Toyota shifts Tacoma pickup production from Texas to Mexico; continues $13 billion US investment

Whether these folks will admit it or not, they think Mexicans are inferior people and so therefor, anything they make would also be inferior. Same as the folks back in the day who were going "I ain't buying no Japanese car!" Meanwhile, these same people are about to run down to the wal-mart to go shopping. Nationalists don't seem to get irony...

In any case, having worked along side some Mexican men, I'll take their work over some beer-bellied TX redneck's any day.

 

I do think it’s cool to support local growers, laborers, manufacturers, etc. if you can afford it. It reduces your carbon footprint and knits together communities. Every bust town was once a boom town.

 

My iPhone comes from somewhere else as do my jeans and as did my Tacoma. Even though I wish Tacoma’s were assembled in Texas, this didn’t stop me from buying one assembled elsewhere. I’ll bet their assembly standards are still top notch and that these employees take pride in their work. But I also think jobs are important, and I hope that US employees touch and distribute these manufactured items and that we in the US gain benefit in having the choices we do. I also think competition and variety makes everything better. Aftermarket parts and upgrades are out there, and I assume most are imported. I sincerely hope US suppliers/businesses are making money on my Tacoma from Baja.

 

If having these jobs in Mexico helps their communities somehow, reflecting positively on their economy in some way then i think thats probably a good thing. The fewer mexicans trying to enter the U.S illegally, the better. Give them a reason to want to stay in their country.

 

That’s not true, Until recently San Antonio was still easily building 100k+ units alongside Tundra and the most units in 2016-2017 because they were building all the configurations. Most Tacoma’s throughout all gens have been US made and now they are slowly shifting to Mexico production only. This bothers me because Tacoma’s were first designed, built and the largest customers have been Americans. The name sake of Tacoma is from Mt. Rainier in Washington state, not street tacos like many like to joke about.The article also only mentions direct jobs being unaffected, but what they are not saying Anything about are indirect jobs from US based suppliers, contractors, shippers and reduction in work hours are all possibly negatively affected. The sequoia only sold about 11k units and we are losing Tacoma which sold almost 250k units, of which we built at least 100k trucks here in the US. This is also a new Mexican plant that was just opened, Toyota could have built their new plant here in the US.

 

When I went in to trade my Tacoma in on a 4Runner, the dealer had beautifully accessorized examples of a Tacoma (MX built), 4Runner (Japan built), and Tundra (TX Built). I sat in all 3 while I was waiting for financing, and the one thing that they all had in common was AMAZING build quality, fit and finish.

All 3 felt far more quality then the Subaru Outback that my girlfriend drove when she was shopping for a new car. Mexican built Tacoma’s are built like tanks. As someone who owns a small janitorial business I am around Mexican landscapers when I am at my properties on a daily business. They’re courteous and they work their asses off.

I LOVE that my 4Runner is built in Japan. If I had a Tundra I’d LOVE that it was built in Texas. And when I had my Tacoma I had not one issue with the fact that it was built in Mexico.

What makes me happier than any of that is that by all accounts Toyota treats their employees well, takes care of their customers, and builds a quality product.

You wanna be mad? Be mad at GM. Remember the Cobalt debacle? People f*cking died. And guess how they thanked everyone for the bailout? By closing a sh*tload of their American factories. Toyota doesn’t owe you a US factory. Be glad that a foreign auto manufacturer who has made quality products and treated you well while American manufacturers made junk and f*cked you over has the beautiful factories that they do here and that they treat those employees so well.

 

That sounds so majestic when you put it that way.

A lumberjack in a flannel was drinking coffee at Starbucks in Seattle, when the rains parted to reveal Mt. Rainier, and he said, "this mountain is my inspiration to stylishly move people to and from the Mall!"

I am all for supporting local businesses and buying American made products, but I also believe there is a lot of misinformation on TW saying a Mexican built Tacoma (or any product from Mexico) is an inferior product. And that is simply not true.

 

What about everything else that I wrote about.

 

I have no idea if a Mexican built Tacoma is good or bad, I simply wouldn’t buy one. I know too much about manufacturing, the Environment, and the Global economy to even consider it. I also won’t buy a GM no matter where it’s made. Japanese brands built in Japan or in non UAW US plants have been the best out of the almost 20 new cars I’ve bought.

 

This pic sums you up perfectly.

 

What about it? I just thought what I quoted (and you wrote) summed up this thread quite well.

As for what else you wrote, I think Toyota is a global company that holds global profitability higher than borders. I also think that manufacturing in the US comes at a price and at some point becomes a tough pill to swallow. We've priced ourselves out of the market. I also think Toyota's choice for the move to Mexico is all about efficiency and capacity.

I don't know the history of the San Antonio plant, but I would imagine that the Baja plant was brought online because as demand for trucks increased, so did wages, overtime, etc. The overall costs to maintain production went up, so having a safety valve in place was an important step for Toyota. This is just the next safety valve. I have no doubt that Toyota wants to compete with the Big 3 in the full size truck market, and if opening the San Antonio plant to produce more units of the new Tundra and Sequoia, at the expense of relegating the Tacoma to Mexico, then I am all for it.

The choice is up to each and every consumer to make up their own mind about how they are going to spend their money. For the people that want the most American made truck, here is the winner.

 

Did you know Simplehuman's headquarters are only about 1.5 miles from from Toyota North America's former location in Torrance, CA before it moved to Plano, TX?

 

I'm just here for the xenophobia

 

Man your post is meaningless. 50% has a whine? Really? Where did you get that from. The reliability has not suffered one bit. My Tacoma was fine. My Tundra is fine. Look at any comparison to other vehicles. Toyota is still tops in reliability and durability.

 

I've read your posts. You might be overstating the fact that you know too much.

 

Some interesting reading...


Following the Second World War, Japan’s economy was in shambles from almost a decade of conflict. Automakers in the U.S. and Europe were still following the Henry Ford production line model, utilizing mechanical presses for each individual component, and assembling them as the car moved down the line. This method allowed for maximum volume at the expense of possible flaws in the occasional vehicle. This was due to the fact that each factory worker was only invested in their individual duty in the grand scheme of production. Japanese manufacturers were unable to emulate this model for a variety of reasons, most notably the cost and space such an operation would require. It was apparent that Toyota would not be able to match the quantity of their European and American competition, so they focused on building higher quality vehicles instead. In contrast to the individualized mechanical presses of western automakers, Toyota opted to use a single press to create each part needed for a single vehicle, which drastically cut the amount of factory space. Although this process was slower, it allowed for engineers to better inspect each vehicle, reducing the amount of flaws that could’ve potentially went unnoticed on a conveyor belt.

Eventually, this modest yet efficient way of automotive manufacturing became known as the Toyota Production System (TPS), a philosophy still held by Toyota today, albeit on a far larger scale. The TPS boils down to two key tenants, the first of which being “Jidoku” or “automation with a human touch.” This idea means that a machine should never be trusted over the human eye when determining quality. If a Toyota engineer witnesses a defect, the entire manufacturing process of that vehicle is stopped until the problem is resolved. The second tenant is “Just in Time” or making only “what is needed, when it is needed, and in the amount needed!” This commitment to resource conservation and the elimination of waste was vital towards making a profit in the post-war period, and still remains a Toyota practice to this day.

Aside from the way its vehicles are produced, Toyota attributes its reliability to a variety of other shrewd business moves and the very nature of Japanese business structure in itself. Unlike in Western businesses, where employees will move from one job to another, the Japanese are known for their rigid loyalty to their company. Often referred to as “lifetime employment” Japanese employees will often work at the same company for the entirety of their careers. Although there is no way to actually calculate how this improves vehicle reliability via metrics, it is assuring to know most of the engineers assembling your vehicle have been doing it for quite a while. The same thing could be said in aspects of design and company leadership-Toyota hasn’t really experienced a dramatic shift in brand identity and design language as some western and even Japanese peers have underwent. Toyota takes a much more conservative approach when updating its models. Instead of living on the cutting edge, and releasing innovative and/or risky technology and designs, they prefer to watch industry trends and figure out how to perfect them. These technology and design updates are implemented slowly on proven platforms, rather than total redesigns. This slow and steady approach may not result in excitement, but it certainly helps facilitate a consistent, reliable product. Camry, Corolla, Land Cruiser, 4Runner: These are just some of Toyota’s enduring nameplates consistently produced for decades. Although the latest iterations may feature more technological features than their predecessors, their basic construction and quality has remained relatively consistent in order to preserve the standards they have set. After all, if it isn’t broken, why fix it?

 

I like Rivieras. Maybe get some leaded fuel to make it smell original!

 

And that's why the Tacoma got an electric driver's seat in 2020.