Hello From Michigan

I'm a long time Toyota owner, but first time Tacoma buyer. Going in tomorrow to put a deposit down on a DCSB V6 MT6 Inferno. I'm trading in a 98 Rav4 that has been in the family since new. and only has 112k miles. The RAV4 was the wife's first, and only car, now it's my POS daily beater that is rusted and essentially unrepairable, but that's another story ... damn these Northern winters.

Let's see, some stuff about me ... I'm from TN, but I've lived in many places now. I used to be in the Army, was with 1/506 101st. I was a medic and deployed to Ramadi, Iraq and Wardak(and Khost) Afghanistan. Now I'm a crash safety engineer at Ford.

I've owned a bunch of cars. RX-7's, Mustangs, F150 Lightning, an older beater civic, and most recently an 09 Camry V6 SE. I'll probably be buying one of my Mustangs back, but I haven't broken the news to the wife yet .. hehe ...

I'm excited to join the Tacoma club though. I've wanted one for a while now. It was a toss up between the 4Runner and a Tacoma, and the Tacoma won out mainly because of cost. I just couldn't bring myself to pay nearly $10k more for the 4Runner, even though they are nice (KDSS and leather are pros for sure) and have more interior room. The Tacoma just seems it would meet all my needs and I'll have an extra $10k left to go and buy one of my old Mustangs back

So that's a short intro for me. I'll probably just go back to lurking now

 

Welcome to the club!

 

You know how you see the sexy prototype at the autoshow, and then the released vehicle has an ugly bumper? That's my fault Honestly, these days studios try and release prototypes for autoshows that meet safety requirements, so you don't see too much variation between those vehicles and what ends up being released for sale a couple of years later.

Seriously though, we design all of the safety stuff that goes under the fascia, and we work with the body/studio guys to design fascias, headlights, etc. that survive accidents better. Sometimes this means they fall apart more easily, so that they don't damage other body panels, or the underlying structure. Other times it means adding a little extra length here and there so the bumper system underneath (crush cans) can absorb damage better. There's a lot of different things we do to try and solve the problem of how to minimize damage to the vehicle and injury to passengers (or pedestrians).

We do a lot of simulations based off of the CAD for the vehicles before we prototype vehicles, and then we take the prototypes to the crash barrier and smash it up. It's fun to destroy beautiful things >.<

There really is a lot of different aspects to the job because there are so many different types of crashes we design for. Everything from high speed frontal/side/rear, to low speed parking lot stuff, roll-overs, or even pedestrian protection. Mostly a single engineer will focus only on one type of crash, and another engineer will do another ... so I work a lot on low speed damage stuff, but I get to help out with a lot of other stuff too. It's really satisfying because there is always new stuff to learn (regulations are always changing, and we sell in markets all over the world with different requirements for each!), and it's a good mixture of sitting at a computer playing with models and going out and actually doing hands on testing.

 

So Ford pays your salary and you are buying a toyota???? Actually I don't care.Welcome

 

I do what I want. I'm a grown ass man

 

As long as you aren't a Wolverine fan..

 

Nah, I'm a Hokie, Golden Knight, or Commodore depending on which way the wind is blowing. I'm ambivalent towards every other team.

 

welcome, and thank you for your service! you know you might want to park the taco in the back of the lot at work. lol. oh ya, get the truck rustproofed, i'm from michigan, trust me.

 

Lol, more of a concern at the plants. At the product development center there is a greater variety of manufacturers represented in the parking lot. The majority is still Ford, but plenty of imports and other domestics are represented. I am not sure if it is the mentality of the plant workers vs. engineers or what, but it honestly doesn't seem like a thing people really worry about except at the plant. Maybe because the majority of the engineers are immigrants they aren't all 'Murica, but some go with Ford just because they give good deals on them (corporate lease is a great bargain ... but I don't qualify yet). I'm not really sure honestly, but there is definitely a difference between the vehicles in a plant's parking lot and the product development center's.

I'd buy a Ranger (or Everest) if they sold it here, but nothing sold by Ford in North America really competes (or replaces) a Tacoma/4Runner. I want something that is small and good for off-roading. I really don't like driving full-size pickups, and I have no need for 10,000+ lbs of towing, so a Tacoma is really the best thing for my needs (but a 4Runner would be okay too ...).

It's not my fault Ford stopped selling mid-size trucks and body on frame SUV's in North America ...

 

thats cool, i was joking, but get it rustproofed if you plan on keeping it for very long, the auto mfgs love the salt, lol.

 

Yea I've been doing a lot of reading on things to do to protect from the salt (mudflaps, undercoating, regular chassis/wheel-well washing). My brother has lived up in the North for a few years now and he's given me a few tips, but after moving here I see why they call it "the rust belt," there are so many rusted out cars/trucks around it's kind of crazy.

The RAV4 we have is rusted from basically sitting for about 10 years up in the North (my wife left it at home when she went to college) and not being driven but a few times a year. Not using a vehicle is a sure fire way to end up having a lot of problems!

I plan to keep the Tacoma until it falls apart, just like we have with the RAV4.

I'll updated once I find out more info on shipping etc.

 

have fun with the truck, and welcome to mich. lots of good off road camping stuff to do . if you drive from detroit to copper harbor, its like a 12 hour drive. alot of good stuff inbetween.

 

Went to dealership and it may end up being a factory order I have to do for an Inferno DCSB V6 MT6. I asked them to also find out about black, gray, and blue. Hoping to have an answer by Monday at the latest. Waiting to hear back about options. If they can get a black or gray and it only be 4-6 weeks, vs. waiting twice as long for an Inferno I am not sure what I'll do. I really love the Inferno color, but I know I'd be happy with others. I just don't like the Barcelona Red, and white is for work trucks lol ...

 

welcome, hope you get the one you want, post some pics when you do.

 

Thanks, I'm stoked to get the ball rolling on this.

 

i have black, shows the most dirt. my 02 was silver, shows the least dirt.

 

I've owned four black vehicles. I'm a glutton for punishment I guess ...

I really do like the silver on these trucks (darker than most, has a depth to it, and accentuates the lines of the vehicle), but silver to me always reminds me of something my grandparents would drive lol. I've never owned a silver vehicle because of that, but to each their own ... if we all liked and owned the same things the world would be boring.

 

Maaaaaybe ... I don't usually go too crazy with my daily drivers. The last truck I owned was an 03 Lightning. I kept it stock except for aftermarket speakers, subwoofer, valve body, and tri-fold bed cover.



Instead I like to blow my money on my "project" cars ... like the 93 Cobra I owned before grad school, and I'm considering buying back from my friend who bought it ...



I can only afford one money pit at a time

 

yea i do like the black, looks tough.