Talked to a Toyota manager about the 3rd Gen

While my 14 Tacoma was in for service I had a chance to talk to the general sales manager that sold me my truck about the new Tacoma. He has been with Toyota for nearly 30 years & has been brought in by higher ups for feedback.

He had stated the 3rd Gen was in development since before the 2012 refresh & that they were basing the new truck off feedback from the look of the new Tundra & current & past Tacoma owners.

I found it interesting that he stated Toyota uses information & customer feedback for the development of a model. He also said the 3rd gen was not a radical body change due to the fact that many Tacoma owners were very satisfied with the current look of the truck.

On the topic of the diesel, he mentioned price point & # of units that would need to sell as the main factor.

Also, I had asked why some models take forever to get updated/changed. He had stated Toyota is very conservative & tests new tech & gradually make updates vs ground up redesigns. He noted this is also a factor in its resale value.


Just thought I would share what seemed like an informative discussion that gave me a better understanding & insight on Toyota.

 

This happened!

 

Wut? This has nothing to do with the OP's message.

BTW Thanks OP

 

I sold Toyotas for 6 years, they are very slow making changes but when they do it works... After 10 years I thought they might do more, this is slow even by Toyota standards... But the truck works so other than updating what is there to do????

My #1 would be a better frame painting process.....

 

@Truck91, good info.

Thanks!

 

Kaizen

 

The same thinking was probably applied to the new Chevrolet Colorado.
It seemed everyone hated everything about that truck so it's COMPLETELY new from the wheels up.


Tacoma owners liked their trucks but it just needed a few tweaks. The big one being the engine to boost MPGs to comply with tightening CAFE standards so...... we get the 2016 Tacoma.

 

It's true what they about resale value. The FJ Cruiser has the best resale value because it hasn't changed externally over its entire production run (though the engine, frame and suspension were updated in 2010 in sync with the 4Runner).

 

Thumbs up for Toyota, as I received basically the same information this morning at my local Toyota dealership!

 

Ford Ranger - 1993-2011

Toyota Tacoma - 2005-2026?

 

Thanks for the info. Pretty much substantiates everything the Q&A with Mike Sweers covered. http://www.automobilemag.com/auto_s...016-toyota-tacoma-chief-engineer-mike-sweers/

Not surprising that they've been working on the revamp since before 2012. Somewhat contrary to what so many here think that Toyota is just reacting to the new GM twins.

 

REAL TALK

 

It used to take a good 5 years to redesign a vehicle. Modern CAD and simulation tools, along with technology sharing, have reduced the development time somewhat.

 

Any dealer I've dealt with (toyota or otherwise) really doesn't have a clue other than the marketing gimmicks used to make a sale. I'm sure there are a few people here and there that truly research and are knowledgable about the product(car/truck) they are selling but I haven't come across one yet.
I find it hard to believe this "refresh" was being developed over 4 years ago...

 

No doubt, and this is only conjecture on my part, Toyota started discussing the Tacoma refresh/redesign prior to 2012. Probably for various reasons, they decided on a refresh for '12 and to pursue the redesign for '16. If in fact, they did all they say, including customer input, etc., I wouldn't doubt the '16 Tacoma did in fact take that long from concept to inception. Toyota is known to be very methodical and with so many variables, economy, market, environmental, not unbelievable. Once they decided on a vision, I'm sure modern technology aided and expedited the final design.

 

I really should and want to believe what the engineer said. But come on all that is the same is the seat belt bracket? I know I haven't seen it in person but I can tell the third brake light is the same on the Off Road, the emblems on the doors, and I find it hard to believe the rear axle, drums, some other components arent either. Yes its a new "hot stamping" thing but the cab is practically the same, the frame is reenforced. I want to trust manufacturers but I feel they are just saying things to generate sales, etc. But I don't know I didn't design it it just kinda suspicious and looks somewhat thrown together in a way to fight the new GM twins.

 

I call BS on that engineers comment too. Seat belt bracket was the only thing that remains the same - that made me laugh. I've seen high quality the interior shots of the cab and I see a lot of parts that are exactly the same. For example look at the jump seats in the access cab or the flip top of the center console. Looks the same to me.

Maybe the fact that they changed the colour means it's a new part?

If the Engineer is lying about the seat belt bracket then I think it's safe to assume he is lying or greatly exaggerating the truth about everything else on the truck being "all new"

 

While a lot of the parts are "changed" for the Taco, many are recycled from other vehicles in the Toyota line. The instrument cluster and center console (incl. e-brake handle) came from the overseas Land Cruiser Prado, for example.

The item that took the most effort was probably the engine - reducing the cost of the IS350 engine enough to install in a Taco, and developing the VVTi system to simulate Atkinson cycle, would've taken a long time.

 

Rear axle is different, look at where the drain plug is.

 

huh weird cause this picture would say different.