Toyota VS American trucks

i love my tacoma. i'd choose it over any american truck any day

 

not to get in a big debate, but I worked for a non union Toyota company for 18 years. Now I work in a very small union company.

The Toyota company laid people off when the economy took a dump, so did the company I work for now. Here's the difference, the Toyota company picked up buisness and needed some people back. So instead of calling any of those people back, out of the blue, they placed an ad in the paper to hire through a local temp agency. Those laid off called in to inquire about their jobs and found out that they had been abolished. The 100 new temps are mostly of non local heritage, if you know what I mean.

I could go on and on about this company on all the dirty things they did to their people in this downturn.(I heard about it all from my several friends that still work there) They are/were one of the largest employers in the area.

 

how did you find the country of assembly from the VIN? that would be a fun tool to have!

 

The union bashing is uncalled for. It is as ignorant as the "buy American" attitude.

Rednecks, unions, and tacos FTW!

 

This is my first Japanese car I ever bought. I had a 2006 Ranger sport x-cab 4x4 and traded it in for the double cab Tacoma. I just had a baby and the Ranger wouldn't cut it. I'm very happy with it. I'm up to 13,000 miles without any problems, besides the vibe and clunk. My Ranger had 12,500 miles when traded in and already went through a tensioner and water pump and the power steering pump was on the way out. The Tacoma ride is so much better, and the 4.0 has way more power then the 4.0 ford motor. My wife bought a Civic new in 2005, it now has 85,000 miles and runs perfect. Nothing has gone wrong with that car, all I've done to it is regular oil changes, tires, and brakes. I plan on doing the timing belt soon. I've bought American cars all my life from Jeeps, to Mustangs. I'm impressed with the reliability of the Honda and Toyota we have, and plan on running them as long as I can.

 

My take on it is that American companies do a good job of building full size trucks. Those Ford F-250 and 350s can haul craploads of stuff and they're built like tanks. But in my opinion Ford and GM quit building real trucks a long time ago. My Dad has an 82' Chevy Silverado. You can throw cinderblocks in the bed and treat it rough. The steel in the bed and everywhere else is made of heavy gauge steel. Now I'm not so sure I'd do that. I looked at a new Silverado and was amazed that the gas door didn't even fit right and was actually recessed into the body by about 1/4". That and the bed was made out of cheap, thin metal.

The Big 3 have absolutely zero competitors in the small and midsized truck market. The Ranger is now going on 15 years on the same damned design. The things are actually almost "retro". They have nice beds but the rest of the truck is a throwback to the old ford where everything looked like it was molded out of molded lava and the interiors looked like Rubbermaid designed it. My Brother had one. The thing was shitty inside and out. The Colorado is a joke. In fact when I went to the GM event a few weeks back, they didn't have any there, obviously because the trucks are an embarresement.

 

well I have had every American full size and I do love them. with that being said I own a Prius and FJ40 and still trying to get a Tacoma. Times are tough and I can't seem to sell the Prius but when I do i am off to the Toyota dealer to get a Tacoma. I live in South Carolina in Redneck land and there are a lot of rednecks on my hunting club and other clubs where they drive and love Tacoma's. I am what my wife calls a Prep Neck so I guess I am in the clear for a Tacoma.

 

As someone else said, the problem is that you're conversing with someone who is close-minded and ignorant. You can't hope to speak to them logically and change their minds. Besides, why do you care about changing an ignorant person's mind? Be happy that you're driving a Tacoma and they're not.

FWIW, I used to drive a Ford Ranger FX4 and I was really happy with it. It was fun to drive and I didn't have any problems with it. I sold it because I needed a vehicle with four doors. As far as compact/midsize trucks, my options were Tacoma, Frontier, Dakota, or Colorado.

I researched objectively since none of them were Ford's and in the end, it wasn't really much of a decision. When it comes to reliability, capability, and resale value, the Tacoma won hands down. I've had my truck for two months now and I love it. In the end, thats all that really matters.

 

When I purchase something I rarely get into American vs. Foreign issue. "You get what you pay for," is saying that I go by.

On another note, I have always wanted a Toyota Truck every since Back to the Future, seeing the Toyota Truck in the garage sealed the deal.

Toyota FTW!

 

I would add Dakota in there. It's usually rated pretty highly in comparison.

 

TMMI? Unfortunately, I'd be willing to bet those temps hired in will be Kaziened out eventually too. That's what they have to do when the market for larger vehicles drop drastically. The same thing is happening at my company now.

 

You're 34 and have had 7 trucks? You don't see the irony there?

Honestly, I love it when I hear the buy American crap. I just clam up and let others pipe in about Toyota quality, then I add, "ya, what he said."

 

I just like trucks and I think the tacoma is the best mid sized truck on the market but I love f150s and silverados. I don't care what anyone drives it's all personal preference. Does anyone know where you can look up vin #s to see where they are made? It would just be cool to know.

 

yeah it's crazy I know, I used to drive nothing but Datsun Z cars and I still love them but then once I got my first yota 4x4 which was a 1983 4x4 22R with roll bar and KC's, manual hubs, manual trans etc and started wheeling I was totally hooked. They're great trucks . I dont wheel my nice pretty ones that I've owned but I still love to modify them and lift them and shit. If I had a shit ton of money and didnt owe an assload of money in payments I'd go out and wheel my taco hardcore...I saw a guy the other day with a brand new taco 4x4 access cab v6 and he had already removed the bed and built a rock crawler cage around the truck and turned it into a full-on crawler and shit.. how the hell does someone afford to buy a nice new taco and then put all that money in it? I'm gonna kill my guidance counselor -i should've been a man whore....

 

Unfortunately, your comments fall on deaf ears. I have been a union member in the past. Yes, Toyota has union employees. Do they control Toyota as the UAW controls the domestics? I think not.

I don't believe in socialist/marxist groups and unions are dinosaurs that have no place in today's society.

 

Spoken like a true marxist. Someone says "I hate unions" and that's too much for you to handle. Too bad, deal with it.

 

I dont like being in a union but i would like having my pay cut in half and no medical less. A union imo is a symptom of poor management, so until management stops taking 10% raises and gives us 2% cost of living (they get the 2% too), i guess i have a union at least.

 

Yep and when you are flipping burgers to supplement your Social Security check (if it still is solvent), I will be laughing all the way to the bank with my nice fat Union Pension check

 

The largest part of this problem is most of these people are still living in 1975 when economies actually existed within countries.

Welcome to the new millenium, home of the global economy, where companies actually have more power than nation states. We have managed, through communications technology, to build a new form of feudalism.

I digress a bit. But the point is: If you buy from a multi-national company, just give up on the idea of supporting a given country through your purchase. It's just silly.

As for brand loyalty, that shit has to be earned with me. I don't drive Toyotas because "Mah Diddy did and his Diddy did!". They did, but that's not why I drive them. I drive them because consumer/market research consistently shows them in the top 3 when it comes to quality and reliability.

I don't care how loyal you feel to Chevy. If your truck is fucking broken, and mine isn't, loyalty isn't hauling that load of mulch/lumber/your drunk buddies. And neither am I. Buy a decent product next time.

 

i like most american trucks, but as of now i'm just plain surprised with my tacoma, i just pulled out an f350 powerstroke and when we got back to the top of the hill all my buddies were like holy shit man that thing can fucking work