Toyota Needs to Step Up!

Is the Pro even marketed all that heavy? It's mostly Off Roads and SR5s in commercials and print that I see.

IMO it's a starter Chad vehicle, wants a Raptor but his budget will only allow a basic starfish bitch f150. So he finds himself on a Toyota lot looking at Pros, because he wants to be noticed at the gym.

 

Some people frowned when I was trying to get an e locker for a 2021 SR. I was going to do it but I cant get long bed AC MT. Anyways I don't want any of the off roads or sports upgrades. I want to do my own. Starting with Tires.

 

What I wasn't impressed by was wet weather traction. Once I got about 1/4 of the tread worn It was like there was no traction from a dead stop in rain. Once you got moving they did fine. My Cooper MTPs and now Mickey Thompson Baja Boss' do better than they did. They did ok for me offroad but where I wheel I needed something that would clear a lot quicker and more.

 

I don't think anyone will NOT buy a Tacoma because it didn't come with a better tire, would they?

 

Snow yes, wet and rain no. I agree. JUst the tread design.

 

Yeah they have a lot more at my yota dealership than the raptors or even rubis and they are snatched up faster than either one of those. Meanwhile the zr2 that the chevy dealership got is still on the lot 10 mos later while all the high altitudes and stuff fly off the lot. Pros are pretty expensive like up there in almost patinum level f150 land.

 

Nope they'll continue to outsell all the competitors and it'll take them all combined to equal taco sales.

 

I would have to guess that Toyota will continue to put granny tires on the TRD models due to fuel economy, or better highway traction or ride comfort, or contracts they have with tire manufacturers.

And, they know they won't lose sales over it. And, they know that folks who want aggressive tires will just swap them out themselves.

The nice thing about it is that everyone can choose whichever AT or hybrid or MT they prefer.

I honestly wanted to keep the stock tires and get an additional set of MT's for off-road trips and mall crawler shows. But, the stock tires (Dunlop, 4runner) sucked in snow, so I wound up getting rid of them right away.

 

I agree.

 

This exactly this. If you are going to build a rig why start with the most expensive one. If you have plans for upgraded this and that why spend 50g when you can spend 30 and have 20g in mods to make it the way you want it.

 

Yep 100%. Hell my local yota dealership slaps leveling kits on a lot of the trucks the 4runner sema wheels and some nitto ridge grapplers or ko2s and offers that as a dealership installed option. Sometimes it pays to actually shop around and not just look at what the manufacturer offered.

 

Agreed. I believe the TRD Pro should have more aggressive tires, but it won't hurt sales regardless. It definitely won't take them all combined to meet the sales, but point is still made.

 

18R-G was a DOHC 2.0L that made something like 150 hp. The 152-E was a Toyota race motor based on an 18R-G and made up to about 300 HP at over 9,000 RPM's

 

I don't see a lot of snow and the snow we get usually has a nice ice skating rink below it so i don't care who makes the tire they all suck!!! We got one snow when I had the duratracs and they performed well for my little experience with them. My only other extensive experience with snow and truck tires was with some Old firestone steeltex on my dually and the original KOs on my old chevy truck the steeltex did better but the original KOs were a pretty junk tire IMO.

 

Oh nice!

 

The sad part is with GM and Ford is the depreciation is steep on half tons. The 2014 F150 I turned in cost $37k new and was worth just over 1/3 of that with 155k for miles. I'm glad it was employer provided. Yet for millions of Americans it's rinse and repeat every few years with these trucks. Somehow they can't figure out why they're broke.

I'm sure the 2nd gen owners are smiling at this point. I still see minty stock ones in the mid to high twenties.

 

I understand your point but you have to zoom out a bit and look at the big picture. In 2019, Toyota sold 248K Tacomas! That is a lot. I think they are picking tires based on a number of factors, including price per tire, capability of tire maker to produce that large a volume, consistency of product, general specs and overall capability. The stock tires are a business decision more than anything else. They are looking to hit a target that balances a lot of objectives.

The majority of those 248K Tacomas are going to places without snow, etc. Were the tires on my TRD OR terrific? No. But I have to say they were not terrible. I didn't mind them. I did upgrade but I could have lived with them.

While I understand the overall challenge and balancing act Toyota faces, I think many dealers are missing the mark. The few I visited were not interested in changing tires or swapping tires, etc. I know many who do -- probably more high volume dealers who see the opportunity. I would bet Toyota doesn't want to get into the tire game -- it slows them down and there is really no upside to it for them that can't be better off had from the dealer or the thousands of dedicated tire shops.

 

My 2nd gen cost me in Feb of 2017 so a 12 yr old truck 12,500 with 155k on it. It was just a basic SR5 nothing special. probably about a 26k truck new I think. I decided to see what a comparable dually like I had with my 99 F350 would cost new today over 50k new my 99 was just a hair over 30 it wasn't anything special. The truck market has gotten crazy expensive both new and used.

 

I completely agree with you and I understand why they are doing it from an economic standpoint. But my opinion is that the TRD Pro should have a bit of a performance advantage over the TRD Off Road. Currently it has lighter wheels, a beefier skid plate, a cold air intake and exhaust that maybe adds 5HP. Outside that, the rest is cosmetic. But that's my opinion. Again, tire choice from the factory generally isn't the make or break factor for selling vehicles.

 

I totally agree with you. 100%. I do think they need fewer options and greater differentiation between the options. Maybe SR5 / TRD OR, Sport and then Pro. Bui then again, the packages are all about the money and the margins.

From the Bloomberg article:

"And buyers are paying up for them. Smaller pickups once sold for rock-bottom prices to first-time buyers. Now they’re boosting the bottom line at automakers that trick them out with elaborate entertainment systems and color-coordinated bash plates underneath to protect beefy off-road powertrains. The Tacoma starts at $26,150 for a utilitarian model but can climb above $50,000 for a fully-loaded TRD Pro. The Japanese company says half of all Tacomas sold in the U.S. include the optional TRD off-road package."

And this is why. All about the margin:

"LMC Automotive expects Toyota to redesign Tacoma in 2022 and perhaps catch-up with some of its new rivals’ high-tech touches, like a tablet-sized touch screen in the dash. That could be timed with a plan to consolidate all production in Mexico starting next year. But even with its old-school design, the Taco keeps ringing the bell.

“These are good-margin vehicles,” said Jeff Schuster, head of global vehicle forecasting at LMC."