Toyota News: Next-Generation Toyota Tacoma Coming to Detroit

[William Maley]

It has been quiet at Nissan and Toyota since General Motors introduced the new Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon. But that appears to changing very soon at Toyota. Automotive News has learned that the company is planning to show off the next-generation Tacoma at the Detroit Auto Show next month. Bill Fay, Toyota's general manager says with the recent introduction of GM's new midsize trucks, it will spur interest and demand in the class.

“With the new entries coming in, the market should expand,” said Fay.

Despite being one of the oldest models in the class, the Tacoma is still a strong seller. Through November, the company moved 140,747 Tacomas, more than 66 percent of the total midsize truck marketplace.

Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)

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[Drew Dowdell]

Looks like it's going to be a truck heavy show this year.  I think Frontier may be coming too?

[Z-06]

This is good news - competition is always good. I like how fast Toyota is reacting. Let us see how GM raises the ante.

 

One thing GM does not have compared to Toyota is manual transmission for the 4-cylinder and V6 with 4x4.

 

• Let us assume that the current generation Tacomas on sale are representative to that of the brand new Tacomas sold over the time period.
• As of this moment, around the country approx. 12,400 current body style Tacomas are for sale; approx. 1,620 are manual transmissions.
• Of that 9,000 are V6, 850 are V6 with manual.
• 6,025 are V6 4x4 and of that 627 with manual transmissions.
• There are only 935 4x4 in 4-cylinders, out of which 444 are MANUAL.
• That is not a bad take rate, contrary to what GM claims only 2% will buy the WT manual. That is because dear GM, no one wants to buy the crap base be it Automatic or Manual. Manual transmission owners want gizmos also. Typical BS manufacturers throw for not producing manual transmission vehicles.
• Also note from 2004 to 2009 top of the line 2WD V6 Tacomas did not have manual transmissions. That may skew the overall V6 numbers towards automatic. At any rate, ~13% manual take rate is nothing to sneeze about especially GM's analysis shows 2%, which I think is BS.

[William Maley]

Looks like it's going to be a truck heavy show this year.  I think Frontier may be coming too?

 

I know Titan is coming to Detroit. Frontier if I remember from a report I wrote beck earlier this year is still a few years out.

[Drew Dowdell]

 

Looks like it's going to be a truck heavy show this year.  I think Frontier may be coming too?

 

I know Titan is coming to Detroit. Frontier if I remember from a report I wrote beck earlier this year is still a few years out.

 

 

That's it, got them mixed up

[ocnblu]

Yeah, a six speed manual transmission across the model line would do even more to entice me.

[G. David Felt]

But does the sales numbers really support the cost of R&D to put a manual into the auto's? Seems more and more people are wanting the stronger Auto than the manual.

 

I fear that us manual drivers are a dying breed.

[Drew Dowdell]

There is no R&D to spend that isn't already spent. They already make the transmission and already build some trucks that way.

[Z-06]

But does the sales numbers really support the cost of R&D to put a manual into the auto's? Seems more and more people are wanting the stronger Auto than the manual.

 

I fear that us manual drivers are a dying breed.

 

As Drew stated, it has already been done. And the problem is equivalent to the chicken and egg. For this one the egg came first. GM is killing the manual transmission breed not the other way around.

[Drew Dowdell]

It's purely a US thing though. It's available as a manual across the line in foreign markets.

[Cory Wolfe]

 

This is good news - competition is always good. I like how fast Toyota is reacting. Let us see how GM raises the ante.

 

One thing GM does not have compared to Toyota is manual transmission for the 4-cylinder and V6 with 4x4.

 

• Let us assume that the current generation Tacomas on sale are representative to that of the brand new Tacomas sold over the time period.
• As of this moment, around the country approx. 12,400 current body style Tacomas are for sale; approx. 1,620 are manual transmissions.
• Of that 9,000 are V6, 850 are V6 with manual.
• 6,025 are V6 4x4 and of that 627 with manual transmissions.
• There are only 935 4x4 in 4-cylinders, out of which 444 are MANUAL.
• That is not a bad take rate, contrary to what GM claims only 2% will buy the WT manual. That is because dear GM, no one wants to buy the crap base be it Automatic or Manual. Manual transmission owners want gizmos also. Typical BS manufacturers throw for not producing manual transmission vehicles.
• Also note from 2004 to 2009 top of the line 2WD V6 Tacomas did not have manual transmissions. That may skew the overall V6 numbers towards automatic. At any rate, ~13% manual take rate is nothing to sneeze about especially GM's analysis shows 2%, which I think is BS.

 

 

For real. When you only offer the manual transmission on base models with no options, it shouldn't be any surprise it doesn't sell. If the US market had the options of the European market, I bet the take rate for manual transmissions would increase greatly. 

[Z-06]

 

 

This is good news - competition is always good. I like how fast Toyota is reacting. Let us see how GM raises the ante.

 

One thing GM does not have compared to Toyota is manual transmission for the 4-cylinder and V6 with 4x4.

 

 

For real. When you only offer the manual transmission on base models with no options, it shouldn't be any surprise it doesn't sell. If the US market had the options of the European market, I bet the take rate for manual transmissions would increase greatly. 

 

 

Not only that, but also in US the manufacturers encourage dealers to move the metal on the lot rather than encouraging to build and wait. And dealers want to make quick bucks so no one ends up having a manual on the lot. They encourage customers to buy automatics by claiming them to better than manual transmissions.

 

Sure automatics are faster NOW. Mainly because they have more gears (the fact why manual transmissions were faster before when there were 3 or 4 speed autos). When manuals are now stuck in 6 gears while automatics are adding 9 or 10, that is not a surprising fact, is it? Launch control is offered and mostly pushed in automatics by the Germans.

 

Second, fuel economy. Because automatic transmissions can cheat the flawed EPA testing methodology by quickly shifting to higher gears, unlike manual transmissions, which have to be rowed to keep in the range EPA suggests in the test. I drove the 335i with the 8 speed Auto and 6 speed manual. During the 25 miles of driving each, I came ahead in the fuel economy by tactically changing gears to the optimum limit.

 

Third, the automobile manufacturers simply do not want to put efforts in the manual transmissions vehicles. Look at M5. The very BMW that bitches US customers do not like manual transmission for non-M models bitches that it has to develop M5 with manual transmissions for US customers; non US customers love their SMGs. And it ends up just putting manual transmission to appease US customers to make them leave it in disgust and get the SMG. Good tactical move by offering Car and Driver crappy manual to give it a hate recommendation.

 

As we have seen in the Audi, Toyota recall fiascoes it is easy to blame the consumers. The same goes for manual transmissions.

[Drew Dowdell]

Well, automatics aren't just faster 0-60, automatics can now shift gears faster than any human rowing his own.  DCTs are even faster still.   If you're just doing a 0-60 run, an automatic will also shift smarter than a human... getting the shift points right each and every time now that they are computer controlled. 

[balthazar]

I can't imagine much sound reasoning to consider a Tacoma, what with the 45-50 million recalls over the last decade for toyota, and the dismal rot issues / buyback 'n crush program for the Tacoma specifically. Foolhardy, IMO.

[Drew Dowdell]

a tenant of mine had the frame replaced on his... the truck was never right after (though I'd argue that it wasn't right before the procedure either). He traded it in on a real truck... a 2013 Silverado.

[balthazar]

Wasn't toyoyo giving Tacoma owners like 150% of retail value for their irreparable trucks? Talk about hush money.

[regfootball]

I can't recall if silver ado has MT but in theory if Colorado had wider MT application then perhaps they could scrap MT on that.