Why Does the Tacoma Dominate the Off-Road Pickup Segment?

Trigganometry

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I just wasn't about to buy a brand new 2019 vehicle with drum brakes. Wasn't going to happen. It's weird how Toyota keeps defending their drum brakes too... It's like someone in the 80's bought a ten million sets of them and thought "Let's get in on this bulk deal, there will NEVER be a time that these go obsolete".

They just keep doubling down on their crappy 40 year old brakes and I don't understand why. I probably would have bought a taco too since I wanted a manual, but with so much of their antiquated technology I just couldn't do it.
Funny you say this. I got a buddy that has a F100 Ranger. Has a 427 in it now and still just rear wheel drive. After the motor got dropped in and fired up was time for the first road trip. Mind you this has drum breaks all around. Well getting up to 90 mph was in record time but.... Oh crap these breaks are not going to cut it. They fade so fast and I could drag my foot and stop faster. Well the fix was a little more involved. Used the complete front end of a Granada if I remember right. Did aftermarket rear disc later on. Man that truck is crazy fast though!
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RangerMarc

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I think there's quite a bit of brand loyalty out there and many people just think US built vehicles are inferior to the overseas manufactures. Advertising too is a big thing. I liken this to Bose speakers, some people think they are the greatest ever but in reality they certainly are not and are way overpriced. Why do people buy them? Because they advertise the crap out of them, they even have a Bose Store. Ever see any other speaker companies have a commercial or their own store? Toyota advertised and sold lots of trucks while Ford dropped out of the market.
 

OFC Ranger

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If no one has said it outright I will.

Tacoma's are like Jeeps. They have more or less a cult like following.

Jeep could release a special edition Rubicon that only includes an upgraded LED cup holder that lights up the word "PENIS" on it for $10,000 extra and they will sell every last unit.

PENIS Edition Rubicon - $75,000 - sold out no problem.

Don't take this as personal knock to our Jeep owners here, but you know I'm right.
 

slowmachine

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If no one has said it outright I will.

Tacoma's are like Jeeps. They have more or less a cult like following.

Jeep could release a special edition Rubicon that only includes an upgraded LED cup holder that lights up the word "PENIS" on it for $10,000 extra and they will sell every last unit.

PENIS Edition Rubicon - $75,000 - sold out no problem.

Don't take this as personal knock to our Jeep owners here, but you know I'm right.
Of course there is some truth to this. I've had three Jeeps (1957, 1977, 1977) and three Toyota trucks (1990 Pickup, 2005 Tundra, 2010 Tacoma). Though my son has worked for a Toyota dealer for almost 20 years, and could find a deal on anything that I want, I only window-shop for Jeeps. PENIS Edition or not, there's something there that appeals to me. I test drove a few Wrangler Unlimiteds before deciding on the Ranger, and it felt enough like a HMMWV that I knew I would love it, and that my wife would never ride in it. She loves the Ranger.
 

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Originally I was thinking about either the Taco or the gladiator when I heard ford was going to make the rangers out of South Africa before Trump said he would heavily tax those imports but after the switch getting the ranger was not to hard to deicide on.
 


FoD

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Every time I see ā€˜TRDā€™ my brain says ā€˜turdā€™

Canā€™t help it! Just the way Iā€™m wired!!! ?
I was reading through this thread and thinking all about the TuRD Pro's that everyone was on about, thinking to myself "Am I the only who sees this??":lipssealed:
 

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Every Tacoma I have ever sat in felt like sitting in a car. Seat low to the floor boards and no room. Not to mention getting in out of them my upper leg hits the steering wheel.

My parents have a Tacoma Iā€™ve driven several times and I hate it.
 

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^^Same Here^^
Test drove them thinking it was going to be the one. I would finally get my Taco. Even went to buy it on a Tuesday so I could call it Taco Tuesday.

Then I hated it. Had to start looking at other trucks and start the search all over again.
 

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Rock solid reliability, resale value ,nice offroad look . That being said - lets face it they are very dated looking at this point , no stellar perfomance per se' , cramped cabin , no real tuning options etc. If they dont shake up this next redesign I think they will start to lose market share. FWIW.
 

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Rock solid reliability, resale value ,nice offroad look . That being said - lets face it they are very dated looking at this point , no stellar perfomance per se' , cramped cabin , no real tuning options etc. If they dont shake up this next redesign I think they will start to lose market share. FWIW.
I almost bought an early 2000's Taco TRD (as a toy vehicle) off a used lot until I reached underneath to check the bottom and pulled off a chunk of frame the size of my hand as I tried to use it to slide myself underneath. Of course it had been painted nice shiny black by the dealership so retards wouldn't see it :)
 

sootie007

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This is the part I don't understand--the article of faith that they're rock solid, regardless of the fact that they actually have a bunch of issues. If nothing else their marketing seems spot-on.
No mumbo jumbo here -I have owned 4 toyotas in my lifetime ;) ......3 bought brand new, 1 used ....all driven to over 130k the highest to 146k , only one of my trucks was in the shop "ever" for an 02 issue which they wouldnt cover at first which pixxed me off -but was covered - they reimbursed me later.....I believe that was settled due to class action lawsuit......I am very religous with my oil changes which I do myself and thats about it. FWIW.
 

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No mumbo jumbo here -I have owned 4 toyotas in my lifetime ;) ......3 bought brand new, 1 used ....all driven to over 130k the highest to 146k
I guess you didn't have the frame problems, the ball joint problem, the transmission 125k problem, etc.? I mean, there are plenty of rangers that have made it well past 150k, but so many toyota fanboys act like it's only possible in a toyota (and that any problems with a toyota don't count). I don't expect to change any minds, I just think it's weird.
 

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No mumbo jumbo here -I have owned 4 toyotas in my lifetime ;) ......3 bought brand new, 1 used ....all driven to over 130k the highest to 146k , only one of my trucks was in the shop "ever" for an 02 issue which they wouldnt cover at first which pixxed me off -but was covered - they reimbursed me later.....I believe that was settled due to class action lawsuit......I am very religous with my oil changes which I do myself and thats about it. FWIW.
I've taken Rangers and Xterras to that mileage too. It's nothing for a modern (post 2010) vehicle to get 200k miles. Toyotas have a reputation because in the days when 100K was a stretch for a vehicle, they were getting 200K.

Now that cars can easily get 200K, can a Toyota waltz right through 400k? Or 500k? No.
The competition is catching up. It seems like 300K is quickly becoming the ceiling even though there are a few exceptions that pass it.

All vehicles have issues - but when you can't make it past 100k, people focus on the issues.
When you can make it to 200k people focus on reliability - even if there are the same amount of issues. That's why Toyotas perception / reputation is at risk.
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