Toyota Needs to Step Up!

And apparently this works really well for them too.

Too well!

Have you seen the going prices on ANY used Taco, regardless of year, trim, mileage, or condition?

The flip side to the lack of innovation, is that it actually opens the door and encourages aftermarket companies to establish themselves. Nothing wrong with that, at all.

 

Yah tell me about it. Someone wanted something like $23K for a low miles Gen 1 Tacoma. I'm guessing it's pay for their crack habit.

It's a solid platform and not everyone wants to wheel the crap out of it. My Taco is a Gen 1 and is a weekend toy and for Home Depot trips.

My daily is a 2020 4runner Limited 4wd. It's a luxury mall crawler great for road trips. It will go down the fire trails just fine. The only thing it really needs as a daily driver is enough power to get out of it's way. I installed the SprintBooster and it helped enough to make it less annoying.

 

I didn't read the entire thread since there were so many long responses.

I tend to agree with the OP. I've owned Toyotas for over 15 years. I love the Tacoma but when you start to look at the competition, Toyota is falling behind. The Tacoma is a strong reliable truck there is no doubt about that. But the resale value and reliability are really the only things that the Tacoma has going for it right now. Sure, it's easy to upgrade with aftermarket items. Hell... I put well over $10,000 in this truck.



And although it was a great truck and did everything that I asked it to do off road, it simply isn't as well equipped as most of the competition from the factory.

I love Toyota. I would love a new 4Runner but they are so long in the tooth that they are going to have to make a dramatic change. There is no way that I'd pay over $50k for one.

The simple fact remains for me. When the Bronco is released? That is what I'm buying. Plain and simple. I hate to leave Toyota behind but that is what you'll see me in. Ford did it right. Why would I ever buy a 4Runner over the new Bronco? I agree... Toyota needs to step it up.

 

Dude. It's okay. You want them, I don't. It's okay to have opposing views. I lived with manual hubs on both Chevys and Fords in the 70's. Where I lived it could be 50 degrees and sunny and by evening we could have six inches of snow and temp in teens, all while I was working. God forbid it got down to zero and the grease became solid.
Anyway, going forward, the only way you get manual hubs is buy an old truck cause they will not be offered on a new one. Good luck man. The past is the past.

 

More engine power equals more people bitching about gas mileage.

 

You had other issues with your hubs than just "freezing temps".

One, there is hardly any grease involved with manual hubs. Just enough to make them slide, and that might be too much. They are not packed like bearings. If they are packed with grease, they don't work right.

Two, if it is 50 degrees outside during the day and drops into the teens or even zero with 6 inches of snow on the ground, that would have no effect on properly lightly greased and maintained hubs.

Three, you would have be in the deep negatives for the metal alone to be affected. And at that point the rest of the metal on metal throughout the truck would be a bigger issue.

And, yes I have owned and maintained Ford's and Toyotas from the 70's and 80's and NEVER have had any issues with turning a manual hubs in or out.

The only issues I've ever run up against with all the hubs I've had to turn, were over packed hubs on my highschool girlfriend's dad's 86 Chebby truck and my current carpool buddy's Geo Tracker that apparently hit a rock square on the edge of the hub and made it oblong in the hole.

So, what was your issue with manual hubs again, operator error one way or another?

 

Get a Land Cruiser.

 

You're right... my auto has 3.90.

 

Just give me a 3rd gen Tacoma with a diesel engine, and call it done. Also would consider a 3rd gen 4runner with a diesel engine. But in the 3rd gen Taco, i dont want the shitting Auto trans they need to improve on that.

 

Of all the things the OP stated.... I would love to have a reliable small diesel in my taco.

 

Your OR has 4:30

 

I think we all would. I have researched the Colorado and man it is a lot of money for a mid-size truck but it definitely does what it's designed to do with no apologies.

I've not heard reports of a TON of issues with it. Owners big complaints are obviously some DEF issues in cold weather climates and other than that... No power window in the back glass. Those trucks tow well. They get great fuel mileage. They are torque monsters. Toyota could make one as good or better.

If my exact Tacoma, which is by far the best looking, most reliable, coolest vehicle I have ever owned, came with a diesel option... I can promise you I wouldn't blink an eye to pay 50-60K for it. Toyota could also further separate themselves in the "Eco-Diesel" community by continuing to offer their 6 speed MT with the diesel. To my knowledge, the only Eco Diesel's offered in production vehicles today are the 3.0 Cummins in RAM 1500s, virtually the same engine in the 4 door Jeeps, and the 2.8 Duramax in the Colorado. All of these are mated to an 8 or 10 speed AT, which is the only option available.

Tacoma could no doubt outsell all those platforms far and away by offering their C-4D diesel motor in the Tacoma mated to a 6 speed manual. Yes, I know the emissions are a b***** to work around but if Jeep and Chevrolet can do it I have no doubt Toyota could do it AND they could still embed their core values as an auto maker in this project:

- Dependability
- Simplicity
- Manual Trans
- Reasonably Priced
- Re-sale Value (even more so with a diesel)
- Improve on torque, mileage, and towing capacity

 

June 19th, 2015

 

Bring us the Hilux diesel

 

My 2000 Nissan had an external auto hub design. That made it super easy to switch to manual lockers the day after the driver's left hub decided it wanted a new career as a coffee grinder.

That memory kind of brings me full circle on the issue: Just because the new cars are enticing you with all of that off road candy, doesn't always mean that the equipment can actually stand up to off-roading. Much more likely they are selling a cool looking dashboard button that the pink-polo'd Chads can point out to their buddies while explaining why their car costs so much. Try to actually use that factory feature and you find yourself quickly replacing it with aftermarket, right after you pay off that recovery tow. You're paying for it twice if you want it equipped from factory.

Case in point -> Jeep's auto sway disconnect...

 

Not really. I had a 15 3.5 ecoboost F150 and it get within 1 MPG city and better MPGs on the highway than my current Taco. And the power isn't even remotely comparable. Turbos give you the best of both worlds.

 

And the best of shit to break and maintain and get whiny when the weather changes

 

Yes! But they also don't do the DEF system at all so this isn't an option at all for people who have emissions testing requirements.

 

The Silverdome had a pretty full parking lot until her last days thanks to VW.

 

https://www.whichcar.com.au/news/2021-ford-ranger-is-this-it

Keep in mind this is the AU version so I imagine ours would be similar. It's much better than the current one, but I still think it is ugly.