Toyota shifts Tacoma pickup production from Texas to Mexico; continues $13 billion US investment

The job losses went to the new factory in Mexico.

 

I drive both 2G and 3G Tacos as well as the New Ranger. The 4.0L is not exactly a performance motor. Tacoma’s are all dogs. They are designed that way, and I’m ok with it. I don’t want one of those tinny piss-pot New Rangers as my personal truck, but for sure they have more jam off the line.

 

I have no complaints with the motor. I’ll take durability over HP any day of the week.

From Pickuptrucks.com

“Though new to the Tacoma platform, it wasn't an all-new engine for Toyota. The 2GR-FKS — an Atkinson-cycle engine — is part of an engine family found in a range of other Toyota and Lexus vehicles such as the Toyota Highlander and Sienna, and Lexus GX, RX and LS. Its distinguishing characteristic is the ability of the intake valve to stay open longer than it does in other engines. That causes some of the air/fuel mixture to be pushed back into the intake manifold, allowing the engine to burn less fuel than a normal engine. However, the downside to the Atkinson cycle is that having less fuel in the piston cylinder chamber means the engine provides less power. Atkinson-cycle engines are most often paired with electric motors in hybrid vehicles to make up for the resulting power deficit. Toyota first used a variation of this engine in the 1997 Prius; now the technology is creeping into other non-hybrid vehicles, the most prominent of which is the Toyota Tacoma.

There are a few other features of the Atkinson-cycle engine that stand out. Even though it's not a conventional truck engine, it offers durability that truck owners appreciate. The exhaust manifolds and pipes on the 3.5-liter are stainless steel, and it uses a timing chain instead of a belt for less stretch. Additionally, the piston oil jets have a check valve to keep oil pressure from dropping when the oil level is low. Head gaskets are steel-reinforced as well.

It's also a lighter engine since the block, heads, oil pan and intake manifold are all made from aluminum, and it has composite resin head covers. Additionally, the timing chain cover is integrated with oil and cooling passages to save space and weight. Much of the exhaust system is made from lightweight stainless steel as well.

In terms of maintenance, the Tacoma V-6 comes with coolant that doesn't have to be changed until 100,000 miles; after that it must be changed at 50,000-mile increments. It also uses a serpentine belt with an automatic tensioner.“

 

True they are not rockets, that said I like driving my 4.0, can set the cruise on the Coquihalla and enjoy the drive.

 

I’ve driven that road in a 2G many times. I agree with you, but the stops at the gas station are more frequent with the 4.0L, taking away some enjoyment on long trips.

 

Who gives a shit how fast the 0-60 time is in their truck? Not a big deal

 

True, the mpg is not as good, 17 mpg avg vs your 20 or so.

 

Probably these guys:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pe42q8ZmjGU

 

The efficiency of the 3G is not much better if you are hard on the pedal or run huge tires, however, if you really baby the throttle on the highway, the thing just sips gas. It has very good built-in economy, but you can only unlock it if you stay off the pedal in my experience.

 

Kinda off topic, but would you look at that frickin turbo inlet. I could fit my whole arm in there. Jeezuzz.

 

This is a sure sign bet the next gen tundra and Sequoia are just around the corner. Toyota is making sure they will have the extra capacity needed once they hit the market.

Also with the usmca auto manufacturing jobs must pay well in Mexico. Being higher paying will hopefully mean better employees and continued reliability with the vehicles produced there.

I would not hesitate to purchase a Mexican made Taco; they're pros at Taco assembly.

 

@GreyBaldTaco Peterbilt drag racing be like:

 

Don’t tell @GreyBaldTaco

 

Oops, forgot to add @GreyBaldTaco to the kitten drag racing. Post has been updated. Good lookin' out!

 

The man likes cat videos, he just prefers them on Blu Ray rather than jammin up all the bandwidth.

 

This is so wrong it hurts. The vast majority of those 250,000 Tacoma’s were ALREADY MADE IN MEXICO. They are replacing the small portion of Tacoma’s being made in TX with the Sequoia AND ramping up Tundra production at TX.

 

A lot of bad “shifts” for the Tacoma lately.

 

Let's turn this into a mpg thread

Depends on what it meant by highway. At 75-80 my Tundra does as good as my 3rd gen would. At 65 the Tacoma was way better than the hog.

 

Aren't Mexican produced Tacos kilometers per liter?

That's going to be damn confusing.


Oh, here it is-

Formulae used for conversion and calculation of fuel consumption:

1. Divide the distance by the litres used to get the km/litre.
2. Convert the km/litre to L/100 km i.e. divide 100 by km per litre.
3. Convert km/litre to miles per gallon i.e. multiply km/litre by 2.825.