Posted on 05/20/2024 10:08:02 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
The American pickup truck market is dominated by domestic brands, primarily Ford , Chevrolet , GMC and Ram . U.S. brands benefit from a loyal buyer base, and a 25% tax on imported trucks.
But the Toyota Tacoma shows how a foreign automaker can find and control a niche within that market.
The top-selling full-size pickup line is Ford’s F-Series, especially the F-150, which is also the bestselling vehicle in America, according to Edmunds. GM and Ram pickups trail Ford, which also has the top-selling compact pickup truck — the Maverick.
But U.S. automakers have wavered in their commitment to smaller pickups, while the Japanese automaker Toyota has had a presence in the segment as far back as the 1970s. Toyota introduced the Tacoma in 1995 as a successor to the Toyota Pickup, famously known as the Hilux elsewhere in the world. Meanwhile, Ford Motor discontinued the Ranger after the 2011 model year, and then revived it in 2019. GM pulled the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon off the market in 2012, before reviving both in 2014.
In 2023, Toyota sold over 237,000 Tacomas in the U.S., far outpacing all of its midsize competitors by a wide margin. The next best seller was the Chevrolet Colorado, which sold just shy of 72,000 units. The GMC Canyon, a slightly higher-end version of the same truck, adds roughly another 22,600 in sales for the U.S. automaker.
Toyota’s careful attention to the needs of Tacoma owners is seen as part of the reason for that loyal market base and the model’s consistent sales. For example, about 40% of Tacoma owners take their trucks off-road at least once a month, so Toyota offers several off-road packages for the truck.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnbc.com ...
What now qualifies as a small truck?
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I’ve been riding in a friend’s Ford Maverick a lot lately. That is a small truck. I wanted to like it. But I’m not into it.
The Tacoma is King of the Parking Lots. It turns really, really tight. Just compare it Nissan Frontier. With a Frontier everything is a 3 point turn.
I have a 2012 Tacoma that I bought new. It is a 6 cylinder, 4WD, 4 door long bed. It’s been a great truck.
It’s good looking. And it’s a toyota, highly recommend by the two mechanics I know and trust.
However, one owner warned me, “the bed will tear like paper.”
Like Hyundai the Maverick is an SUV with the top chopped off. Not much meat underneath.
With the Hyundai it is just so obvious that they took a Sawzall to a Santa Fe it’s ridiculous.
Yea, bed tear? That reminded me of a time many moons ago when Kawasaki came out with the 3 cylinder 500cc.
Yamaha dealers would always say that the middle cylinder would melt.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTPnIpjodA8
Killing the Toyota Hilux Part 2
and part 3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFnVZXQD5_k
pretty good gas mileage. Tell me, does it still have the turning circle of a Battleship?
We have had several Toys. Still have the 1993 pickup and the 1994 4-runner. Both 4wd. Had two other 4wd’s Traded them for the 93 to get an extra cab. We also had a 2wd with a 20R and a 4runner with a 22RTE. It is my feeling that Toy hit their max build quality and reliability in the mid 90’s. Daily driver is now a Subaru Ascent. Both the toys and the Subie are nice cars. The dealer up here really stinks. Starts with a K.
Back in 1989 we had a stretch of 50 and then 65 below zero. After a few days of this almost everything that was still moving said Toyota on the tailgate.
And set it on fire. And flew it to the top of a multi story building that was blown up. And they could *still* get it to start and run with a few basic tools.
“Any truck without a long bed us utterly useless to me.”
I have a Tundra with a 5.5” bed. My trailer has a 10’ bed...
Just bought a 2024 Tacoma. I love it! But we’ll see how the new turbo holds up.
Great story! Thanks!
always heard they were lightning fast.
“Probably don’t rust out like the other dreck either.”
Obviously you didn’t hear about the Toyota Tacoma frame recalls because they were rusting out.
I’ll take the new Ford Ranger Raptor over the Tacoma anyday. It’s a game changer.
When I sold my 1988 Toyota truck I had two guys contact me and both asked IF it would pass inspection. Yes, of course I answered. The first guy said , Okay and hung.
The second guy I asked why? He said that IF it did not pass inspection he would still buy it for $1000(this was 1999).
He said he put four into a container and shipped them to Central America. HE would sell them there for $4K as long as they ran. However, they would ONLY buy Toyota, Nissan (or Datsuns).
He also said that other guys send them to Asia and Africa.
So, when we got involved in Afghanistan a few years after that all those Taliban guys were riding around in Toyota and Nissan/Datsuns only.
Every time they showed those guys on TV, I would say to my wife there goes my old truck.
Toyota Tacoma Official Vehicle of the Taliban
No I didn’t. Just panning the rust problems of the others,
Remember the terrorists had a plumbers pickup with a US ad on the side.
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