Oriental Toyota Tundra Concedes Defeat

Wow, never saw this one coming.

So, you don't think this might be connected to the price of fuel? I'd bet that all large auto sales are way off right now. Toyota, Jeep, Ford, etc are all guilty of bad timing here - the Sequoia, Commander, Expedition EL, etc are all old-market vehicles in a time when size isn't a good thing.

If gas prices stay high, I wouldn't be surprised to see them all fade away once the current crop is sold.

Gas Saver wrote:

So, you don't think this might be connected to the price of fuel? I'd bet that all large auto sales are way off right now. Toyota, Jeep, Ford, etc are all guilty of bad timing here - the Sequoia, Commander, Expedition EL, etc are all old-market vehicles in a time when size isn't a good thing.
If gas prices stay high, I wouldn't be surprised to see them all fade away once the current crop is sold.

No!! it is that it sucks. Real men don't want a Jap truck. Ford sold 52,000 trucks last month and in on pace to do it again in March. Toyota will not win this market...Sorry silly Toyota Tundras are for girls..

200k tundras later and $500 million out of domestic pockets and thats your definition of defeat??
haha- thanks for the laugh.

I agree with the above post.

Toyota simply got it wrong (again) with the Tundra.

Gas Saver wrote:

So, you don't think this might be connected to the price of fuel? I'd bet that all large auto sales are way off right now. Toyota, Jeep, Ford, etc are all guilty of bad timing here - the Sequoia, Commander, Expedition EL, etc are all old-market vehicles in a time when size isn't a good thing.
If gas prices stay high, I wouldn't be surprised to see them all fade away once the current crop is sold.

Trucks will never fade away, they are too needed.

Mark wrote:

<quoted text>
Trucks will never fade away, they are too needed.

Toyota trucks are not needed, they are not useful for work so what good are they. Toyota will be ending production on this little heap very soon. Toyota said this was the last shot at the Tundra, they through in everything but the kitchen sink to get this thing moving and it still is failing. HAHA bye bye Turda..

Built Ford Tough wrote:

<quoted text>Toyota trucks are not needed, they are not useful for work so what good are they. Toyota will be ending production on this little heap very soon. Toyota said this was the last shot at the Tundra, they through in everything but the kitchen sink to get this thing moving and it still is failing. HAHA bye bye Turda..

ignorant prick.
i too hope GM and Ford think the tundra is going away- this has been the problem for domestics for the last decade. They didn't take toyota seriously and look what happended.

The problem is that people like you run the "little 3" and drove them intot he ground.

toyota wrote:

<quoted text>
ignorant prick.
i too hope GM and Ford think the tundra is going away- this has been the problem for domestics for the last decade. They didn't take toyota seriously and look what happended.
The problem is that people like you run the "little 3" and drove them intot he ground.

Bye bye Tundra!!!LOL

Mark wrote:

<quoted text>
Trucks will never fade away, they are too needed.

Ouch on the comprehension! The vehicles listed in my post are truck-based SUVs. Surely, real trucks are going to stay, but I believe truck-based SUVs will fade, in favor of the unit-body vehicles.

Built Ford Tough wrote:

<quoted text>Bye bye Tundra!!!LOL

It won't go away. The whole market is down, and Toyota is the only smart one to reduce production. GM has no choice as AA&M has shut them down. Dodge is winding down production of the "old" Ram and in the meantime Ford plods along with its "new" F-150 which has seen sales fall over 20% in the last two years.

Remember that the Tacoma vanquished the Ford Ranger. Basically, Toyota kicked Ford right out of the segment. The only Rangers they produce anymore are low-buck fleet trucks that don't carry any profit. Ford just needs to keep producing to keep Twin Cities assembly open until the next UAW contract.

Truckin wrote:

<quoted text>
It won't go away. The whole market is down, and Toyota is the only smart one to reduce production. GM has no choice as AA&M has shut them down. Dodge is winding down production of the "old" Ram and in the meantime Ford plods along with its "new" F-150 which has seen sales fall over 20% in the last two years.
Remember that the Tacoma vanquished the Ford Ranger. Basically, Toyota kicked Ford right out of the segment. The only Rangers they produce anymore are low-buck fleet trucks that don't carry any profit. Ford just needs to keep producing to keep Twin Cities assembly open until the next UAW contract.

Bye bye Tundra!!

Truckin wrote:

<quoted text>
It won't go away. The whole market is down, and Toyota is the only smart one to reduce production. GM has no choice as AA&M has shut them down. Dodge is winding down production of the "old" Ram and in the meantime Ford plods along with its "new" F-150 which has seen sales fall over 20% in the last two years.
Remember that the Tacoma vanquished the Ford Ranger. Basically, Toyota kicked Ford right out of the segment. The only Rangers they produce anymore are low-buck fleet trucks that don't carry any profit. Ford just needs to keep producing to keep Twin Cities assembly open until the next UAW contract.

I believe they will keep producing it without the iforce and possibly further reduce the weight in anyway shape or form possible as this will lead to an even less physically powerful vehicle. What say you?

I believe the whole segment is going to vanish as we know it. It will go back to the late 70's when those who actually need a truck will purchase one. Way too many people driving around in a "posh" pickup truck with little to no use of the towing capacity or cargo area.

Something has got to give, people must decide between paying the mortgage, paying for the $30K+ truck, or filling it up with gas. The market will just downsize in the fullsize truck market just like the compact truck market went away almost completely.

Toyota doesn't stand to lose much if the full size truck market evaporates. They sell 200K/yr and have a spankin new plant in Texas. That plant can be re-tooled to produce another vehicle.

On the other hand, the Detroit 3 are fully dependent on truck sales, so if the segment evaporates they'll struggle for product and have many plants idles.

I believe sales continue to decline until somewhere around the 2010 year. Shortly thereafter, another round of slightly increased full size truck and SUV sales will come about. Offerings will continue to have a posh interior and men will continue to purchase these rides for their suburban wives. Owners that step down from the market will be those 30-40K income earners that bounce around town in a Suburban, of which lack the means to pay for such vehicles. Contractors, farmers, and the like will continue to delve in the HD’s as these will no doubt exhibit new and more efficient powertrains. I believe GM goes on as the SUV leader, and Toyota moves forward with the lighter weight, slightly more efficient SUV/PU.
I still believe Americans love “big and flashy” and the economy will get better.

I think the difference this time is that India and China are driving permanent increases in energy costs, as their societies become wealthier and more consumption-oriented. I wouldn't be surprised to see people go away from 2 large vehicles to a small commuter/grocery-getter and a larger, less frequently operated "nice" vehicle for travel and the like.

I agree with you guys that Pickups are likely to fade back as a work vehicle, while midsize pickups will probably get a little more attention than they do now, especially in the "Homeowner pickup" vein.

At current, China and India are experiencing huge industrialization. I’m hoping the demand will level around 2010. If this doesn’t happen, we’ll continue to see further declines. As more refineries come on line worldwide and further growth of “gas sippers” hit the roads and fuel solution technologies become enhanced, we may see barrels fall back to $85 in the next 2-3 years.

I want the El Camino back....the cowboy Cadillac. For those that want a car but need a truck.

Scru Toyota.......

Texas Tornado wrote:

I want the El Camino back....the cowboy Cadillac. For those that want a car but need a truck.

Trucking, what are you doing around these parts?