4th Gen. Tacomas (2024+) Spy Shots

Guessing the chassis and almost all components will be the same (they share a bunch already), but with a different body and engine options.

 

Hilux Mako has entered the chat:

 

Id be willing to bet the new Taco gets a fully boxed framed and rear coils like the new Tundra…

Don't really see how they could “unbox” the TNGA-F frame for the Tacoma when the LC, (new) Tundra and Hilux all have boxed frames.

 

If this truck tries any harder, it's gonna give itself an anuerysm.

 

That’s not bad at all, I would drive it.

 

Yep, that is what I am thinking.

 

Another thought, guessing the 4th Gen is going to pretty good, boxed frame, better engine choices with more torque, possible hybrid with gas mileage in the mid to high 20s, but will be kinda ugly. Though I think the 3rd Gen isn’t the best looking either, sharp looking truck, but definitely not my dream truck. A 40 series done up by FJ Co. is…that wouldn’t be the best thing as a daily anyways…

 

You might be right. I'm not so sure about the coil springs though.

 

A few years ago I wouldn't have said this, but now? I have to.

I would be VERY careful to not trust TFL, in terms of reporting on information like this. ESPECIALLY from Toyota, a Japanese firm. TFL can be good at randomly spotting vehicles testing locally on camera or at simply being casual online entertainment, but in terms of credibly reporting on them outside of their scope? A very unintelligent bunch of buffoons, from what I can see easily intimidated by someone else having a bit more awareness than they do and calling them out on their poor reporting.

https://tfltruck.com/2021/10/spied-...e-caught-testing-on-the-ike-gauntlet-highway/

Myself and also some other folks tried to steer them in the right direction on this. One joke of a moderator, laughably took offense at my constant to the dude in the comments (XtremeThunder) wisely pointing out the real story (like I already had weeks earlier) and me directly explaining to the mod "why" Toyota is running so behind on all these vehicles. They could easily find that out, but couldn't be bothered and resort to silly complaining.





Then banned me after I defended myself from a nasty mod response, because the idea of having any well-informed dissent against them is an unwelcome fear. I don't feel bad for someone else's insecurities and unfortunate ignorance.





As an observant enthusiast and "worker", TFL is not very good at reporting responsibly, unless someone spoon feeds them everything to a tee. Otherwise, they are just absolutely oblivious and lost. No real skill, at least nowadays. Gotten way too lazy.

I cannot wait until this truck debuts in early-mid 2023 and Toyota announces it as a 2024 model as I have said for almost 2 years and have been dead accurate for given reasons.

I might be arrogant to do a degree in some respects, but being that I often do my best to diligently get new information out there, often when I am not supposed to be doing that in my capacity, and the news folks are too slow to GAF, despite having so many resources accessible to them, I naturally will be annoyed. And even more annoyed, if it is falling on deaf ears, despite significant effort being put forward to help avoid that, albeit in a low-key fashion.

Prior to January 2019, I did very deep industry-based research and Google-level research on Toyota's body on frame product lines to weigh private and publicly accessible insight. I came to find that the lifecycle cadence and incoming plans for the Tacoma and global Hilux, were not known at all on here (per discussion) nor elsewhere in much of the media.

No one knew what the hell Toyota was doing with the Tundra in most cases, let alone the 4Runner and Sequoia. I made it my little mission already in some smaller Lexus circles, to study and follow Toyota developments carefully, particularly due to my knowledge of TNGA-F since 2016.

All the while, from what I can see, much of these news organizations, where thousands to millions of Toyota owners go to read news and often come up with nothing to learn about, had NOTHING to report on these developments, as if they weren't happening. I had seen the reporting mess that the Supra MKV A90 was at times in the preceding years and a litany of other things Japanese, so I wanted to fill in the gap. The Lexus side of forums was very all-inclusively investigative, but didn't extend their research over here at all.

Solo, I signed up here, to point out as of January 29, 2019, that the Tacoma was due for a full redesign much sooner than expected. In the 3rd quarter of 2022, after 3G production would conclude on June 30, 2022. That information wasn't accessible anywhere, from a casual online search. Except from one forum, I commented on regularly. Ditto for the midlife update called 625B, released in 2019 for MY2020, which I had known was coming on schedule for years at that point.

When anything changed, I corrected myself and made it my business to point it out on this forum, to keep everyone up to date, since news reports wouldn't. I broadened that scope, by providing this information by email first to Motor1, who reported it in February 2020, albeit with some out of context statements on some other vehicles.

https://www.motor1.com/news/399275/toyota-insider-details-future-models/

The false idea that I crib my OWN information from simple Google searches and virulently condescend across multiple forums, was implied above by TFL's insecure management, who cannot even execute simple reporting in a fully informed capacity as a "professional mEdIa entity". Funny enough, a lot of what actually appears on Google in terms of given automobiles, ironically came from my own user-provided content in many places, over a very long period of time dating back many years. Especially stuff while doing my MBA and PhD.

I find it funny when I hear either CNBC pieces or Donut Media repeating my own research back to me in a given number of YouTube videos, as I already know how they came upon that info. I put a lot of effort into all of this free-time research over a very long period of time, to make sure no one is kept out of the loop and knows what's coming down the road. As well as the storied history of how these vehicles came to be in the first place. From planning to release, lifecycle changes, and rinse and repeat.

To see this is the kind of thanks I get, because a handful of stubborn idiots with tumor sized egos take offense at everything that questions their judgment, shows and explains to me why, most other people actively in these industry capacities, just don't even bother "explaining". It's not worth the damn trouble, if making it a regular thing. I've said what I have said here before, explained my stance on what I believe to be accurate and frankly as I have said once before, I am tired. Tired of the ease of most people trusting big media entities, without taking a grain of salt on it.

Yet their skepticism directed towards me, I am instead forced to swallow (doubting my research/claims). After putting in a lot of time to be absolutely certain of what I put forward. From either a few to countless inside conversations or deep research, that funny enough Car and Driver and TFL are not willing to do for some unexplained reason and get away with reporting obviously false info (see below).

Anyone who trusts any news outlet, that hasn't word for word quoted an inside source or have their own firsthand knowledge on any more information regarding this, I don't know what to tell you, as the likelihood it's accurate, is just very much NOT.

TFL and other media entities won't look very credible, when they realize those of us telling them otherwise back in 2020 and 2021, knew what we were talking about. Over the next several months, Toyota will likely roll out the 2023 Tacoma, absolutely unchanged. Maybe a special edition or whateves. It will be in dealers next October, per the dates I do have for MY 2023s.

This is unfortunately not the first time with TFL and questionable "professionalism", but of course they can expect to have an audience who mostly swallows their BS misinformation as credible no matter what. Their reviews on new stuff make much more sense, than their investigative reporting side of things, which isn't very informed, except in rare circumstances.

I am not making this political or anything, but media overall needs to do way better and stop letting everyone else do their homework or having to correct their narratives, which are often too opinionated with questionable claims for simple reporting of facts. Not everyone is the next Jeremy Clarkson and has the chops to go off-script. I can often read between the lines on bad reporting for given reasons, but not everyone will (life is too busy to care) and when they figure out what's not accurate, it eventually falls apart entirely in terms of basic trust.

Everyone, be careful what you read on this next generation truck, as very few will get it right for a long time. Toyota is very very secretive in general and because of that, most media folks make up BS along the way, to drive clicks and views their way. The little commenting I do, is to counteract misreporting or underreporting. Just a little:

Rarely ever do these sites get this info right with things Asian brand related (proximity). The real people to trust, are rarely ever based in the Americas or Europe. They're down under, in Japan, or in obscure regions, where automotive execs whisper insights to them. Media couldn't even get things regarding the Bronco right, as I BEAT them to it out of frustration with a vicious rumor mill upsetting potential buyers. Only where dealer folk leaked info to them directly, was anything reported correctly. They just don't get it at all and cannot be trusted as reliable, once again. In Example Below:

https://www.caranddriver.com/toyota/tacoma

https://www.motor1.com/news/540880/2023-toyota-tacoma-spy-photos/

https://www.motortrend.com/features/2023-toyota-tacoma-everything-we-know/

I don't expect everyone to read this, as we all have very busy lives, but simply pointed out why I do not trust T-F-L on this subject and many others. And how they reacted to being pointed in the right direction.​

 

The TFL crew are mostly a bunch of software guys turned vehicle experts. Haven’t taken them seriously since they were new to the scene. Me growing up in a construction family, first time I saw their videos it was clear they weren’t “truck guys”, that never worked a hard day labor job in their life, just another group trying to cash in on internet stardom.

They can’t even spot vehicles testing either, most of those shots are taken by other people and sent to TFL. About all they do is Photoshop their logo on.

 

Honestly, thank you for calling out TFL's garbage content. Because they post multiple times a week, the YT algorithm promotes their content, despite how vapid it is. Walking around with a cell phone, recording video's that are just regurgitating forum discussions, reddit threads and sales brochures is not providing any kind of value to the community - but they have grown exponentially.

As a YT creator myself who strives for accuracy and quality, (it takes me up to a month to create a video, I'm unwilling to shit out a video every two days), it makes me crazy to see this kind of garbage content get the "credibility" it sorely does not deserve.

 

Interesting...

Never cared enough to learn that about them, but it explains a lot. Some of their videos are them chasing around prototype vehicles, the only high mark there. The latest stuff for Gen 4 are definitely photos sent in and it is a symptom of them slacking, compared to before when they almost always did it themselves.

I can't really speak of them in a cordial light anymore, as they merely got lucky in some circumstances.
In terms of knowing how to use a truck correctly, definitely foreign to them as you've implied and often the secondhand embarrassment "cringe" feeling I often get from viewing past "truck" content of theirs. If I am forced to suspend my disbelief too much, the content is poor quality.

Great you're able to have seen right through their BS faster than I did, because while I wasn't one to sing their praises, I often held my tongue on negative remarks. Very nasty bunch, unless it's just one person.


I do hope they wise up and get in touch with the right people for their sake, because if they keep putting out BS info, I'm gonna double down on counteracting it every step of the way. And if I have to take it back to YouTube, I'll find a way to do it without using this handle and hire volunteers.

I don't blame Tundra/Tacoma/4Runner owners for often being skeptical, because of typically reported info often being so contradictory and often proven wrong. Better to just plug your ears and wait until it gets official here:

https://pressroom.toyota.com/

Thanks a billion for your two cents!

I thought I was imagining it, but yeah they first ticked me off regarding that Bronco leak and playing the victim when banned from corporate events. Prior to that though, I already felt it was too much of an amateur operation being given way more credibility over the rest, than they deserved. Someone like Automotive Press and maybe a few others, deserve that respect more. I am going to actually start looking into seeing what I can do for smaller channels, for this very reason.

Mad props to you R4D4G4ST, as I can empathize on that one. I am pretty lowkey in terms of YT and anything I have there is from either an eccentric phase of my life or old automotive commercials (Automakr86), I haven't touched in years. I pretty much divorced myself from my original channel, in having taken an automotive focus, strictly since about 2011. Prior to that, I was more of a television media guy. But anyone who is today, unlike me, putting in the effort for YouTube on automotive content, I give you all this.

 

You’re welcome. Not sure if I would call it research, read their bios.

https://tfltruck.com/team-tfltruck/

Andre is software engineer, Roman has a master’s in journalism, and says he is a triathlete…which is suspect, my exwife was a tri-geek…he doesn’t look like any triathletes that I know, then there is Nathan, background is in theater, film, children’s education. Pretty much tells you everything you need to know about their knowledge about vehicles. Have been around trucks and heavy equipment all of my life, could tell those guys weren’t, and had no experience of actually using equipment, they do nothing more than repeat brochures. Glorified salesmen if you will.

The internet is full of hacks, wouldn’t loose too much sleep over it.

 

That’s my preference. I’m not beta testing a first year of any gen by any maker so I could care less about pre-production spy shots.

 

Why can’t Toyota make a good looking vehicle?

 

Blame Japanese robot culture…late model vehicles look like mecha inspired designs to me. Though I was really into Shogun Warriors when I was kid, and still think mech is kinda cool, but find the current Toyota’s styling off the rails. My 3rd Gen is growing on me though. Is that the new Lexus grill!? Nah, just Mazinger…

 

Andre is cool in my book. Roman sucks though, he ruins every video he is in. For a dude with a journo degree, he sure doesn't know when to shut the hell up. Nathan is just there.

 

Very low opinion of their customers' tastes. They think we want big fake grilles. Fake vents. Fake hood scoops. Fake exhaust tips. Etc.

 

Everyone here still bought a Tacoma and plenty will buy the 4th Gen regardless of what the TW minority thinks.

 

I’d guess they are being bought for the expectation of reliability.
Still doesn’t explain why Toyota’s are so ugly.