Where Tacoma Design Ideas Come From

Do you want to drive our Tacomas somewhere to hold hands? I feel like my Tacoma is my soulmate. I LOVE the backwood and the pine tree smell... A LOT! I bet you do too!

 

Slide, seat bottom tilt, height, recline, 4-way lumbar. Each function counts as 2+ ways

I drove a Lexus GS with 14 way seats. It had power adjustable side bolsters and power thigh extension. Lincoln has a 30 way seat in the navigator lol

 

Have any 1 of the almost 10k forum users ever been in a focus group for Toyota?

Anyone. Bueller. Anyone.

If thats the case what morons are they talking to? Doesnt seem like Tacoma owners.

 

I'd expect that in a Lexus. When I'm buying an SR Tacoma, I'm buying because I don't want a bunch if crap I find useless. Somebody might be able to get a little more comfortable with the powerseat. I don't need a power seat to get comfortable.

Toyota should go ahead and build NA trucks badged as Lexus, Capstone trim is already there. I think as a Luxury brand truck they would be more accepted, it wouldn't be any different than it already is. Toyota stick with building real low option trucks, and Lexus could sell the luxury trim. I don't think Toyota wants pick up customers at the Lexus showroom.

 

I haven't.

 

I did have a toyota usa C level executive in my truck while ubering one night. He was very interested in my opinion of the truck

 

Who said they wanted drum brakes on the rear for the last 27 years then suddenly changed their mind for '24?!

 

Pretty sure the SR will continue to have manual seats in the 4th gen just like it does currently in the 3rd gen. They haven’t abandoned their lower trim trucks at all.

 

Bean counters don't decide shit, they just provide the cost analysis that explains the cost difference between plastic versus metal. The executives that are "making decisions based on the shareholders best interests" direct the management team to cut costs by driving efficiencies, and plastic vs metal in production terms is more efficient

 

Toyota put the power seat in the SR SX for the 20 or 21 model year. Not a big deal, and if you like the power that's great. Something like the seat should be optional I can see if you are going for a Limited. 4th gens are getting power driver and passenger seats. The beauty of Toyota trucks was how simple they were.

 

I’ll admit it:
When approached by Toyota, I demanded shock absorbers in my front seats. And a significant price increase.

You’re all welcome.

 

When engineering, real engineers are fucking cold hearted bastards. Zero emotion, only logical thought. They kick their dog when they go home during a design cycle.

 

I also want to know why Toyota can't put spot mirrors on the truck from the factory? You can get 360° cameras but no spot mirrors. Cameras might be nice if you want them. I don't think looking at a screen to view your surroundings is as good as looking at where you are going.

 

1. There are 250K Tacomas sold each year. It would be like winning the lottery to be in a focus group.
2. In 2010, I was in a Honda focus group for the CRv. Go figure.

 

Hint on how engineer really works...
One guy designs something.
Four senior guys critique it.
It gets revised multiple times.
Then engineering managers review it.
It gets revised. And revised. And revised again.
It gets presented to marketing.
It gets revised multiple times.
It finally passed.
Then it gets tested to hell and back.
Flaws are found. It gets revised again.
It finally passed test.
Notice how many people and how many revisions? One guy does nothing ever by himself in engineering.

 

I used to be a creative director for a company that built autoshow exhibits for Toyota. Toyota was just down the street from us when they were in Torrance. In a 5 day week, I’d be at Toyota may 3 days…sometimes twice in a day meeting with a different client. One thing I know is that the OP is pretty much correct. The engineers at Toyota are better respected than engineers at other car brands. They actually have more pull…still, they are there to serve and do the best they can with the feedback they get from customers and dealers. If they can reduce the length of wiring in the electrical system even by 1”,that is a year upon year goal. The Toyota way is about continuous improvement.

I heard a lot of disappointment about the ‘cheapness’ of the speakers in the doors on the premium sound thread. People saying how they couldn’t believe how small the speaker magnets were and how they were surprised that the speakers sounded as good as they did. Well, that’s engineering making a speaker that weighs very little (for weight and mileage targets) and sounds slightly better than the year before.

Our Tacomas are a huge success story. So much so that it creates a situation where responsive change is tough to make happen. Why mess with success?…that’s why drum brakes stayed until 2023. The Tacoma formula is somewhat conservative but effective and reliable and repeatable. It’s a truck. My 1993 Toyota truck had the original rear drums @ 108,000 miles (It was a manual btw).

Toyota trucks are slow. But they outsell every other brand. They are, first and foremost, dependable with dealer service that is second only to Lexus. They get the big things right…but sometimes you’re going to miss a few apples. They are a group of people who honestly do care about us. It’s just difficult to please everybody.

On my visits to Toyota Japan, I was surprised to see the ‘offices’ of my clients. They were among a row of 5’ inline tables. Double rows facing each other. These folks were the equivalent of my local clients who had actual 10 x 12 offices. I saw all the cute trinkets they had on their tables to lend them some personality. They were super respectful and competent. More so than my local clients. All of them would have loved to relocate to Torrance. There is very little ‘fat’ to cut in Japan. Toyota USA is a whole other world.

 

I can assure you, NO ONE ever told a focus group that they want their vehicle to shift in/out/TCC lockup/ shift /lug and on and on. That was a decision made from Toyota (or a different manufacture on their line). No one ever asked for a poo shifting transmission.

 

Crankolator winders matter.

 

You mean; bean holders, right?