bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

do they really have to make the hood SO high?

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

Rugged and Modern little thing. Would like to see a Xtreme or SS version of this.

pbm317

I've read a lot about pending pedestrian safety regulations calling for increased hood height. So you can probably thank that for this design result.

pbm317

I imagine Toyota won't let the segment leader fade away. And rumor is Frontier may re-merge with their international platform as well.

Toys4RJill

Are you nuts or just out of your mind, or both? The Toyota Tacoma has a loyal following that goes back a very long time. The current one is not the greatest right now because it is an older design. The next gen Tacoma will be a class leader that is for sure.

spwolf

dude, thats for low hood sports cars... not for trucks, it would be opposite for them as this thing will hit you right in the head.

for cars they are making it that there has to be some distance between engine and hood for absorbtion purposes, when body hits the hood... For instance, IS300h has pop-up hood in Europe because of that.

But there is no way you will hit the hood of this thing, you will be run over by it

Lil4X

Agreed. This is the truck Chevy should have built five years ago. The revised Colorado will haul or tow about anything 99% of pickup owners actually use their vehicle for. My daughter's 4X4 Dakota Sport is a fine size, but thanks to it's antiquity, gets about the same mileage out of its 3.9L V6 as the full size 2WD Ram with the V8. It's a nice size, if a little snug for my 3XL frame. I'm sure the extended cab offers more room. I had driven a customer's tricked-out early 90's Dakota Limited Edition Crew Cab all over West Texas for a few days when it was new and I was perfectly comfortable behind the wheel. I guess I'm just not cut out for the "shotgun" position - or a "Sport" suspension on a truck. In more modern mid-size trucks, refinement has finally arrived to produce a better ride, better fuel numbers, all with the same forged steel reliability of our old warhorse.

My daughter's cowboy Cadillac is REALLY stiff - even for a 4X4 because of the large hauling capacity of this truck is pretty close to that of the Ram. But if a rough road has you playing a two-cushion shot with your skull against the roof, it all smooths out on the highway. The thing is practically indestructible as my daughter managed to slam into the back end of a Bentley this fall after Mr. Gotrocks cut her off in traffic. She came away with only a tiny bit of white paint on her black bumper as a souvenir. The luxoboat was pretty well crumpled aft of the rear axle, but the Dakota only needs a new front license plate. The thing's a tank.

Mini-pickups were never well received here in Texas - first because they didn't have the requisite machismo of a full-size pickup, and second, they were designed by and for Asians in their home market and a few Europeans that are a couple sizes smaller than our rangy cowboys. I rode for 3 hours in a P'up (Chevy/Isuzu) pounding my way over to Louisiana early in the trucklet's development cycle, and could barely get my knees out from under my chin upon arrival in Lake Charles. Too bad it would be years before American truck builders saw the problem in that. The Dakota's not exactly spacious, but with a little wiggling I can find a relatively comfortable position within even on the passenger's side. Another reason these mid-size and mini pickups were not well received, was that the anticipated mileage never lived up to the truck's dimensional sacrifices.

Maybe, with the diesel I-4, even with that blunt nose can actually creep over the 20mpg barrier and please a few new urban cowboys.

MPLexus301

iTrader: (3)

Very nice looking exterior, but that interior......holy crap

TRDFantasy

Exterior looks good and bad at the same time. It looks disproportionate and too tall.
The interior is just atrocious.

I expect the next-gen Tacoma that's coming soon to easily beat this and remain class leader.

Agreed. The exterior has potential, but what ruins it for me is the REALLY high bed and front end, which makes the truck look goofy, like some cheap knock-off design.

Don't jump for joy yet, that turbodiesel won't be out until the 2nd year of production, so quite a long while away still.

Tacoma? Irrelevant? LOL there are some serious comedians posting here.

Do you even know what you're talking about?

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

The fact that it's coming is a comforting feeling nonetheless

TRDFantasy

Yes, I will give GM credit for the fact they're introducing it at least .
Not too sure what the real benefit will be, given the difference in gas and diesel prices.
Also something to keep in mind is that Toyota has been working on a heavy duty hybrid system for pickups for years now, and it could debut either with the next-gen Tundra or next-gen Tacoma. A heavy-duty hybrid would suddenly change the competitive situation versus turbodiesels.

One more thing to keep in mind is that Toyota's commercial truck subsidiary Hino has tons of experience with heavy-duty hybrids.

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

That's true and they worked with Ford for a while on it. Two of the best companies for Hybrids and Trucks. That said, I think a heavy duty hybrid is going to be extremely expensive. They would sell at GSh rates rather than ESh rates. GM experiemented with those two-mode Tahoe/Yukon/Silverado/Sierra Hybrids with marginal fuel increases, lower tow ratings, and an inflated price. Chrysler did as well with that limited run Aspen SUV. That said, personally I don't think the image will resonate well this time around either unless the price is within reason. Unlike a Keurig Coffee Maker, Rolex or Craftsmen Wrench, Trucks are not appliances nor accessories to people who use trucks for being a truck. These are "men's horses" so to speak albeit more modern. They want to know they have horsepower rather than battery power.

pbm317

"Dude" there are implications for trucks too, not just sports cars. Such as design elements to keep you from being run over. There was a supplier booth talking about elements for larger trucks that would basically try to route a pedestrian up and onto the hood, rather than get pulled under the front end of a truck.

TRDFantasy

Toyota worked with Ford only for a bit, they split up that partnership and are separately working on their own systems now.

The GM two-way hybrid systems were a flop for many reasons, Toyota won't be making those mistakes.

I think you're jumping to conclusions here. You should research Hino's commercial truck diesel hybrid system, it gives a hint as to what kind of hybrid system Toyota pickups might use. Hino's system is much different than Toyota's HSD in their cars and quite different than GM's Two Mode hybrids as well .

http://www.hino.com/trucks/story_1138.php

Hino is the world leader in commercial hybrid vehicles whether it's trucks or buses. Their hybrid commercial vehicles have racked up tens of millions of miles of rock solid reliable operation. The Hino hybrid system also improves the fuel economy significantly, we're talking a 30-50% fuel economy improvement over regular diesel engines.

As for cost we'll see.

My point is that Toyota has a huge amount of hybrid heavy truck experience with their Hino subsidiary, and I'm sure they're using that experience to help them make a hybrid system for pickups and large SUVs.

If cost is reasonable, fuel economy savings big, and work capability is not any worse then I think Toyota's hybrid pickups and large SUVs will sell.

In any case, it will be interesting to see how close the system ends up being compared to Hino's system.

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

It's all good and I wish them luck but pricing worries me. Not to mention you're still left with Americans who when it comes to domestic trucks, will hardly budge for a foreign badge (yes the truck itself is made here) much less a hybrid version. Only time will tell