New Tacoma to be shown in Detroit

Or they'll stick the two original trucks at the North American headquarters somewhere. A lot of automakers keep the first trucks they show as museum and historical pieces.

 

I know they don't make them on an assembly line. Just wonder what happens to them in say a year from now. These trucks obviously have the new motor stuffed in them. Just not tuned like they will be for production.
I imagine even a loaded company like Toyota tries to minimize costs from promotional endeavors like auto shows. It would be cool to own one of those two though.

 

I've often wondered how the Ecoboost will perfrom in the long-term. They have been around for a while now so I imagine many are racking up lots of miles on the clock.
How do the turbos fair in the long run though? I hear when those go bad outside of warranty you are looking to cough up several grand to get new turbos in there.

 

If you use synthetic oil at the sever duty change interval the longevity of the engine has been pretty stellar. If you do the cheapest level of service and skip a few changes because you're too busy with life I don't think the Ecoboost is a viable long term engine for your truck.

Anyways, it would be sweet if we had the 2.7 L Ecoboost in the Tacoma, but Ford is years ahead of Toyota on forced induction efficiency technology.

 

Toyota has that new 2.0l turbo in there Lexus nx200

 

Agreed with the statement about the Ecoboost. It's definitely not a low maintenance but then again most force fed motors are not.

 

Well said...

I'd like to point out too that the 3.6 Grand Cherokee engine was actually a mini-van engine though. Which from a load standpoint has a lot of overlap with a truck and SUV, they can get really burdened down quickly.

I had a 4.3 in a 2000 S10 blazer and definitely felt the same pain. I towed a 5,000 pound boat and a similarly weighted trailer + jeep TJ. It worked well enough around town but anything over 45mph and it felt like you were just ragging on it to not only get moving but stay moving on hills. I haven't towed anything as heavy with my Tacoma but it feels the same way unloaded, great in town, but slow getting on the highway and merging.

 

Fords investment in the Ecoboost has been all out. The 3.5 L is about to be overhauled again and the 2.7 L uses several incremental improvements over the old 3.5 L. You don't just start using forced induction for economy overnight. It takes years of experience to just get it right and Ford is just starting to get there. I'd dread being the first people to see a new turbo motor tuned for that low end torque from Toyota. Those people get to learn that so many more things can go wrong once you start using F/I that way.

 

New RAM EcoDiesel HFE unveiled today. 29 mpg. Probably a baby Cummins in the new Frontier, Duramax diesel in next year's GM mid-sized trucks.
If all these other companies can do it, why not Toyota?

 

As already quoted, Toyota does not believe that Diesel will be a viable engine long term in NA with tightening emissions regulations and price variability. Time will tell if they are right or wrong.

 

They are just being lazy because they are on top at the moment. Seems like even though Ford is at the top of their game, they desperately want to maintain that position and are offering what the masses want. Not Toyota though.

 

I don't understand the infatuation with wanting a diesel Tacoma? I don't see the logic in paying a couple extra grand to buy a truck that's slower around town and runs on fuel that's 30% more expensive and gets 30% better mileage. I could see the benefit of having the extra torque when towing (and I do tow) but it's still not enough to offset the cost IMO.

 

Toyota doesn't have 600k buyers every year to spread out the cost for 4 different engines and a dozen cab and bed configurations. Is Ford lazy for not offering a midsize?

Offering everything for everyone is a recipe to make a vehicle unprofitable. Unprofitable vehicles don't live long.

 

I certainly hope this new 3.5 liter is bullet-proof reliability-wise. I don't get the allure of a Diesel either. The point is, many want it. There is a demand. Some manufacturers are answering the call. Toyota is not.

 

I don't think Ford is "on top of their game" because they are making what people want. I think their commitment to forced induction has to do with their game plan for the future mileage requirements and emissions requirements. I think Toyota is sticking to their game plan. I find it interesting that everyone talks about Toyota selling diesel truck in other countries, yet according to rumors, the Diesel engine they'll be offering in the Tundra is a Cummins, meaning that Cummins is the one doing all the development work.

I've owned both diesel and turbocharged cars, and of the two, I'll take the turbo any day. Toyota is in the business of making money, and I don't think you do that by catering to such a small segment as Tacoma owners who want a diesel.

 

It's not that small of a segment. GM knows the Colorado won't sell as many mid-sized trucks but are offering a Diesel. Same with the frontier. Toyota has saved gobs of money but not doing a full redesign on their trucks since 2005. It's quite possible the Tacoma will be a 20 year-old before it's fully redesigned.

 

You never know, Toyota may have invited some people to privately test the 4D4 in NA and found that they were not happy with it's performance. I would not be surprised at that. GM is flying blind on diesel mid size demand. It's easy to say lots of people are talking about it, but if the first drive sucks compared to the V6 it isn't going to matter how much better the engine tows or what fuel economy it gets. It won't sell. People are assuming the Diesel Colorado will feel like a TDI Toureg. I have very little confidence that GM can pull off the equivalent of a Porche designed Diesel vehicle.

I really don't get the guys who want a V8 either. Every person I know, and that's only two guys to be honest, who had one of those Dakota's with a V8 ended up trading it in a year or two because the advantages of a truck like that over the full sized Ram disappeared. Chevy barely sold any 327 Colorado's and it was basically for the same reason. While it may fit the demands of a few offroaders who need more power I think such a small market is better serviced by another TRD Supercharger offer over putting a V8 in a few trucks.

 

I don't mean to sound negative, and I know I do. I am liking the redesign more and more each time I see it. I guess if I don't like it, then I can get a full size, but I really hate driving full sized trucks around town and prefer a smaller truck in the boonies too. Just hope it can tow decent as I have a Casita trailer I need to pull.

 

The current Tacoma pulls well if the load isn't over 5000 lbs . I've never had any issues with my 4000 lbs trailer and enough gear to last a week up in the mountains towing when with the Tacoma. Sure, it sucks back gas like an alcoholic pounds liquor when I'm towing but then again so does everything else towing that much weight. The TRD supercharger really did help though, now I can even safely pass with that much load on undivided highways.

Most of the towing issues come up when guys are towing 26 footers that are 8 feet tall. Even though they weigh 4500 lbs on the sticker by the time they are loaded they are close to 6000 lbs. That's too much weight for any mid sized truck. Even with a bigger diesel the midsize won't have a wide enough footprint or enough weight to control a trailer like that on a mountain pass.

 

How big is the segment Jon? What are the numbers? How many people buy full size diesel trucks because there currently are no "small" or mid size diesel trucks? I don't know those numbers, but I'll bet Toyota has a pretty good idea and they've done a detailed analysis and decided that's not the direction they want to go in.

I don't really want to debate the "full redesign" thing. It's each person's opinion what they think of the new Tacoma. My opinion is they made significant changes. If that's not a "full redesign", so be it. I don't really know what exactly some people were expecting.

Lastly, I think GM and Nissan are going to offer diesels in their mid size trucks to try and take some of Toyota's sales away. That's probably the only reason they're trying diesel because they know they have to do something radical to at least put a dent in Toyota's hold on the market. Just my opinion.