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Originally Posted by GrandePdre
If Ford and GM have been doing this for years, why don't they have this stuff in their 1/2 ton pickups?
And now you are missing the point too. More hp, more tq, bigger brakes, more gears in the transmission......all of these are a part of the full-size game of one-upmanship Ford and GM have been playing in ernest for decades. The problem with relying on these to give you an advantage is that they have a very low life expectancy in that respect and don't really do anything to differentiate you from the competition. In essence they make you king for a day.
Don't get me wrong, you have to play this game to seriously contend in this marekt. but you have to do something else as well, and preferably it needs to be something that truly sets you apart.
As for the Tow Command on the F-250, I imagine Toyota will offer something when they bring a 3/4, 1-ton, and diesel truck to market in the next 2-3 years. Ford and GM had a 50 year head-start.
They may indeed offer something similar. But again, the issue with Tow Command is that the system was truly ground breaking when it debuted and made everybody say 'why didn't we think of that'. What about the new Tundra really makes you stop and wonder why everybody isn't doing it? Realistically, not much.
As for the issue of rebates, Toyota clearly did miss the boat on the base cab trucks. The cheap work truck isn't so cheap at $23,000, so that's the main reason for the $2-3K rebates. But a 5.7L 4x4 double cab short bed truck is a hard find. Most dealerships, including here in Kentucky, are on a wait list for that or any Crew Max.
To be fair product mix is hurting Toyota right now, and once that issue is resolved things will improve somewhat. But frankly part of the reason the mix is off is due to the fact that a lot of the customers Toyota thought they might swayu in the work truck market weren't. And a lot of the folks buying those Tundra double cabs are repeat Toyota customers upgrading to the newest thing. While earning repeat business is a good thing the above scenario isn't what Toyota wants, and certainly doesn't bode well given the fact that numbers aren't much better than last year. What happens when the repeat customer surge dies? At this rate I geneuinely expect all Tundra's to have rebates equal to what the base trucks do now within a year, and for base trucks to double current rebate levels.
Not every configuration is kicking butt, but the key ones are. And from what I hear, Toyota is planning to change how the dealers preference and order the truck to keep up with what Ford and GM dealers do.
This is a good idea.
But your characterization that this was a total miss is far from the truth.
It is an evolutionary step in the right direction, and in some ways is very compelling, But a few key areas are conspiring to hurt this truck badly. A face-lift, a lower msrp, and the addition of something truly innovative like a TDi V8 would do wonders for Toyota's Tundra.
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