"Images in your rear view mirror may be larger than they appear, GM, Ford, & Dodge ... "
Posted on 09/30/2006 7:39:51 AM PDT by Republicain
DETROIT, United States (AFP) - While much of the auto world's attention was fixed on the Paris Motor Show, US manufacturers were keeping an eye on the Texas state fair, where Toyota was rolling out a new pickup truck.
Texas is ground zero in the pickup wars that are about to break out across the broad American landscape.
Thus, representatives from General Motors, Ford Motor Co and German-US DaimlerChrysler were all on hand for the annual State Fair of Texas in Dallas, which has become of the biggest stages for new pickup trucks.
The critical segment accounts for 14 percent of all new vehicle sales in the United States and pickups remain the vehicle of choice in the wide-open landscapes of the American West and in the American South.
Pickup trucks are sold all over the world and compact pickup trucks are immensely popular in places such as Southeast Asia and South Asia, according to Ron Harbour of Harbour and Associates of Troy, Michigan.
However, the larger full-size pickup trucks remain a uniquely American vehicle and Toyota Motor Co has tried, with only limited success, to master the formula.
So far this year Toyota, even though it was headed for record sales and seemed likely to replace the Chrysler Group as the number-three seller of vehicles in the US, had sold by the end of August a paltry 79,000 full-size pick up trucks.
Meanwhile, Nissan has been unable to reach the annual sales of 100,000 that the Japanese automaker's executives had confidently predicted when its truck was launched two years ago.
Toyota, however, is nothing if not persistent and it has built a brand-new factory dedicated to full-size pickup trucks deep in the heart of Texas.
Once the new plant in San Antonio is fully operational, Toyota expects to sell as many as 200,000 pickups annually, according to Brian Smith, Toyota corporate manager for truck operations.
The plant is scheduled to open in November and dealers are slated to begin selling the trucks in February.
Toyota also is planning its largest advertising campaign ever in the US to promote the new Texas-built version of the Tundra.
Smith added Toyota was leaving nothing to chance. The new Toyota Tundra was specifically designed to match the popular trucks offered by General Motors, Ford and DaimlerChrysler's Chrysler Group.
"This is a truck that was designed in America with Americans in mind," said Smith.
Sean McAlinden of the Center For Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Michigan, said Friday that the American truck makers were prepared to defend their turf vigorously. GM alone has set aside close to a half billion dollars to market its new trucks, he said.
GM publicly unveiled its new Chevrolet Silverado at the Texas fair. The new Silverado is simply the best truck GM has ever built, according to Gary White, the GM executive in charge of truck development.
"Our full-size pickups, as our highest-volume products, are the most important component of the most important part of our North American turnaround plan," Richard Wagoner, GM chairman and chief executive, said recently.
Mark Fields, Ford executive vice president and the head of the company's operations in North and South America, said Ford's turnaround plan also hinges on the company's continued success in the pickup truck market.
Thus, Ford rolled out the Super-Duty pickup, which is specifically designed for contractors working in heavy construction.
"The F-Series is an essential part of our core business, and we will do whatever it takes to stay number one in full-size trucks,: said Fields.
Chrysler officials also were on hand for the fair to tout a new version of the Dodge Ram with a powerful diesel engine.
"The 2007 Dodge Ram Heavy Duty's new 6.7-liter Cummins turbo-diesel engine sets the performance standard with an outstanding combination of horsepower, torque, refinement and emissions-reducing technology," said Scott Kunselman, chief engineer of Dodge Ram.
"Images in your rear view mirror may be larger than they appear, GM, Ford, & Dodge ... "
any pics?........
Heck, it looks just like a Ford!.......
Now there is an impartial and useful quote. /sarc Wouldn't the reader be better served if this came from an independent reviewer? Sigh, another "journalist" taking in press releases and writing articles. Little or no shoe leather involved, IMHO.
probably last longer though, given the Toyota reliability record ...
I won't be buying one.
It looks like those innovative Toyota engineers saw something, actually alot, they like in Fords and Dodges.
If I didn't know better I'd swear it was a Chinese knock off.
If they build it with a diesel engine option, they could really go places in the market.
Because of this, they don't have any large V8 or diesel motors designed for towing and their experience building American style, full size pickups is only very recent and very limited.
Although Toyota has probably engineered something on their own, they are much better at counterfeiting. I'm reminded of the Toyota line of tournament style waterski/wakeboard boats.
Sure, the Japanese imitate. But then they refine and improve and make more reliable. Toyota trucks have always been outstanding. Ford trucks have been good. GM trucks have been lousy recently, not to say they may not have finally fixed their product.
If you need a really big truck, then maybe Ford is the answer. But if you can make do with a smaller truck, Toyota has them all beat. It's regretable, but Detroit has been fumbling the ball for a long, long time.
It "looks" like a Japanese.
Yeah, cause it's a rebadged Isuzu!
LOL (ruefully)
The current Toyota Tundras are great trucks. My company leased several about two years ago to replace a fleet of Dodge Rams and Dakotas, as well as a couple of Chevy Silverados. The Dodges especially were just dreadful vehicles - always in the shop with one problem or another. They were mostly manual transmission trucks, and they had the worst clutches you could imagine - very long and heavy. Driving one of those on Interstate 4 in the usual parking lot was really a chore.
The Toyotas, OTOH, just run forever - about the only time they're in the shop is for oil changes, tire problems and the sort. The stick shift ones are wonderful to drive, even in stop-and-go traffic. They're very comfortable to drive and ride in, with none of the cacophony of sqeaks and rattles that you had to put up with in the Dodges, even at 60,000-ish miles. The leases on these are up soon, and I hope the company replaces them with other Toyotas.
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