Toyota (Japanese Automakers included) does not make trucks like the US makers do. We know that, right?
In this you are quite right! And I'm ever thankful for that fact and will never own anything but a Toyota truck.
You see, they design the trucks to spec. If its a 1/2 ton, its not going to carry more. Where as a Ford/Dodge/GM will carry more. Most Fullsized pickup truck owners report they have always overloaded their trucks every now and then.
Toyota sees the market for "fullsized" as a 40-something, male, with income over $50K. The bed is used for contracting (toolboxes and maybe ladder rack), small jobs and light-duty towing.
True, the T100 was (IMHO is) underpowered and inadequate.
Here is where I humbly disagree with you. My feathers aren't rustled, I just want facts thrown out there. Lets take my 1998 Toyota T100 and put it up next to a Ford F150 4x4 Supercab. This particular Ford came with the 4.6L V-8 SOHC. My T100 was rated to have a payload of 1,960lbs whereas the F150 was rated to hold 1,520lbs. Hmmm... seems like the T100 is plenty adequate. In fact, I'd sooner overload my T100 and trust it than an F150. I overloaded my previous T with about 2500lbs of steel construction material and when I unloaded, she rose right back off the bumpstops without a problem (did I mention that I drove 500 miles with it loaded like that?). My previous boss had an F150 that he'd overloaded with quarry stone and he's never been able to get a true alignment since (don't ask me the correlation, he just indicated that was the only cause he could figure out).
One other thing... towing weight. The T100 was rated for 5,000lbs whereas the F150 was rated for only, get this, 1,700lbs. I kid you not! That's significant!!!
Now, don't start gettin feathers rustled- I still have my T. (T stands for turtle...green and slow). But it starts when I turn the key. Has gotten me home from long trips.
And isn't that the point anyway? Did you really buy your pick-up truck for the 0-60 time? I would've gone with a Supra if that were my goal.
So, yes, it would be nice if Toyota made a Heavy-Duty series. It lacks this niche and I feel, its missed the mark. The Titan, I tested it, and its built cheaply...as are all Nissans. Give me a GM 2500 or F250 anyday. Diesel...well I see the $fuel is .20 cents more gallon here than premium.
Toyota and Nissan haven't been eroding domestic truck share by offering the same product, they've done it by offering a more sensible product in my estimation. If you want 0-60, go ahead and get yourself a Hemi, but if you want payload a V8 Tundra is your leader. The Hemi beats on towing by a slim margin, not nearly large enough to make it the clear winner (especially since we are talking about 4x4 models and Toyota makes theirs more off-road friendly than Dodge).
If you want size, if you want speed, then buy the a domestic. However, if you want quality, then buy Toyota. The great thing is, you don't have to sacrifice much in capabilities to get a lot better quality. In fact, the only thing I see sacrificed by going Toyota is the ostentatiousness of large Domestics.
Now, for those of you with a need for F250, F350, 2500, 3500 series needs, I say be patient (I recognize Toyota doesn't yet compete in this arena). Toyota is building/has built a plant in Texas right now that won't be building your normal Tundra. Also, have you noticed that the new Tacoma is the size of a T100? I wonder if the Tundra will have such a size increase in 2006? Its a good bet from what I've been hearing.
Uzombie, I didn't mean this post to pick on you. You just provided some fodder for my rant. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
