2021 Model Year Changes

Yeah, but like you said they fixed the ratios for the 06-08 FXT because they realized it was too close to an STI in terms of acceleration. 04 STI's have terrible high speed ratios but they can DIG in 2nd and 3rd, rally car style. Hence why i still have an 04 in my garage.

Back to tacoma's though, anyone know if/when they'll kill the MT?

 

It will be, and this is the usual cycle for TRD PRO colors, in another thread someone mentioned their dealer giving them options for colors and its listed as Dark Green instead of Army but same paint code.

 

My guess would be "if" they killed the MT it would be when the 4th Gen comes out, but there is an article floating around about a new lightweight MT that will fit the next Gen chassis so who knows...

 

I think it would be foolish. They'll lose all of their enthusiast buyers (myself included). I realize some day they'll be extinct but it seems they sell a decent amount of them still.

 

Maybe since the new Bronco has a 7 Speed MT it will spur on other makes to keep it around awhile longer.

 

Nice. I love the EJ sound. It is kind of unfortunate how the FA sounds when uncorked a bit. At least we can hear the turbo spooling when stock.


There was an article talking about the upcoming Toyota powertrains that mentioned a lighter, more efficient MT. But it was not tied to any specific vehicle or market. At least they are talking about one though.

It is a bit worrisome with the 4th Gen hybrid happening. Not to many hybrids ever came with MTs.

Of course, a strong / enthusiastic 5% of sales should not be overlooked. I would bet that they could sell a lot more if offered appropriately (ACLB ORs in the US and DCLBs).

 

Hopefully they see the light and hook that GB up to the 3.5l.

 

I had one, too. Also had a Brat back in the early 80's.

 

If they had a DCLB MT I would have immediately chosen that over the DCSB MT I have now. No question.

 

I have heard the same from a lot of folks who reluctantly went with the DCLB.

Maybe running Tacos out of three factories might help with the model offerings down the road?

 

That would be so cool, that Crawler Gear sounds awesome!

 

Oh yeah. There are a lot of lusty things about the Bronco. They will certainly have a hit on their hands. Not to mention the rumors of a pickup version.

Just some of the option packaging is weird.

If I wasn't so over the moon with the Taco . . .

 

7? I’m so old I drove 3 and 4 speed manuals and when 5 speeds came out we all said “ Why in the hell do you need 5 speeds?!”

 

My dad's mercedes AMG E63 wagon has 10 speeds... seems so damn excessive.

 

Gimme nine. I just enjoy rowing.

The funny part is that a friend has a 3spd. It tosses me for a loop to drive it, esp with the weirdly tight pattern and general sloppiness of it.

 

Curious what you think the percentage of Tacoma buyers would be "enthusiast buyers" that need the manual transmission. Would they be replaced by AT "enthusiast buyers"?

I dont see that as a big hit on sales honestly.

If all the MT options are gone from midsized trucks then are you out of the market altogether?

 

My first truck was a four speed manual, took me forever to remember 5th when I got the 5 speed.

The AT is my first 6 speed truck

 

Well, there was a recent poll thread here about the TW AT / MT split, and it was . . . split pretty evenly. Yeah, MT guys can be a bit loud. Sorry!

For me? Yes. It was MT or nothing. After coming off of a 4yr two motorcycle / one car family experiment, it was going to be an MT if I was giving up the perfect garage.

I was shopping between Tacos, TJs and JKs, older WRX hatches, and Legacy 2.5GT wagons. All were hard to find unmolested or not overpriced. The Taco was the right choice and was the only pickup that I considered.

 

Yeah but this an enthusiast website so the poll might not be accurate. What about your average tacoma buyer?

If I remembered correctly most dealerships prefer and order AT because they can move those trucks off the lot alot quicker than an MT.

 

We have been told that split is 5%. And, Toyota sells all that they can produce, AT or MT. So, there is room in both directions.

I have not heard that problem? It would be great to know more info about that. I wonder if the MT model mix might and batch timing might be most of that issue?

I'm not a TFL fan, but this would hardly be a bad position to be in overall:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/fastest-selling-trucks.679857/