When Toyota Gets a big Diesel...

[NUKEMAN]

now along comes toyota with a concept of what will be (i know the 1500 is real, but none of us has seen the 2500,3500) and many of you are ready to burn the dodge in the yard and cover the ashes with the toyota. real loyalty

Honestly, anymore "brand loyalty" doesn't mean squat to me. Trucks have become so rediculously expensive that what matters most to me is who makes the best truck. When I'm paying 45k for a truck it boils down to which one is the best built and most reliable. If that's a Toyota, so be it.

 

[kscheuerman]

Sales guys at a dealer usually runwith the same rumor mill as the rest of us. They are not privy to any confidential information,, they just like to think they are!!!!!



All this might be true as can be,, but I will not make any decisions on the info thats for sure!

No doubt. Rumors are just rumors. But a good way Toyota could screw this up would be to slap their own diesel in there. Not bad diesels - but look what a Cummins engine did for Dodge.

 

[bighammer]

This has turned into an interesting thread, but not really 3rd gen trucks. I'm moving to the "other" forum and you guys can take it from there.

 

[2broke2smoke]

competition is good ...



i hope toyota uses the big straight six cat that was featured in diesel power and is rumored to be going into the jap truck ...



it serves ford right for trying to pass off that 6. 0 junk and chevy for using its high tech injector eating marvel



i hear all the toyota reliability praises and would like to throw in my two cents ...



with 420k on 4 dodge trucks with cummins' motor they have NEVER let me down...



drove one into the dealer and got a new getrag put in under warranty, drove it out that afternoon



drove another to a DTT and had a new auto put in ... no manufacturer makes an auto that will live up to me driving at 1000 tq at the wheels



but they have never failed me ... and that is daily driving in a very rural state ... on rough gravel roads



i won't trade my cummins' off now because i have too much time and effort involved in learning about and working on them ...



but i wouldn't mind getting a cat yellow yota with a nice straight six cat in it for my daughter when she starts driving ...

 

[Mike Ellis]

Thank God the Japs are going to finally show Americans how to build big trucks. Just look at the terrible stuff the Big 3 have foisted off on us. Horrible, terrible stuff like:



- engines that go 300,000 miles or more before overhaul

- Six-speed manual trannies strong enough to grind cement

- Awesome auto trannies with tow-haul modes and braking

- Engines pumping out 300+ horsepower and 600+ pounds of torque, more grunt to the rear wheels than the average 60's big-block musclecar

- 7,000 pound workhorse trucks that can get 20 mpg on the highway unloaded. People would have laughed at the idea 20 years ago

- Plush interior amenities formerly reserved for top-line sedans (leather seats, fancy sound systems, power this, power that)

- Payloads of up to 5,000 lbs

- Ability to tow with GCWR over 20K so easily that people think of it as boringly routine, forgetting the white-knuckled experience this would have been with a pickup not too many years ago.

- Handling so refined that even the tiniest cowgirl (or boy) thinks nothing of zooming up Breakheart Pass at 80 mph with a gooseneck full of cows, a cell phone in one hand and a burger in the other.

- Safety features that protect cowgirl/boy when the zoom their truck, cell phone, and burger into misfortune

- So much shine, dazzle, sparkle, chrome, glitter, and bling you hate to get the things dirty



Yep, it's high time the Japanese showed 'em how to do it right. :-laf :-laf

 

[JStieger]

they still have not released an HD model though, right? The new full size Toyota is still a "half ton" correct?

I was in Chile for a week last year and they had straight-six Toyota pickups and Landcruisers with 1-ton running gear: straight live axles, full floating rear axle, manual locking hubs, 5 speed transmission's with granny gear, factory flat bed, snorkel. It doesn't get more HD and utilitarian than this.



In some of the underground mines around here they run both diesel Landcruisers as well as detuned (for diesel particulate emissions reasons)

Dodge Cummins.



I have a bunch of articles from an Australian 4wd magazine that I wish I could scan and post here where they reviewed the Toyota diesel head-to-head against Nissan diesels and the Ford Superduty with straight six diesel. While the Toyota truck itself was probably not as refined for city dwellers and interstate driving, it scored rave reviews for grunt work in the Outback. There's also articles that show how to modify these Toyota diesels for more power (standard pump work, injector mods, propane, turbo swaps).



If the Toyota diesel like the ones available in Chile and Australia became available here, I would buy one in a heartbeat.

 

[RGardner]

What I want to know is why are you buying your beef from Brazil?

 

[rbattelle]

My only issue with Toyota trucks is parts. What I mean by that is, it seems like the bits and pieces of import vehicles are not "usual", but instead are specialty parts that can only be obtained from the dealer ($$$).



This isn't necessarily a problem with a car you don't care about, but what about a truck? How expensive will a locker be for the rear axle on a Tundra? Does anyone even make such a locker? Who makes the axles on Tundra's, anyway?



And if they have a Hino or Isuzu diesel offering, how hard will it be to get parts? And how expensive will those parts be?



Once nice thing about GM, Ford, and Dodge trucks is that parts are relatively easy to get and cheap. Will it be the same with a Tundra?



And if Toyota puts a Cat (C7 maybe?), is that good? Cat parts are extremely expensive, and I question the complexity of the HEUI system.



Interesting things to think about.



Ryan

 

[LesStallings]

A couple of people asked about the Toyota truck.



This picture is a "dressed up" regular cab. See what you think.

 

[DPKetchum]

Looks like a Chevy.

 

[brods]

If Toyota thinks they have a better product, bring it on. And if it is better than the trucks that are available now, then shame on the big three if they don’t step it up. I even owned a used Toy once, it was a decent car... . got it cheap since it threw a rod through the block for the previous owner.



Now Toyota proclaiming what a good product they make is one thing, but instead Toyota chose a marketing campaign designed to persuade us gullible, ignorant Americans that Toyota is making some great investment in America and creating jobs here. I would love to see how the books balance on this one. They are also trying to come across as an all American brand. Whats next, apple pie, baseball and Toyota or are they going to want it Toyota, apple pie and baseball?



I find Toyota’s marketing a disgraceful insult and I am somewhat disappointed since I thought they were above such tactics. I would have considered a Toyota vehicle before, but now I will never purchase or own one again! Toyota can kiss this ignorant American’s *****!

 

[DSteimle]

since 89, dodge has answered every shot fired at them from manufactures. you are driving bigger, heavier, more fuel efficient, more comfortable trucks than have ever been available. these trucks do what you ask of them and more for a entry price cheaper than the other options.



it amazes how many of you are ready and willing to jump ship and dump your cummins to rush out and buy an unproven and as of now an unavailable could be truck.



i say, dump em now! dont wait. dont be scared and keep em. just dump the dodges you are now currenty driving and making a living with. you can just sit at home or at the shop and wait for the new salvation of the diesel pickup to raise its mighty head. in the mean time i'll be buying up the useless dodges you have abandoned for myself.



who knows, maybe wal-mart will sell these wonder trucks at a discounted rate. get your chinese tv, your taiwanese shoes, and your jap truck all in one visit.

 

[rbattelle]

Check out the 2nd photo from the top in this article. Foreshadowing, perhaps?



I think the new Cat C6. 6 and C7's are going to be common rail rather than HEUI.



Another intersting article.



I think the engine choice will come down to pure market research. Toyota will research what type of engine and what brand engine the average American pickup truck buyer likes. My feeling is that the results from that research will conclude "V8 = good 'cause 8 cylinders is better than 6" and "Caterpillar makes the world's best engines".



Which will cause Toyota to ask itself: okay, people want a V8 and a Cat, but they obviously can't have both. So which would people rather have?



Ryan

It is fun to speculate, isn't it?

 

[LesStallings]

Don't get me wrong. I'm not itching to jump to a Toy truck. I do absolutely think the Toyota's entry into the large truck battle will change the way the Detroit 3 (used to be called the Big 3) designs and builds their trucks.



Nope. I'm staying with my Cummins until something with a better track record and better packaging can't be ignored. No jumping here!



But like I said, "this changes everything".

 

[mcoleman]

They will have to prove themselves with 500,000 mile engines and a reliable vehicle before I would be interested in one. The old Toy trucks and the Tacoma's have been full of quality issues from day one. The Tacoma's are having pretty much the same issues with head gaskets, water pumps, huge rack and pinion failures. If they can build a truck that will go 200,000 + miles like my current truck without having to touch the alternator, a/c compressor or any of the internal options like the power windows, locks, cruise control etc. . and then top it with an engine capable of going 300,000 miles without being touched I might be interested.

 

[Mike Ellis]

American trucks rule! The only complaint I have with the newer trucks (not just Dodge, it seems to be almost all the new cars) is the miserably uncomfortable seats. Their designers need to get their butts out of the office and take a trip in an old 1960's or 70's pickup with the big comfy bench seat, many a time I have driven such vehicles several hundred miles and stepped out feeling rested and relaxed. Compare that to a 200 mile trip in my Dad's 3rd gen, when you get out it feels like a maniac cop has given the back of your thighs the "Rodney King" treatment.



Attention DC! A truck is not a sports car, we do not need seats with kiester-gripping bolsters like a formula 1 race car - bring back working-man-friendly CUSHY COMFORT ya goofy bums! Grrrrr

 

[DSteimle]

i still don't understand why you have to sugar coat everything Mike :-laf