibolo?! That’s like completely on the opposite side of San Antonio! Lol

 

It’s surprising it hasn’t been annexed by the city of San Antonio.

At least the transmissions won’t be coming from Thailand in the future.

 

God, an all electric Tacoma would be a nightmare scenario. Thankfully Toyota isn't big on electric cars (yet anyways).

Battery tech needs to improve drastically before that becomes attractive... 400+ mile ranges minimum, 15-20 year lifespans, and charge times of less than 10 minutes at supercharging stations. That's where we need to be IMO.

 

While I think everyone would agree that would be great I don’t think those numbers are feasible yet. The charge time yes but the other two aren’t going to happen which is why I do t think a full electric is on the table since the adventure truck can’t really adventure fully electric.

 

Shared platform.. That sounds gross

 

Even then, cant really strap an extra 10 gallons of batteries to your HC rear when you go out into the woods

 

Companies are still pushing the idea of electric trucks hard and spending boat loads of money on propaganda/marketing. Look at Rivian, and Tesla. I think I even heard mention of Ford of building an electric F-150.

It's happening whether we think the tech is ready or not. That said, I do think the first round of electric trucks will cater mostly to your software startup, city-dwelling weekend warrior types, and not the mainstream truck buying market.

 

Toyota has been using modular design for years on many of its vehicles. It’s now coming to its trucks.

 

Propaganda, thats a good word for it.. Like you said, batteries and supporting tech need to make leaps and bounds before anyone besides the "city-dwellers" would even consider it

Guess I need to double my fluid film budget, so this truck lasts me a few decades