How can we know that 2nd gens are of lower quality

And he is probably right. Look at this forum and what year/problems there are.
05-08 now have a lot of miles on them, but still there are less posts revolving around problems (minus the maintenance related posts) on those years then on 09+ trucks.
And 05 was a test year (first model year)
Considering inflation and new futures you know they have to cheap out on something to be able to squeeze items like $2000 worth of traction system. So something had been made much cheaper to accommodate that. There is nothing free in this World. Personally i dont care about traction systems so I would rather have $2000 spent on parts quality of Engine, Transmission and better rust protection.

^^^^^^^
Case and point island808 having his engine replaced on 2010 truck

 

While I respect the thought you gave to the whole union/meritocracy analysis, you don't seem to mention that management dictates what the production has to work with.
Toyota has chosen to spec lowest cost/marginal quality materials and assemblies, and is coasting on the whole Toyota Quality myth.
The base audio in any Toyota manufactured after 2006 is a bad joke, easily the worst in the industry.
You mention frame integrity on an S10...don't go betting on the structural integrity of your Tacoma.
It's really an embarassment to the company what they spec'd for these trucklets.
People will keep on buying, based to a great degree on styling.
What do you think the average age of the Tacoma buyer is?
I'd bet around 25.
Not exactly the most analytical and intelligent market segment....more fuelled by Red Bull and testosterone than intelligence.
The assembly of these cars is not where the problems begin.

 

X2, X-union myself, they have out lived there usefulness.uaw could use a good napalm run.

 

Sure, so does http://usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/cars-trucks/Toyota_Tacoma/2010/Reliability/

Consumer Reports has soured a little on Toyota's "quality" as a whole, and who's not saying that nowadays, but my first point was that every single time someone has an issue, they always just complain about it and "There's Toyota quality for 'ya! Theyre no better than [insert brand]", when it's more likely an isolated incident in most cases. Just responding to the knee-jerk reaction everyone has due to Toyota's supposed leading "quality", and their problems with it since.

 

^ what he said

 

I tend to agree with that comment too , i might not like the comment , but it seem accurate. I still like my Tacoma, if it has slipped , it is still better than many.

 

I'm on my second Tacoma and no issues at all!

 

You will be hard pressed to find a silverado board and if you do there are none with miles that tacos get I suggest you trade yours for your american dream then you will just then realize how good you had it. I work with all guys everyone of them has a truck and when I got mine they all said wow thats a nice truck they run forever. That is coming from chevy dodge and ford guys. I have owned a few different vehicles and this truck is hands down my favorite already I have only had it a couple of weeks now and will never go back to the dark side again.

 

If you dont like your tacoma then sell it and get something else. Im sure that any truck you get you can find little things that not quite right. As stated previously toyota's track record for the real stuff (engines/drivetrain going on forever ect) speaks for itself. See how many miles you can put on a chevy or ford (in the same class as a tacoma) before it starts have major problems.

 

Well yea of course. But that's what drives those surveys. The amount of people complaining. Sure the guy that just had something break is just angry and blowing off steam. But you got to count them up.

I like to use "carsurvey.org". Generally the more comments the worse the car is at quality or design. But you get to actually read the input and judge the validity of the complaint to the best of your ability. The forum kind of works too, but you don't get to compare across different years and models.


Also, some get a lot of comments just because they're popular among idiots or just sell so well. Focus has millions, but its just because they sold so many, statistically its a good car or whatever. Mini gets tons, but a lot of them are complimentary because it's a niche vehicle. Its good information, but you have to be a good judge of the writers character and intent.

My truck's got problems, serious debilitating problems. but, eh, what you gunna do, I don't let it get me down. Well, not having it for 3 weeks is a suck, but at least here I have an awesome dealer and service writer and available loaner, even if it is a camry.

At the same time I won't pull a big fanboy attitude and defend it like it's my retarded sister.

 

I gotcha, and I completely agree. TW being a specialty forum, it's definitely expected that people will almost always be either one extreme or the other, but I just get frustrated when people pull the "quality" card since it's been such a hot topic, and as we've seen on here, sometimes it's not even an issue of quality, but either they had the wrong expectations, or it was something they did.

And the retarded sister fanboys who say Toyota hasn't lost any are simply lying to themselves. Toyoda himself said a year ago that they've lost their way and began focusing on the wrong things. There were photos released in late 2009 that had acres (ACRES) of brand new Corollas and Camrys that Toyota had to pay to store somewhere because demand wasn't there. The same system that got them into the United States and almost single-handedly wrestled top market share from Detroit, and they abandon it for something eerily similar to what Detroit trained themselves to do. They broke their own rule to only make what is wanted, not what their shareholders demand, and they ended up with egg on their face.

 

My 1st gen has front differential problems like many 2nd gen taco and current gen tundras..

My next truck will not be a toyota. In fact this probably my final toyota product.

 

i am on my 3rd taco. two gen1s and my 2011. i had the blower replaced and the spring tsb performed. i have had no other issues. this truck is great. i tow a utility trailer up really rough roads all the time (like to hunt) or a 22' travel trailer with no problems. i have two other cars. a 2007 miata and 2008 mustang gt. i love that mustang and enjoy driving it but i am here to tell you that compared to the toyota or the mazda the ford is a piece of crap. i would never consider an f150. is the gen2 as well made as the gen1s? no, but pretty damn close.