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Tundra needs sterioids
I like Toyota's; have 4 in the family. Want to buy their p/u, but the competition is fierce. The new F150, the new Nissan Titan, the Silverado, all have the necessary features.
I am waiting to look at the Tundra crew cab, coming next week, but the lack of an engine option with some serious displacement concerns me. Don't know how Toyota expects to stay competitive with a small v-8 (they tried to make-do with a T100, and that didn't work). Has anyone heard whether Mr Toyota-san is coming to America with anything to match the competition?
jim
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Tundra needs sterioids
My Tundra runs like a scalded cat, even at a mile above sea level and more.
I can top the tallest passes around here (7000 feet) with a tractor in tow at 70 mph with some throttle left. It has had zero warranty claims at 1.5 years and 17k miles. I be a very satisfied customer.
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Tundra needs sterioids
Jim I too looked at the Toyota when recently purchasing a new work truck. I have all the faith in the world in my 1986 toyota 165,000 miles an still going strong. you could through a cat threw the side of it,as rust has got the better of it. I recently Hauled a 100 landscape timbers in it,(you should have seen the boy's at LOWES) I've hauled 4 well rounded loads of dirt in the last 2 days. If they would just build a 10,000 to 12,000 GVW truck with 300hp an at least that much toqure I'd a bought one. I love my 2500HD Chevy with the Allison no complaints at 7700 miles but I'll bet it gives more trouble than my Toyota did in the next 157,300 miles. There is always a chance as Nissan is suppose to be coming out with a 300hp+ 9500 GVW truck by the first of the year or by Feb. We can only hope Getrdun
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That's an interesting point, especially since both Toyota & Nissan ALREADY build a truck in that range, they just don't bring them all to North America.
Mind you a 'pickup truck' as we know it is a 'western wonder', they don't exist in most other markets, the important European && Asian markets wouldn't buy our style of truck, they are of no use in congested ares, they have to be cab-over style vehicles.
In that aspect Toyota (under the Hino badge) and Mitsubishi bring really nice units over here. Mitsubishi even has a 2, 3 or 5 ton class available in 4wd. I have spoken to a few landscapers who have them and they wouldn'n plow snow with anything else now. The visibility and turning radius are fantastic compared to a regular pickup.
We have a Hino 3 ton which is a 'baby tractor' for hauling equipment around, it has a turbo-charged, intercooled 6 cyl. that puts out only 200hp but has gobs of torque, it is mated to a really nice 6 speed (with o/d) tranny which is a full syncro unit. It pulls a 35' float loaded with 20,000 lbs of equipment around like nothing. It is a dream on the highway.
It doesn't hurt that it gets 14 mpg with a loaded float, 16-17 mpg with an empty float, and 18 mpg bobtail either.
Best of luck.
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Tundra needs sterioids
I think the real reason Toyota or other Japanese maufacturers don't have true heavy duty pickups is that the typical buyer in the important American truck market won't buy them. That is why the F-150 or some other 1/2 ton pickup is always the best selling vehicle despite the fact that the Japanese equivalents are available. Foreign cars have taken over many other segments but this one has remained strong for the domestic manufacturers. I think as you progress into the diesel and dual rear wheel segments a preference for domestic vehicles would be more of a factor. Even if they were available the average guy driving around in a 1 ton truck or better isn't likely to buy a Japanese equivalent if it was available.
There are still some ares of the market that prefer to buy from the American vehicle manufacturers. It may have a foreign engine, be built in a foreign country such as Mexico or Canada but they still want it to have an American badge. We like our redneck cadillacs 
If you look at the consumer and commercial markets that 3/4, 1 ton and better pickup style truck area is huge and the vehicles aint' cheap. I could be wrong but the Japanese have succesfully entered just about every area of the vehicle market, there must be some reason the have never cracked this one. If they thought they could make $$$ they would have been there already. Even these new bigger Japanese trucks they are going to make aren't really after the same customers. Until they offer higher ratings, dual rear wheels, diesels, different beds, tons of space and luxury, etc. the competition is all domestic.
As far as why Americans drive our traditional style of pickup and others don't I think traffic congestion is only part of it. How many place in the world can the average "Joe" afford to drive a $40,000 pickup that gets around 10 miles a gallon just to go to Home Depot once a month and get some 2" x 4"s?
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Tundra needs sterioids
The following is offered only as a difference of opinion only, and NOT to be construed as antagonistic or of a personal slanderous nature.
Scott, people cant buy what isn't for sale.
You & I both live within a resonable distance of a 'big' city and probably have the choice of a dozen dealers of EACH of the 'big 3' truck makers. I would suggest that if there were that many Hino, Mitsubishi or Nissan Heavy truck dealers around the numbers would be very different.
Availability is critical to sales, that's why you don't see a Honda dealer in a small rural community, let alone one Honda dealer, one Toyota dealer, one Mazda dealer, one Subaru dealer and a Mitsubishi dealer for good measure. It is not uncommon however (around here anyways) to see two domestic dealers in a town of 1,000 people.
Just as with the recent Bombardier/JD alliance, it is easier to put someone else's name on it and put it their dealer's stores than to build a network from the ground up. The Chevrolet Corolla (Nova), the GM Samurai (Tracker) and Geo Aero (Firefly) are prime examples. In the medium truck market, the Mack Renault, Frieghtliner M.-Benz products, the GM (Hino) cab-forward, and the Brazilian Ford Cargo are just a few examples.
The consumer preference in North America for 'traditional' pickup trucks is best explained in two words, names actually, Henry Ford. That is what was invented first, that is what CREATED the market, and that is what still holds the biggest part of the market.
How many people say they blow their nose into a Facial Tissue, it's called a Kleenex, when you have a good breakfast you've 'had your Wheaties', and when you cut your finger you put on a Band-Aid not a "Eloastomeric Wound Dressing". In fact the Band-Aid is a good example of market saturation, so much so that the name is a now a term to describe something universally.
They build Japanese (or other nationality) 'pickups' with every bit as much power, capabilities and luxury as one of the Big 3 trucks.
I know because I have driven in some of them while overseas. In fact some of the best attributes of vehicles like Hummers came from foriegn offerings that have been in production forever. Talk about 4wd trucks outside of North America the words are Land Cruiser, Range Rover (wanna talk luxury) Unimog, Iveco and Mitsubishi.
They would laugh us silly if we showed up for a "safari" with an F-350.
Best of luck.
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Tundra needs sterioids
We had a 70' something Toyota LandCruiser before they became suburban like vehicles. It was very nice and solid vehicle. Much like a CJ-7 with the rear seats facing each other rather than a typical front facing bench. Very solid body on the LC though unlike the CJs and the rust problems. Although I did love the CJ as well.
I brought up the 1/2 tons like the F150 to illustrate that even in the area of the market where the Japanese DO offer comparable vehicles the buyers seem to stick to the domestic versions. This "loyaly" has not been shown in other areas of the American car market but I think truck buyers are a little bit of a different animal.
I know many pickup owners and many will not consider Japanese even when they shop even for their 1/2 tons. There are exceptions to every rule but I think the typical American purchaser of a "work" truck tends to want to buy American when possible. This MAY be the reason the Japanese have not aggressively gone after the HD pickup market and even on the 1/2 tons they have failed to dominate as they have in other areas.
Time will tell but as you said, the Japanese for whatever reason haven't tried to compete in the HD truck area.
Guess we have to ask them why, maybe they've done some surveying of potential HD truck buyers??.
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Tundra needs sterioids
F350,
Did your LC have that straight 6 engine in it. I seem to remember that they did pretty well with that. I used to run a Toyota SR5 in Baja Mexico and it was a tough truck.
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Tundra needs sterioids
Murf, a number of the design engineers at Hummer came from Land Rover.
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Yes it did and it was a pretty strong motor. We had the hardtop and a softop for it. It was that beige, safari color w/ a black interior. Must have been about a 1970 or there about.
I do not consider the F-350 to be an off-road vehicle, more of a "get me down the muddy driveway or through the snow vehicle". 22' long and 8,000 lb.dually's are NOT suited for serious off-roading. You have to clear a forest to swing a U turn and they sink in soft stuff  Also it ain't' fun being the biggest vehicle when you do get stuck it takes a commercial wrecker to free you! I suppose an F350 with agas motor(for less weight) in shortbed and regular cab would do well though.
The CJ and LC were great though, just not practical for my needs now.
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