^^^I think your being a little too sensitive, fanfan. I have no idea how the dealership vehicle purchasing works, but I do find it interesting that Toyota finds it necessary to institute a "somewhat unique" program on a truck that just came out. And by your numbers, the NEW Tundra offers more cash on the hood for dealers than any other vehicle. That is the point of the article, and the point I have been trying to make. . . .that and the fact that Lexus and Scion dealerships need an incentive to purchase their own product.
As you said (and I will assume it is true), most auto companies do this, so fine, maybe it's not a big deal. . . . . but I find it to be more than a coincident that the base Tundra is ~$2000 more than the base domestic, and that is the amount ToMoCo has put on the hood to "convince" it's dealers to buy their own truck. . . .
Anyhow, your right about my ignorance on this subject, I honestly have no idea how it works. . . .but I do have a fair bit of common sense and deductive reasoning, and this "somewhat unique" program seems to be an bad indication for the base Tundra this soon after it's launch. . . .
__________________
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Just found this article on Tundra sales. Looks like they are selling just fine. Hope they can keep the momentum going.
So the article basically repeated what myself and most others have said all along, truck loyalty is fierce. The Toyota faithful represent the majority (53%) of the Tundra sales (trading an old Tundra for a new Tundra), while the Domestic faithful continue to buy their preferred truck (F150, Ram, Silverado, Sierra). Not as many (old) Tundra's are being traded for domestic trucks, and that should not be a surprise (read brand loyalty).
I still contend that the majority of sales for the new Tundra will come from Ram and Titan owners (seem to be the least loyal as both the F150 and Silverado had "loyalty" increases of 4% from Jan to Feb). I do wish the "domestic trucks" conglomerate would have been broken up by individual models to give a clearer picture.
As far as higher "average retail transaction", that’s easy.
1) The domestics own the fleet truck market, and those trucks are very inexpensive, so that alone brings down the "average transaction price" for domestic trucks.
2) Two of the four domestic trucks (or two of the three if you combined both GM trucks) have been on the market for over 4 years with little to no changes, so the Ram and F150 have cash on the hood to move the metal (hell, the Ram has a free Hemi upgrade and $5000 cash back, how’s that for a hit on "average transaction price"!!!). The F150's "average transaction price" is held higher due to it's higher end models such as the King Ranch edition ($45,000+ truck) and Harley Davidson Edition.
3) The Tundra is priced higher than a comparable domestic truck (don't just think new Silverado, but Ram and F150 too).
Combine these, plus the fact that the Tundra is an all new, highly anticipated new vehicle from Toyota, and you have a recipe for higher transaction prices. It will be curious to see these stats after the Tundra has been on the market for a year and all of the "gotta have it", Toyota faithful buyers have their new Tundra. This will be the true test of the new Tundra's "staying power".
With all the being said, I have repeatedly predicted that the Tundra will hit it's 200k mark this year. I test drove one and thought it was a great truck, with a quirky look and a cheap interior. . . . .but as far as capabilities, it is stout!!!!
__________________
-Behind every argument is someone’s ignorance.
-Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.
My thought would be that they could be offering the program to encourage dealers to replace thier existing, old body style Tundra, sooner rather than later just to get the new ones on the road sooner.
We dont have Scion here so I cant say there, and I cant immagine Lexus running parts around in an LX470. If those dealers were using other brands I would think that they would have just been late model trade ins.
We occasionally use pickups that were traded in if we need to go get somthing big, normally we just use our Matrix. I immagine alot of dealers (especially Scion) would be in the same kind of situation, use an Xb most of the time and a traded truck for the odd occasion that you need to get somthing bigger.
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