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MT 2008 Truck of the Year....Thoughts?
Hello all. Well, MT made the new Tundra the 08 truck of the year. It went up against the heavy duty domestic light trucks...even the F-450 and still came out on top. Dont get me wrong here guys, i think the Tundra is a great truck but to compare it to classes above it in towing and payload seems a little strange to me.
I know a truck is supposed to be an all around performer but to critisze a truck for riding too rough and handling too lathargic because it tows the most and has the most payload "F-450" is silly at best. A Peterbuilt is not an all around performer either but a truck must ride firm to be able to tow and haul heavy loads. If it didnt have to be that way then semis would be the nicest riding vehicles on the planet.
I think to compare payload, towing, and ride quality for its class is the way it should be done. In its own class mind you. You have to compramise somewhere. It either rides great like GM light duty trucks, but sacrifices payload. Or it has high payload like Ford, but rides firmer. Dodge is, well, operationally bankrupt at the moment so we will see what they have to offer next time around. Its not fair to compair their dated Ram pickup at this time.
Yes, they did mention the recent problems with the Tundra...camshaft...tailgate...ect...but they claimed they were early problems and quickly resolved them. I dont know, i was a little shocked. The Tundra does seem to have a well balanced package for what trim levels you desire but the interior does need some work. Also the max payload could be better as well. I know MT is not the final word on vehicles....no one is...but what do you guys think?
I know a truck is supposed to be an all around performer but to critisze a truck for riding too rough and handling too lathargic because it tows the most and has the most payload "F-450" is silly at best. A Peterbuilt is not an all around performer either but a truck must ride firm to be able to tow and haul heavy loads. If it didnt have to be that way then semis would be the nicest riding vehicles on the planet.
I think to compare payload, towing, and ride quality for its class is the way it should be done. In its own class mind you. You have to compramise somewhere. It either rides great like GM light duty trucks, but sacrifices payload. Or it has high payload like Ford, but rides firmer. Dodge is, well, operationally bankrupt at the moment so we will see what they have to offer next time around. Its not fair to compair their dated Ram pickup at this time.
Yes, they did mention the recent problems with the Tundra...camshaft...tailgate...ect...but they claimed they were early problems and quickly resolved them. I dont know, i was a little shocked. The Tundra does seem to have a well balanced package for what trim levels you desire but the interior does need some work. Also the max payload could be better as well. I know MT is not the final word on vehicles....no one is...but what do you guys think?
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BTW, the Tundra did NOT go up against the HD's in this year's test. They are compared to their own competition in their own class. This year was simply Toyota's "turn". Next year Ford or Dodge will win it, in 2010 it will be someone else's "turn"..and so on, and so on, and so on.
And how exactly has Toyota "quickly resolved" the issues it is having? Yes, it resolved the Camshaft issue, but they are still working on a fix for the Tranny/TC and as far as I know, they have no intention of fixing the tailgates because they have yet to admit it's even a problem. How about a "fix" for the cheap build quality and the cheesy TripleFlex frame? And the nasty Bed Bounce? No fixes for any of this yet.
You're right, the interior needs some work...alot of it. Start by getting rid of the crappy painted dash and make it more ergonomic. You shouldn't need a co-pilot to operate the controls that are closer to him/her than you.
You asked what I think, I told you. :lemon: :lemon: :lemon:
However, lets keep in mind that standard configuration full size trucks, with the exception of the Titan, come in V6 form with weak payloads and towing capacities. As a matter of fact, Ford, Chevy, and Dodge's standard payloads are as weak as 1100 pounds! My 1995 Nissan hardbody pickup had more than that! I think when they did look at the RidgeLine they were looking at standard offerings like standard all wheel drive with lock up converter, 5,000 pound towing capacity, 5 passenger seating, abs, traction control, full airbag compliment, VDC, NVH, and fuel economy. The in bed trunk is pretty nice. It holds quite a bit of stuff. I dont care for the micro bed though. Plus it starts at a hefty 28,000 dollars so to be fair you can equip one of the aforementioned trucks to do a little more for the money in terms of payload and towing.
I do think though for the average "pretend truck" buyer, that being a half ton or below, i can see the value in the RidgeLine for the money. High resale and good fuel economy but its the love it or hate it styling. The Tundra will work out the kinks like any other redesigned vehicle. Hell, Fords cruise control fires, poor transmissions, four wheel drive systems and GM's poor transmissions and four wheel drive systems on their half ton trucks over the years sure didn't deter many loyalists. Several sources in magazines as well as the media have confirmed these problems in the vehicles. Ask any reputable transmission shop and they will be happy to show you the repair data on what vehicles have the most failures in this area. I think you will find the results very close to the reports out there. Yes their are exceptions of course like the Allison automatic but GM just sold off Allison transmission recently. They also just sold their entire medium duty truck line for quick cash, that being the GMC TopKick and Chevy Kodiak series.
I guess 40,000 combined units sold was not good enough. The Tundra will work out the problems, they still sold over 200,000 in the first half of 07 meeting their sales goals so time will tell i guess.
You can read, can't you? Re-read the first paragraph of my last post.
Best 1/2 ton EVER?? LMAO!!! Anything close to being best wouldn't have major tranny, driveshaft and camshaft issues. Not to mention tailgates that buckle and split under normal use. Toyota then says you need to remove the tailgate when loading heavy cargo and not to put more than 100 lbs on it and NOT to drive with it open anytime. yet they sell bed extenders on their website...WTF??? I have also heard reports of the thin sheet metal in the beds and on the exterior denting when stepping on the wheel wells or leaning into the bed. Thin paint issues as well as cheap painted dash and other interior panels that the paint rubs off is also a common complaint. I really think Toyota put all of it's effort into the engine tranny and forgot about the rest of the truck. Yet the engine/tranny have proven to be unreliable so far too. So tell me, how is this the best 1/2 ton ever? Ohyeah, it does 0-60 in under 7 seconds, riiiiiggghhhtttt!!!!
PS Did I mention Bed Bounce and the Ultra-Flexy TripleFlex riveted c-channel frame yet? Yep, it's the BEST!!!!
Huh? 200K in 6 months? They did NOT reach their goal of 200K sold for the entire year. Better re-check those numbers.
I am willing to bet anyone they will not even exceed 175K in 2008. Anyone?
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