Tacoma production moving to San Antonio

NUMMI is supposed to close in March 2010, moving Tacoma production from Fremont, CA to Toyota's San Antonio plant.

San Antonio already makes Tundras.

http://blogs.barrons.com/techtraderdaily/2009/08/17/toyota-reportedly-to-shut-nummi-in-march-2010/

 

I would be happy to see Toyota continue production of any vehicle in the States, but I hope San Antonio does a better job with the Tacoma.. My 08 Tundra just wasn't as well put together as the Tacoma's are

 

... DITTO ...

Had a 2007 Tundra from TX plant and now have a 2009 Tacoma for CA plant. Love the quality of the CA Tacoma over the TX Tundra.

SOS
.

 

That's sad. My NUMMI Taco has been the best damned thing I've ever owned. Hope the San Antonio plant can match it.

 

Wow, I just talked to my cousin who works there on Thursday and he said that everything was fine the they just signed a new contract to continue manufacturing thru 2011. He has been working there since 1984 when the plant opened.

 

Your cousin is probably thinking of his Union labor contract and not a contract that guarantees production through a certain date.

If there is nothing to make, his labor contract is worthless.

 

NUMMI is the only Toyota plant with ties to the UAW. I'm sure Toyota would like to get out of there as quickly as possible. I figured they would wait until the current Tacomas and Corollas were due for a redesign, because re-tooling plants is expensive.

 

Yup. If you think about it, almost all Japanese car plants in the US are in the Southeast. Basically states that have almost non-existent labor unions. I know because I've lived in the Northeast and the West Coast and both of these areas had a strong pro-union atmosphere: Lots of "Union Yes!" bumper stickers. You rarely see anything like this in the South.

 

this could allow for significant improvements in mfg when you start from scratch for both a design and assembly line

 

That's what happens when one state (CA) taxes the crap out of businesses and empowers labor unions to drive up the cost of operation while other states give incentives to businesses who support a healthy economy.

Case on point as to why California is in the economic shitter right now and Texas is leading the pack.

 

+100

 

^^^^^^ agreed, california laws are bullshit

 

Spoken like a true Texan

" I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United State of Texas...." haha

 

i would

 

So would I, and if they keep it up in Washington, that day may come soon.

 

I probably shouldn't say anything and do not want to offend fellow San Antonio Tacoma owners. This is just an opinion based on a string of personal bad experiences...

I think that Toyota manufacturing the Tacoma in San Antonio is the worst possible decision they can make if they are trying to keep any level of quality control or craftsmanship. Over the years I have seen a continuous decline in quality regarding Toyota products and this would definitely not be a smart move on their part.


I am currently living in San Antonio and have been here since 2001. Before moving to San Antonio I lived in Seattle, WA, spent a few years months around the east coast (mostly Pennsylvania), and grew up in northeast Iowa. I have NOT had any dealings with any type of labor in San Antonio ending in a moderate to high regard for quality, craftsmanship, or even just a basic 'job well done.' Some examples:

1. Line-X bedliner for my Nissan Frontier Crew Cab. Vehicle went back first time for overspray, extremely bad lines (sprayed over the rail), and get this: wrong color (all I wanted was black). Vehicle was 'fixed' by spraying a black 'restorer' over the wrong color. Over the rail lines were cut and sprayed straight and overspray was removed. Vehicle went back a second time when 'restorer' scratched off with my fingernail, a quick wash revealed heavy clearcoat scratching where overspray was removed, and upon a closer inspection I realized that no Line-X ever made it up to the rail itself (2-3 inches under the rail there was still exposed paint). Vehicle went back a third time when all of the new 'restorer' came off in a high pressure car wash. After 6 months of haggling with an asshole of a private business owner and the local Line-X representative I finally sold the 1 year old truck to lower my stress level.
2. Auto body shop repair on Isuzu Rodeo Sport (to date the BEST 4WD vehicle I have owned). I peeled off the roof of the cab when I drove into my garage with two bikes on the roof rack. The bikes were okay, the roof rack was okay, the hard top was okay...the roof and doors were toast. I couldn't even open the doors to get out and ended up crawling out the sunroof on the hard top. Vehicle went back first time due to insane amount of dust particles in the paint. Vehicle went back second time to remove overspray from the hard top, vehicle went back third time because of sanding marks under the clear coat, vehicle went back fourth time because of the inside of the vehicle being coated with sanding grit. I finally gave up and lived with it. By the way, this was using the concierge service that Progressive offers. Also, I peeled the roof off of my 2004 Chevrolet Tahoe doing the exact same thing. The sad thing is that I had to get out of the vehicle, open up the garage door, get back into the vehicle, then drive into the garage. I blame the Wednesday night bar bike rides downtown and quit going after that.
3. Bought a matching rim for the spare tire on my Isuzu Rodeo Sport. I wanted to get the wheel swapped from the steel rim and balanced with the wheel weights taped. I explained this to the service writer at the tire shop. He told me that it would not be the best balance but I did not want the weights on the outside (had already rebalanced the other ones with taped weights on the inside). My wheel comes back 30 minutes later with a big fat wheel weight on the outside of the rim. I bitch up a storm, the tech comes out with pliers, removes wheel weight in front of me and gouges the rim. I give up...
4. I was short on time after purchasing a home and hired a guy to remove the popcorn ceiling and float it smooth before I moved in. Price went up four times, he left drywall mud EVERYWHERE inside and out (why were there drywall mud hand prints allover the brick of the front exterior wall?), he smoked in my house, he had his girlfriend over there, he did not finish anywhere near when he was supposed to.
5. I spent three days removing the grout from my tiled shower so that I could regrout everything. I ran short on time and hired someone to grout it for me. One month passed before the new grout cracked. Called the guy I hired and asked him if he used sanded or unsanded grout, he had no idea what I was talking about.
6. Free lifetime oil changes with my 2008 Jeep Grand Cherokee. Every time they have changed oil I check it to reveal it well over the full mark. I refuse to let them fix it (I relate this to sending back cold soup for the chef to fix...who knows what he will do to it) drive it home and drain the oil in my garage. Last time I did this it was over by a full quart. I poured the quart of oil into a clear plastic container and gave it to the service writer remarking that they accidentally left something I did not need in my vehicle. I passed the Jeep on to my wife when I bought the Tacoma and have been doing my own un-free oil changes ever since.

The list goes on. I don't get this town. (Look at how long they have been working on 410...) Manual labor is shoddy and lacks any attention to detail with anything. There is not true craftsmanship. I am sorely disappointed in the work ethic of the local labor force. Unlike many of my northern friends though, I do NOT blame the Mexicans. In fact, I think the true Mexicans are quite the opposite of the lazy San Antonian work ethic.


I dread any upcoming project that I cannot complete myself. I have not hired anyone to work on my house since the grout incident and laid my hardwood floors, built my deck, and renovated my kitchen on my own. My water heater went out last year and I started to sweat thinking that I would have to hire someone to replace it. I looked into and ended up doing it myself.


Maybe growing up in Iowa has spoiled me. I come from a family of carpenters, mechanics, architects, doctors, nurses, and artists. Nobody I knew would ever think of half-assing something. So, if you are going to buy a Tacoma, get one while you can, before they move to San Antonio. End of rant.

 

What side of town are you having all this work done on, lol!

 

Mine was made in TJ mexico

 

The wrong side obviously. Again, my opinion is based on my experience. I think we have lost the idea of true craftsmanship over time all over the United States but I have really noticed it in San Antonio. All this talk about quality has me thinking about the first house I bought in Waterloo, IA. It was built in 1940, anything dealing with wood was dove-tailed or tongue and grooved (by hand), the plaster was PERFECT and uncracked under 20 layers of wallpaper, they put crown molding inside the closets, wood floors did not stop at the cabinets in the kitchen and bathroom but where laid under them, the electrical wiring and plumbing was perfectly level and plumb inside the walls, and on and on and on.

 

Mine was also made in Mexico and I am not worried about it one bit.