Toyota Builds A Truck Even Bubba May Love

[BigPontiac]

BusinessWeek Online

Toyota Builds A Truck Even Bubba May Love

Friday February 3, 3:59 pm ET

By David Kiley

When Toyota Motor (NYSE:TM - News) Corp. engineers visited South Texas to ask locals what they wanted in a full-size pickup, the out-of-towners got a quick education in priorities. Sure, the truck had to be big and powerful, but it also needed Texas-size brakes to stop three-plus tons of horses, hay, gear, and trailer from taking out a corral fence or barn post.

Toyota listened and learned. And at the Chicago Auto Show on Feb. 9, it will fire its boldest shot yet into the already wobbly defenses of Detroit's auto makers -- taking the wraps off the first full-size Toyota pickup that's large and tough enough to win over the NASCAR and big-belt-buckle crowd.

The new Tundra, which will be built near San Antonio and arrives at dealerships early next year, spells big trouble for Detroit in the red-state Bubba-truck market, the last reliable profit redoubt for General Motors Corp. (NYSE:GM - News) and Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F - News).

Yes, this marks Toyota's third attempt to get a work truck right. And Nissan Motor Co. (NasdaqSC:NSANY - News) beat it to market with a legit full-size truck, the Titan, by nearly three years. But according to John Matthews, a San Antonio dealer who advised on the Tundra's development, Toyota has corrected mistakes made in the current model and its '90s predecessor, the T100, both of which were too small and light to go bumper to bumper with the Big Three. Hint: It's big. How big? "When other truck owners park next to this Tundra," says Matthews, "they'll feel like they're in a solar eclipse."

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Full URL: http://biz.yahoo.com/bizwk/060203/b3971060.html?.v=1

[caddycruiser]

I REALLY want to see this thing.

The true key to success will be offering a true range of different models, engines, etc., because that along has been a huge factor in both the Tundra and Titan not doing so well.

[Newbiewar]

i bet they'll make it too big...

haha... hopefully some one will poke this hippocryte right in the eye with their prius and tundra...

their tundra already gets horrible gas mileage... and to make it bigger and more powerful...

the problem with both tundras and Titans, they arent designed for construction work... so they dont get the harsh weathering of real work... they dont offer a vehcile with an 8 foot bed and room for more then 2-3 passengers...

thats important for a lot of people, they want or need an extended cab or crew with the 8ft bed...

hence all wood cuts are made at 8ft not 6.5

soo... in order for toyota to get it right i think they need to offer crew and extended cabs with 8 foot beds... but they wont get very good reliablity if they do... thats why i think they never offer 8ft beds other then single cabs...

[CSpec]

soo... in order for toyota to get it right i think they need to offer crew and extended cabs with 8 foot beds... but they wont get very good reliablity if they do...

What?

[milleramerican]

Yeah I want to see this thing too. Toyota is really pushin hard, that's for sure.

[Newbiewar]

What?

well it was rumored for a long while toyota never wants to get into commerical sized pickups because they are used more rigerously then the guy with the lawnmower in the back of his truck...

Toyota doesnt want to have bad reliablity, so they never really entered the work horse arena...

look at the titan, its having its fair share of problems... because people are using it for a truck instead of just a mode of transportation...

[Flybrian]

The Titan also had problems because the early-run models had piss-poor build quality, something Nissan is very familiar with.

[Variance]

well it was rumored for a long while toyota never wants to get into commerical sized pickups because they are used more rigerously then the guy with the lawnmower in the back of his truck...

Toyota doesnt want to have bad reliablity, so they never really entered the work horse arena...

Then why are they (and Nissan) making HD versions of their fullsize pickups?

Oh and they've been in the workhorse business for a while (Hino and Nissan Diesel).

Nissan's creating a new light-duty commercial division as well:

http://www.cheersandgears.com/forums/index...?showtopic=5282

look at the titan, its having its fair share of problems... because people are using it for a truck instead of just a mode of transportation...

Not every Titan used for work has had problems. There are plenty of MY 2004 adopters who's trucks have been pretty reliable.

That said, the Canton plant still needs to straighten itself out. It's in its third year of production, so the workers should be becoming less green. The HQ move might help as well.

Edited February 4, 2006 by Variance