uh-oh. Toyota 5.7L v8 trucks coming....

[lemming]

http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dl...24/cara_submit

the other article at autoweek today talks about the cost overruns in getting the facility (all told, 1.6e9 USD) up and running.

but this new V8 Tundra sounds like it is the real deal.

there goes the profits of Ford and GM.

[John V]

How many iterations of the Tundra / T100 will Toyota have gone through before they have something the American buyers embrace?

Somehow Nissan got it right the first time. I see Titans all over the place. (Highly scientific I know).

[FC]

Originally Posted by John V

How many iterations of the Tundra / T100 will Toyota have gone through before they have something the American buyers embrace?

I agree. That alone will make it hard for people to seriously look at a Toyota full-size.

Even if this IS "the real deal" it will take time for it to gain sales traction, I'm sure.

[lupinsea]

It's going to be interesting now that Nissan and Toyota are making full-size trucks. One of these days I'd like to poke around all the full-size offerings between the big 2 1/2 and the Japanese companies.

[lupinsea]

Oh, nice, the Toyota pick-up truck gets multi-piston calipers but the Ultimate Driving Machines don't?

[SCA]

Toyota dealers are being forced to install 12,000 lbs. lifts specifically for this new truck.

[Rob]

I know the conventional wisdom says anything made by toyota is better than anything made by ford or GM, but I will simply say again - - Chevy makes the most reliable and longest lasting pickup trucks on the road today. Ford makes the second most reliable and longest lasting pickup trucks on the road. Toyota . . . doesn't.

[clyde]

Originally Posted by SCA

Toyota dealers are being forced to install 12,000 lbs. specifically for this new truck.

[JST]

Originally Posted by rwg

I know the conventional wisdom says anything made by toyota is better than anything made by ford or GM, but I will simply say again - - Chevy makes the most reliable and longest lasting pickup trucks on the road today. Ford makes the second most reliable and longest lasting pickup trucks on the road. Toyota . . . doesn't.

I agree; the target market for these vehicles does not have the same negative associations with domestic products as does the target market for small and mid-sized automobiles. The new GM trucks are supposed to be pretty impressive in their own right, and as many on this board have posted recently the Fords (engines, perhaps, aside, though that will change soon) are already quite good. Say what you will about GM and Ford--they know how to build trucks.

That's not to say that Toyota won't be successful. I'm sure their sales goals are relatively modest, and I'm sure they will deploy a very good product. But my bet is that it will be far from a walk-over.

[lemming]

Originally Posted by JST

I agree; the target market for these vehicles does not have the same negative associations with domestic products as does the target market for small and mid-sized automobiles. The new GM trucks are supposed to be pretty impressive in their own right, and as many on this board have posted recently the Fords (engines, perhaps, aside, though that will change soon) are already quite good. Say what you will about GM and Ford--they know how to build trucks.

That's not to say that Toyota won't be successful. I'm sure their sales goals are relatively modest, and I'm sure they will deploy a very good product. But my bet is that it will be far from a walk-over.

i'm not assuming an immediate effect.

but it took the camry awhile to get traction, too.

history proves that they work tirelessly to refine the product and they eventually displace the american state of the art.

they did this easily with cars.

they did this with SUVs.

then they did this with minivans --such that GM won't even make them anymore and the DC minivan, which was the king, is totally 2nd class.

i'm guessing it will take about 3-5 years to swallow the Ram truck completely and then they'll work to take over the #2 spot in truck sales by the 7th to 10th year timeframe. that's really a blink of an eye.