And if it was designed for the current market which is away from huge body on frame designs that it would do well.....Toyota should of made in unibody and size like the mercedes G class if it had any hope of a future.

 

lol @ this thread

 

What? Make the Sequoia the size of the G Class? The G wagon or The GL? or GLK?

 

My mistake. GL class I meant to say.

 

Yes and make it cost like $80K too....are you for real?

 

A unibody Sequioa with the same cheapo interior would not cost more that $50k.

 

Actually, the whole Solara line was originally due to be canned for the 2009 model year (just look at Motor Trend's and Car & Driver's September '09 issues, and they show the Solara as being discontinued). At the last minute, however, Toyota decided to extend the convertible's life by two more years, until the end of the 2010 model year. The Solara coupe is dead, though.

As to Jim Press' move to Chrysler, besides the big bucks offer from Chrysler/Cerberus, it is said that, having recently remarried, he was also tired of spending half of each month away in Japan.

 

[QUOTE][Actually, the whole Solara line was originally due to be canned for the 2009 model year (just look at Motor Trend's and Car & Driver's September '09 issues, and they show the Solara as being discontinued)/QUOTE]

Now I know where I read about the Solara being discontinued. I thought it was well know that Toyota had been talking about discontinuing the Solara for a while now.

I can't see it being good for Toyota if they continue with the current Solara powertrain...

Perhaps the next gen Solara convertible may be based off IS convetible?

 

They'd have to design an entirely new chassis/platform for something of this magnitude rather than use the economies of scale of using the Tundra chassis. Explain how this would save money for Toyota.

The full-size truck/suv has a market, it's just getting smaller. The people who want/need these vehicles for towing, etc are still going to buy them and appreciate the capabilities that the body on frame design affords them.

 

There is talk about GM switching the full size SUVs to unibodies for the next redesign http://www.trucktrend.com/features/n...ody/index.html

There was even talk about redesigning the Land Cruiser with a unibody...

Toyota could of been the leader by moving the Sequoia to a unibody structure...instead Toyota now has to idle production of a vehicle that has been on the market for 10 months....talk about losing money.

A Range Rover and a GL mercedes can tow around 7500lbs..a fully loaded Sequoia Plat 4wd can tow around 8800lbs....Toyota already has a body on frame 8500lb tow vehicle with the Land Cruiser...why do they need both?

Obviously people don't because they are sitting on lots longer than any Toyota I have ever seen.

 

Pagemaster raised good questions and I think there have been some good responses.

 

You damn right I did....and these questions need to be addressed.

There was a time when everyone (public and magazines) praised Toyota for their interiors, build quality and value...

 

According to whom?

Utilizing the same basic frame and drivetrain structure as the Tundra saves a boatload in developement costs and materials, especially from a more of a niche market such as the full size Sequioa.

Your whole premise on unibody structure somehow impacting demand has no merit whatsoever. The two stalwarts of their class, the Honda Odyssey and (new) Pilot are both unibody and also being scaled back in production quite a bit. The driving motivator of these isn't because of design, but rather lackluster sales in the large truck / SUV segments because of consumer confidence in the economy as well as steep gas prices.

 

According to whom?

 

Are you a teenager? Seriously, every rebuff with data that has been relayed to you, you've ignored or cited some anonymous sources (aka rumors).

That original quote was because you (somehow) are comparing an $80K GL class luxury SUV with a $30K class Sequoia. If you don't understand development time, material costs, production process, i would suggest you google those before making some wild random theories again....