A Look Inside Toyota's San Antonio Truck Plant

Just thought this was an interesting read, and a lot of photos. Looks like they build Tundra and Tacoma at the same time with no particular pattern.

http://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/2016/08/a-look-inside-toyota-s-san-antonio-truck-plant.html

 

So there is a chance they might accidentally drop in a Tundra V8 into a Tacoma and not notice it?

Good read OP - thanks.

 

Very cool - thanks for sharing.

I did fail to see any pictures of them filling the transmission... hence we have our root cause of the shift issues

 

Well, it shattered a notion I had about Toyota manufacturing. Based on the fact you can't place a custom order for a truck, I figured they rolled certain configurations and colors down the line at the same time. For instance, I fully expected to see a line of Inferno Tacoma OR's one right behind another. Not Tacoma's and Tundra's in different colors behind each other.

So if they can manufacture that way, why the fuck can't I order exactly what I want? The whole regional dealer allocation model is antiquated and sucks.

 

Thank you OP!

 

Any sightings?

 

What's wrong with this picture?

5-Lug (No more 5lugs?)
Michelin's on an SR wheel (Michelin's only come in the Limited... in the US at least)
is that a disk brake in the rear?

 

Those pics have been covered up man but I've seen them . The jug they use is about 1 quart shy of capacity.

 

That would be a Tundra.....

 

I can't access the article from work, but for some reason your photo shows up. My question is whether you are looking at a Tacoma or a Tundra wheel being assembled...would answer a lot of your questions.

EDIT: And Colin beat me to it...

 

Tire is a 255/70/18

 

I would think they process build orders based on what variations are currently needed to fill their dealer allocations, just like automatic inventory replenishment works in the retail world. If they were to produce one variant at a time in large quantities it wouldn't jive with their Just In Time manufacturing philosophy.

I wonder why they don't allow you to custom-order a truck from the factory? Maybe it's just a holdover from when they manufactured them in Japan and had to import them.

 

oh. I didn't know that SR Tundra's came with Michelin's....

Maybe the load rating is higher???

 

http://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/2016/08/a-look-inside-toyota-s-san-antonio-truck-plant.html[/QUOTE] Taking a tour of the plant is on my to do list next time we are passing thru that area..Thanks for posting it.

 

very nice

 

It probably has more to do with the contracts they have with the distributors. They seem hell bent on protecting the dealer channels. I'm going to contact a salesman I trust at the end of this month and have a chat with him about the trucks I would consider.

 

Agree! Last year I did a tour of the Corvette plant in Bowling Green, KY. Saw all kinds of custom builds on the assembly line. Even stopped and read one, it was enroute to the overseas market.

 

You can go to the plant and build your Corvette engine then watch the rest of the Vette get built. I would like to do that for me next Taco.

 

From what I have read, the transmissions are filled at the transmission manufacturing plant and not during assembly. But obviously that could be wrong.

 

Very Cool Article