TACO leads small pickup sales AGAIN in August 2017

With all that non-sense VW faced with a diesel ? VW killed all diesels from it's line for the US.

Diesel is done. Once the Eurozone phases them out as it plans, you can forget about Diesel engines.

Regulators favor domestic brands. Toyota would.be foolhearty to bring diesel to the US. It's a liability.

 

The EPA seriously screwed the diesel. Until they perfect SCR without the use of EGR the emissions will remain over complicated and impractical for anything resembling stop and go traffic.

The market for diesel in full sized trucks remains strong. The new JL will also have one along with the new ranger and potentially the navara. It's selling well in the gm mid sized twins. It's not going anywhere in my lifetime.

 

Ford is realizing that, why they are tossing a diesel in their F-150. There is just so much you can do with a gas engine. Would like to try diesel again, but not completely sold on modern diesels. Wouldn't mind a hybrid Tacoma either, if they can get the mpg over 30 mpg. After seeing Priuses go well over 200K without much fuss, would trust that tech long term over diesel.

With the Tacoma feel like you have to make some compromises all the while costing about the same if not more than a 1/2 Ton. You don't get much truck for the money. Have been looking a F150 with the 3.5 naturally aspirated V6 and the 5.0 V8, the V6 has about the same capacities as the Taco, the V8 gets 400 ft lbs of torque and a touch over 2000 lbs payload, 9000 lbs towing. Both can be found cheaper than the cheapest V6 Tacoma.

Seems like I am trying to force myself to like/make the Tacoma work for me, just because it is a Toyota, that and I have such good luck with them over the years, however just can't swallow the price they command anymore, which has me looking else-where. $35K for a truck that can't haul or tow much, has so-so fuel consumption seems out of line to me. Do people buy them now mostly for the image they portray? I know when I bought my first one back in the 80's I was made fun of, now they are the "in" thing. They have become the truck version of a Barbie for hipsters...at least with all the bedazzling I see on here.

 

People buy them for a variety of reasons. We have a full sized diesel to tow with, but that full sized diesel is a PITA to park and worthless when shuttling around town....like I've stated before, modern oil burners hate stop and go traffic and idling- unless you delete them.

We bought our Tacoma as a "lifestyle" car. We previously had a JKU wrangler as one. We haul our mountain bikes, my wife's triathlon gear, ur kayaks, etc with it. I also use it as a hunting vehicle for terrier back country and ranch work. The JKU filled that task rather poorly. We needed the bed AND the off-road capability.

I can't speak for other people, but some probably buy them for the image while others want the versatility of the bed and others legitimately offroad or haul sporting gear with them.

My old man just sold his 2015 Ford Lariat crew cab short bed with the 3.5L eco boost (he loves fords, I won't touch them anymore). Before he sold it, we caravanned up to Hayden Lake Idaho this fourth of July. I pulled our 30' TT, a bed full of gear, my wife and two kids. My dad pulled his ski boat and my mom. The Cummins did it all without a hiccup and did so while pulling down about 19.7 mpg. My old man got about 14 mpg and claimed the 3.5 wasn't happy doing it.

Most people do not need the capabilities of a full sized truck. Hell, most people don't need the capabilities of compact truck. Regardless, I chuckle less at the mall crawler tacoma than I do the mall crawler HD2500/3500 truck.

Peace.

 

Even though I have to commute, don't have to deal with stop and go traffic. Live a small farm town, with darn near everyone has a fullsize, parking isn't a problem. That said, have been looking at the Colorado diesel, but not completely sold on modern diesels...yeah you can get 30 mpg, but how is that thing going to be long term? Like 200K plus? Can't get it in the configuration I want either, extra cab 6' bed. Need at least a 6' bed, to get the diesel, so that means the CCLB...at that point might as well buy a fullsize.

Years ago when we owned a construction company, I bought the '85 Toyota 4Runner because compared to our work trucks, it was smaller, got decent mileage, and kinda zippy [if you can call a 22RE zippy...] After operating heavy equipment all day, it was nice to jump into that little thing for running around. Now midsizes are darn near the same size as my '76 F250 I had before the '85 Runner.

I get the lifestyle trucks, as we ride dirt bikes, camp, fish, mountain bike, winter sports etc...but for the price, think a 1/2 Ton could haul and swallow gear better, all the while getting the same or better gas mileage. Certianly don't need 400 ft/lbs of torque but I am finding F150 5.0's around the $28K mark, if I am going to get real similar mileage as a Tacoma, and for cheaper, real hard not to jump the Toyota ship.

That and we have been looking at small toy haulers, thinking the F150 will yank it around better than a Taco.

I like the Tacoma, just not sure if it is worth the price it commands anymore, the better half says just stick with Toyota, me I am not so sure.

 

Between the JKU and the Taco we bought a 2016 Colorado Duramax. We did not keep it long. Can it get 30 mpg? If all you do is drive it on the highway - a flat highway.

Long term durability on diesels is compromised by the EGR. The SCR and EGR add a considerable maintenance and replacement cost, but the EGR really hits the longterm reliability and economy off these engines - especially if you are idling or doing stop and go commute traffic. The regen process of cleaning the DPF is likewise hard on the motor.

That's why so many people delete...not because it's cool, but because it adds to the longevity, economy and simplicity of the motor. That's why the pre-2007.5 5.9 cummins, the Duramax LBZ, and the old Ford 7.3s are so damn expensive to buy right now.. They were truly the last of the pre-smog diesels. They got good economy, were easy to work on and ran forever. The modified VM Motori they are passing off as a Duramax has a decent track record when not saddled with all the smog equipment...but you're not getting that iteration. In our brief time with the small dmax, we had our share of problems - most centered around the after treatment system.

The problem with the F150s are the trannys....I've not seen many go past 100K miles.

 

Before the economic downturn in 2008 Honda apparently had a real Tacoma rival in the works to replace the disappointing Ridgeline, but it got scrapped because if the downturn. The current Ridgeline has cost Honda next to nothing from a development standpoint because it's so similar to the Pilot and Odyssey. Being a life long Honda/Toyota owner, I'm dissappointed to not see that 2008 Ridgeline get built.

 

NumbNutts McGee

 

That is my big fear of straying from Toyota, not getting the longevity I am used to. Seems like chasing that 30 mpg number will come at a cost, you might save a little on fuel, but it won't save you any money, may even cost you more long term. The same thing with the F150, you get more truck for less, but will it go 200-300K without much fuss. I would trust a Tundra to go the distance, but not the F150. Not sure I could deal with Tundra's horrible mileage, all of my buddies who have them, can't get much better than 15 hwy out of them. While a few have the F150 2.7 Ecoboost, they are getting 22-23 (unloaded)...not sure I want to deal with turbos long term. Always some sort of compromise, eh?

 

I vaguely remember that.

Was kinda rooting for Toyota to bring the A-Bat to market, I know many hated it, but it had a lot of cool features.

http://www.toyota-global.com/showroom/toyota_design/concept_cars/gallery_a_bat.html

 

A lot of good info in here...I actually took a long time to decide between the Tacoma and Ridgeline. For me, the desire for a truck comes from hauling kayaks and lumber, and the usual homeowner needs of bark mulch, etc. I had a RAV4 before my 17 TRD sport paired with a utility trailer but found the trailer to be a pain in the ass and impractical for areas with limited parking.

I realize a lot of people on here off-road but I don't. As a daily driver, the Ridgeline is better. I think it's the "truck" that a lot of people really want but don't want to admit they want it. If the Ridgeline was sold in an access cab variant with a 6ft bed like the Tacoma it would be sitting in my driveway right now. All that said I do love the Tacoma but the gas milage is a joke compared to the f150.

One thing I found strange was the cr article linked in here. They claim Toyota reliability is the worst, but when you check jdpower, the Tacoma, Colorado etc are all sitting at 3 stars. Same thing happened to me with my 2013 RAV4. 3 stars when I bought it, 4.5 when I sold it. Any new redesign will have issues, recalls etc, but after that initial hump you really see what the vehicle is like.

 

I also think a lot of owners here would be happier with the Ridgeline over the Tacoma but are reluctant to admit it. Personally I have nothing against the Honda but it doesn't suit some of the areas I like to go.

You read all kinds of threads on people who bought a Tacoma based on popularity and resale yet find they don't like how it drives, too noisy, too stiff, manual seats are uncomfortable, dead pedal acceration or wonky automatic transmission. Have you tried shopping other trucks, many might correct these complaints if you just went out and tried another brand.

I don't understand that, they don't like how it drives, or its lacking features of competitors but they bought it anyway and wonder why they now hate it.

Toyota trucks aren't perfect by a long shot but I've been driving them so long I know what to expect. It still took me 3 months of test drives to be sure I wanted another one. Still happy with the truck and it's pretty much what I expected it to be, no buyers remorse here.

 

Tacos will continue to dominate. There's nothing better right now. It will be interesting next fall when the Ford Ranger returns. If the Ranger is done right, it can reclaim the midsize truck market that Taco stole from it.

Edit: Stole is the wrong term. Ford got lazy and did nothing with its top selling Ranger for over 12 yrs. Toyota redesigned and went from compact to midsize with the Taco and have dominated since.

 

I would think that the majority of owners already understand how a Tacoma feels as it is something like 78% of buyers have owned a Tacoma in the past which I read was the highest repeat.

 

The old Honda Ridgeline looked a bit like a shrunken Chevrolet Colorado. The new one is just outright fugly. It might be a fine vehicle, but it's the worst looking pickup in recent memory.

 

The local toyota dealerships has about 75% tacomas, can't keep them in stock, people order them like fast food/wranglers...

 

I think a lot of the folks that have issues with the truck did what 95% of people do that buy new vehicles. Test drive a few different models for about 30 minutes each. The transmission isn't completely awful when its cold. Not to mention you have a salesman telling you its a "learning transmission so it will get even better". Plus you are trying to get a feel for the entire thing--messing with the nav and radio. Checking out that roll/pitch thing as if its actually going to be useful, etc. You might miss some things that will bother you down the line.

However, I'd say most people didn't buy the truck with KNOWN problems. They had problems appear over the first thousand miles or so. The transmission starts clunking around (as it "learns") and up shifting to 6th at 25mph. The diff starts to whine. The seats, after sitting in it for a long road trip, become uncomfortable.

I think it's being a little disingenuous to say that "people bought a truck that they don't like and wonder why they hate it". They didn't. Their disgust grew as the problems appeared. As much as people around here say "just trade it, lifes too short"...most people can do math and dont want to throw good money after bad. Not to mention they WANT to like this truck. They bought it for a reason.

 

Think what you will but if you're spending 35-40k on something you hope you grow into liking is a bit foolish. You're paying for the truck, not the salesman so take your time making the purchase and listen to yourself, not what he's telling you.

You can also learn about the truck on your own time before going out to drive them, like new functions such as S mode and how to use it to jeep it out of 6th at 25mph.

You go in ignorant of the car or the buying process you're going to come away with some kind of remorse in the end.

 

Your story makes no sense when you then read this then.
If your story was true this would not be the case.
2017 Best Resale Value Awards: Mid-Size Pickup Truck
Best midsize pickup 2017 Tacoma

https://www.kbb.com/new-cars/best-r...e-mid-size-pickup-truck/?r=266482464805602020