2015/2016 New 3rd gen Tacoma Debut in Detriot

[p nut]

See, I think the opposite is happening domestically. Toyota /used/ to import essentially the same vehicles they sold everywhere and those core vehicles cemented their reputation. Over time they started building them here and now many key models are unique to North America. I can't say a Corolla or Hilux in Japan or Australia or Europe is any good, but what we do get now here seem more problematic and unnecessarily complex. I think it comes down to our regulations and laws, they punish importation with chicken taxes to protect domestic manufacturers and the emissions and safety laws prohibit world vehicles that don't have crumple zones and bumpers that are just bumpers, not energy absorbing stupid-protectors. Some of these things are popping up elsewhere now, but our DOT and EPA have been nitpicking at a college level for decades.

I think we're essentially saying the same thing. Toyota's reliability has degraded some, and domestics may be getting better. I'm not in the industry, so correct me if I'm wrong, but most car makers seem, as you pointed out, localizing their production. Using parts from the same supplier. Etc. But even Japanese made parts aren't what they used to be (Takata airbags, anyone?).

I do agree that there are silly laws that prohibit vehicles from being imported here, but I will stand by all of our emissions standards--even if it may seem overly aggressive. Have you been to Shanghi? Ugh.

 

[duckhunter71]

Wow, that's quite a drop in MPG. But I could see that thing getting torn off involuntarily on the first outing.

They're more durable than you'd think. Mine only got ripped off because I pulled into a construction site with an extremely saturated gravel parking area. Sunk to the frame and had to give 'er heck to get out. The air dam was the only casualty. I replaced it soon after and never had another issue, haven't had one with the air dam on my 2010 either. A lot of guys trim them some for more clearance if it's an issue.

 

[DVexile]

I do agree that there are silly laws that prohibit vehicles from being imported here, but I will stand by all of our emissions standards--even if it may seem overly aggressive. Have you been to Shanghi? Ugh.

Amen. Having personally watched the skies in Los Angeles from the mid-80s until now the impact of strict emissions standards is striking. I can remember those summers of can't see a 1/4 mile because of the smog - ugh. I'll gladly pay to replace a flaky O2 sensor or whatever to be able to both breathe and see properly!

The interesting thing was the CA standards had gotten so good that actually ships coming into port were starting to contribute more pollution than all the cars in the LA basin. That's fixed now too, ships have to use ULSD within a certain range of the coast.

 

[Utah KJ]

Colorado will be available with a diesel in 2016 so it's on my radar.

 

[Clutch]

If it gets me + MPG, I'll gladly keep it on! May need a quick release mod, though.

I would keep it on as well, since I would DD it.

I do agree that there are silly laws that prohibit vehicles from being imported here, but I will stand by all of our emissions standards--even if it may seem overly aggressive. Have you been to Shanghi? Ugh.

Karl Pilkington (Idiot Abroad) "Bit grey, innit? Is today a cloudy day or is this pollution? It's not worth having this in HD, is it? Nothing looks crisp, everything's sort of hazy, like some sort of Kate Bush video or something."

 

[Finlay]

I do agree that there are silly laws that prohibit vehicles from being imported here, but I will stand by all of our emissions standards--even if it may seem overly aggressive. Have you been to Shanghi? Ugh.

It isn't pollution that's harming the environment. It's the impurities in our air and water that are doing it. -- Dan Quayle

 

[p nut]

Interesting comments from Toyota's chief engineer. Great news if the driveline vibration issue is gone for good.

http://news.pickuptrucks.com/2015/01/5-things-overlooked-on-the-2016-toyota-tacoma.html

 

[toyotech]

Interesting comments from Toyota's chief engineer. Great news if the driveline vibration issue is gone for good.

http://news.pickuptrucks.com/2015/01/5-things-overlooked-on-the-2016-toyota-tacoma.html

only took 10 years and all the older models didnt get a decent fix... (never heard of this issue when i was working for toyota)

drum brakes??? guess they never tested them in deep water unless you constantly remove your drum to clean the brake dust out. water will turn that to mud...

go pro mount with no mention of it being hardwired so it can stay charged. gopro battery life sucks. I have one and hardly use it

they cant even get their current gas engines better mpg, of course they wont turbo. plus it only drives up cost of what it seems to be an already over priced 2005 with radio upgrades...
looks like a corolla dash...

I think toyota is just stalling. at least with the so call 3rd gen tundra, they really stepped up the suspension because it actually feels like your driving a different truck.
guess time will tell if the new taco is a new truck or just an old truck with a facelift

 

[Mrknowitall]

drum brakes??? guess they never tested them in deep water unless you constantly remove your drum to clean the brake dust out. water will turn that to mud...

go pro mount with no mention of it being hardwired so it can stay charged. gopro battery life sucks. I have one and hardly use it

looks like a corolla dash...

Bigger problem I always had was actual mud getting unto the drum and grinding the shoes to bits.
I looked at the new truck yesterday. Couldn't tell if the go-pro mount had any wiring associated. should hope so, especially with the bigger infotainment packages.
I like the interior better than the current truck- and MUCh better than the Colorado or Canyon.
Somewhere I read that the T-case was new, but it looked like a regular Toyota case. Fingers crossed for a manual T-case with the manual trans. The Rear axle is also claimed to be new, but it looked like a normal 8" housing. Could well be a new diff though. Both the Limited and TRD/OR on display had the same axle- definitely no more trussed bearing caps. The new TRD O/R locker sounds worth while- LSD to locking, probably helical gear LSD.
The rear leaves were only 3+OL. Less than ideal IMHO. The cross-over pipe on the exhaust hangs down well below the cross member.
Doors were full perimeter double seals- not positive about the current truck- they wasn't one on display except a TRD-Pro behind ropes, on a podium.
There is a TON of room behind the grille. an easy 6" deep before you get to anything solid (AC condenser)
Hopefully the frame revisions were for the better. Suspension tuning is somewhat secondary, since most here would replace much of it.

 

[duckhunter71]

Bigger problem I always had was actual mud getting unto the drum and grinding the shoes to bits.
I looked at the new truck yesterday. Couldn't tell if the go-pro mount had any wiring associated. should hope so, especially with the bigger infotainment packages.
I like the interior better than the current truck- and MUCh better than the Colorado or Canyon.
Somewhere I read that the T-case was new, but it looked like a regular Toyota case. Fingers crossed for a manual T-case with the manual trans. The Rear axle is also claimed to be new, but it looked like a normal 8" housing. Could well be a new diff though. Both the Limited and TRD/OR on display had the same axle- definitely no more trussed bearing caps. The new TRD O/R locker sounds worth while- LSD to locking, probably helical gear LSD.
The rear leaves were only 3+OL. Less than ideal IMHO. The cross-over pipe on the exhaust hangs down well below the cross member.
Doors were full perimeter double seals- not positive about the current truck- they wasn't one on display except a TRD-Pro behind ropes, on a podium.
There is a TON of room behind the grille. an easy 6" deep before you get to anything solid (AC condenser)
Hopefully the frame revisions were for the better. Suspension tuning is somewhat secondary, since most here would replace much of it.

Did the cabs appear to be the same size as current trucks? I figure that they are - but some of the spy pics made the Double Cab rear door look longer. Here's to hoping, anyway!

 

[toylandcruiser]

Bigger problem I always had was actual mud getting unto the drum and grinding the shoes to bits.
I looked at the new truck yesterday. Couldn't tell if the go-pro mount had any wiring associated. should hope so, especially with the bigger infotainment packages.
I like the interior better than the current truck- and MUCh better than the Colorado or Canyon.
Somewhere I read that the T-case was new, but it looked like a regular Toyota case. Fingers crossed for a manual T-case with the manual trans. The Rear axle is also claimed to be new, but it looked like a normal 8" housing. Could well be a new diff though. Both the Limited and TRD/OR on display had the same axle- definitely no more trussed bearing caps. The new TRD O/R locker sounds worth while- LSD to locking, probably helical gear LSD.
The rear leaves were only 3+OL. Less than ideal IMHO. The cross-over pipe on the exhaust hangs down well below the cross member.
Doors were full perimeter double seals- not positive about the current truck- they wasn't one on display except a TRD-Pro behind ropes, on a podium.
There is a TON of room behind the grille. an easy 6" deep before you get to anything solid (AC condenser)
Hopefully the frame revisions were for the better. Suspension tuning is somewhat secondary, since most here would replace much of it.

The new Silverado is only 3 leaves on a full size truck. Depending how it's made is the important factor.


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[Milo902]

The new TRD O/R locker sounds worth while- LSD to locking, probably helical gear LSD.

That would be awesome. I have a helical LSD (truetrac) in my 4Runner and love it. Between that and the supercharger's extra low end grunt it's a blast to power slide around dirt roads. I never wan't to own a RWD vehicle without a limited slip again. Time to start saving my pennies.

 

[calicamper]

The Gopro idea is nice shows someone even if it was the rookie lacky interior drafting kid who said hey ummm like we should have a mount for a gopro integrated into the interior some how?
The shimmy thing is interesting I've heard lots of folks mention this. Perhaps Dodge getting its *** handed to it for their big shimmy issue and Jeep getting slammed for its horribly designed front end that suffered the death wobbles finally spurred Toyota to get it fixed before someone with a big club comes after them?

I'm not a turbo fan I agree with their comments about turbo for a diesel engine yes makes sense. For a gas engine all your doing is adding complexity cost and various mechanical factors which don't play nice with short local every day trips. As for Mileage it will be interesting to see if the new engine with the DI and Atkins cycle vs otto cycle capability will show any normal daily use improvements in mileage? We need to see some regular users out there with a few trucks before anyone knows if the mileage is going to get better or just marginally slightly improved etc.

 

[DaveInDenver]

Drum brakes, they used to use those on all four corners and people still figured out how to not die. Although I'm not about to give them up on the front having had cars with front drums. It's not that the stopping power is poor, in fact good drums can equal or exceed discs, but the maintenance to keep them that way is kind of a pain. Don't OTR trucks still use drums all around? I think I'd still trust the parking brake more on them than on a rear disc brakes. Although I don't have any direct experience with a vehicle that has them in the back, so it's an uninformed bias.

 

[calicamper]

Drum brakes, they used to use those on all four corners and people still figured out how to not die. Although I'm not about to give them up on the front having had cars with front drums. It's not that the stopping power is poor, in fact good drums can equal or exceed discs, but the maintenance to keep them that way is kind of a pain. Don't OTR trucks still use drums all around? I think I'd still trust the parking brake more on them than on a rear disc brakes. Although I don't have any direct experience with a vehicle that has them in the back, so it's an uninformed bias.

Parking brakes are still drums the rear disc has a drum built into it and your parking brake sits in the drum section of the disc. However I agree drums are not as easily delt with regarding maint. Even just a quick check for brake pad status ie health is not a simple take a peek effort.