Sales January through July 2016 of midsize pickup trucks....

Not everybody wants a simple, relatively uncomfortable truck that has peak power/torque in a band that the auto hardly let's you get to (all for 35k). The tacoma has its purpose, but it isn't for everyone. I doubt there will be a huge surge of buyers dumping their GM brands and taking a huge loss by coming to toyota.

I predict things will steady out and tacoma sales will actually slow or decline once ford brings back the Ranger (all depending on what they do with it of course). If the Ranger flops, tacoma will always be the #1 by a long shot.

 

I am still looking to get back to the mid size truck. I enjoyed my 06 Tacoma.

The new Tacoma has issues. Maybe not every one of them, but enough here has had negative things to say about the transmission, vibrations, etc., to make me hold off on purchasing.

I have driven both the Frontier and the Tacoma. imo, for the money the old designed Nissan has more to offer for the dollar. I tend to keep vehicles long enough (8-10 years) that resale value is of little concern. Tacoma is a good truck. I just don't see paying what Toyota wants for them right now.

 

I want to think that the Ranger coming back to the market was part of the reason Toyota seemed to rush the 3rd gen out. It will be the world platform like the GM trucks and the Frontier, which means fully boxed frames and generally a more truck-like truck. If they offer the diesel it could be real competition.

 

The GM is definitely not a world platform. Different rear axles and a different frame. It may be boxed, buts its thinner and weighs quite a bit less than the world platform. Boxed isnt always whats its cracked up to be, literally. Do a little research and you'll see frontiers with boxed frames that snapped right behind the cab from pulling campers well with the factory rating.

 

Was not aware of that, I thought the Colorado used a modified GM K2XX (or is GM T700?) platform and that it was global. I'll admit to have to research since my experience is limited to Toyota trucks and the Tacoma is noticeably less rigid than my old '91, which was essentially a Hilux and was boxed all the way over and behind the axles to the rear shackle mount. When I put the rear springs on my Taco I supported the frame right in front of the fixed spring hanger and the back end drooped a lot which is something I never noticed before on my old truck doing the same thing.

 

2018 Frontier Cummins Diesel?
http://www.torquenews.com/1084/why-2018-nissan-frontier-will-be-major-player-when-it-arrives

 

Take dealer websites with a grain of salt. Just another sales tool used to get you in the door. Sales 101. Before I bought my TRD OR, websites were saying 35k for everything but JBL. Nice try. Mine was over 38.

 

Oh I understand that, but I've made a few calls and done a little research. Its no problem to get a pro 4x crew cab with leather for 31k.They negotiate down more than they do on tacomas.

 

They do. Had a 13 PRO4X Xterra lifted on 33's and loved it. Very capable off road. Engine was plenty powerful too. I personally like Nissans over any domestic product. Had several of them.

 

The alternator location doesn't affect water fording according to the Frontier owners on the Expedition Portal forum. They still cross rivers and creeks with no issues.

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/158245-Water-Crossings-with-a-2nd-Gen-Frontier

 

Unless they make a significantly better looking truck I doubt the sales will decrease. I'm not sure ford can do that.

 

That dealer must be terrible. Normally you'll find steep discounts on them.

 

Oh you may cross them alright, the alternator being so low is not like it's sudden death, those things are made to work under harsh environments, but there’s not impervious. And a main component being located that low it just shows lack of engineering though and insight.
When you’re traversing in deep water you want to keep a slow steady pace, however you may be forced to stop or back up, which is the last thing you want to do as you want to keep the water moving away.
But once you stop, contaminated water may settle those contaminants in it like sand or dirt that may grind away inside at those moving parts and shorten it’s life considerably.

But that’s not my peeve as far as the engine goes, you also have the issue of maintenance. And on that V-6 engine you have to remove the intake manifold every 50k to replace the spark plugs which is a very intrusive task and the last thing you want to do on a modern engine because of all those electronic components like sensors gaskets and injectors.
Thanks but no thanks, Friggin Fuego you can can have it, I’ll pass.

Hope that helps
Cheers!

 

When the Ford comes out, it is going to take a big bite out of those GM sales. I look at the growth in sales of GM and Nissan as a "protest vote" against the Toyota. With the low inventories in the fall and rumors of issues in the 1st model year, lots of folks stayed away from the Tacoma. Once the Ford comes out, those protest votes will be split another way. If Toyota can come up with fixes for the most common issues (which they seem to be working on), I don't think there is any chance they lose the top spot to GM...especially when the new Ranger comes out.

 

You're probably right, Toyota has incredible brand loyalty. But we'll see I guess. When the new Colorado came out I poked my head in to check them out. It wasn't interesting to me because of the lack of stick shift but 5 years ago there's zero chance I would have even given a GM truck a look. I'll probably check out the Ranger when it comes out but the reality is that I won't be in the market voluntarily for a few more years so by the time I'm really considering replacing my Taco the GM and Ford and Nissan trucks will have a lot more history. I'll admit a Ranger with a diesel would be tempting just based on the reviews it gets in Australia, where it has a pretty good reputation as serious competition for the Hilux.

 

This x100

 

I've had my 2016 Tacoma to the dealership for issues more than just about all the other vehicles I've owned...put together.....well pretty close anyways.

 

Frontiers I would say are decent trucks.

 

Ford is notorious for finding every reason in the world to deny warranty claims on the powerstroke, even unmodified ones. One nice thing about GM is they are much better about approving warranty work on the duramax.

 

With full size truck prices exploding, I'd expect to see an overall increase in mid-size truck sales, and across all brands. That's precisely what lured me to even consider a mid-size (I've had full size 1/2 or 3/4 ton trucks for over 20 years). Frankly my Tacoma is about the same size (cabin wise) as my old Jeep J-10 or Ford F-100. The bed is smaller, but I can make due.

I would expect that those buyers that would ordinarily lean towards domestic full sized trucks will also lean towards domestic mid-sized, so growth in GM or Ford would not surprise me at all, but not necessarily at the expense of Toyota or Nissan.