2002 Toyota Tundra SR5 from North America - All Comments

20:46 "Of course, every vehicle we own is a domestic, because of the poor reliability of imports".

Even my new, cheap little Hyundai puts to shame GM and Ford vehicles I've owned for twice the price.

And my Toyota's were so far ahead of them that it truly saddens me to think people still buy from the Big 3.

17:23 are you referring to the Cadillacs from years ago with the 4-6-8 cylinders? Or are you referring to overdrive transmissions and gearing that enable the current V8 to basically run at near idle on the expressways?

The new Corvette with the 6 speed does not become a 4 cylinder. In addition any comment on why the rationale of driving a 4 cylinder to work 100 miles to work one way vs. the 5 minute commute of the V8 owner? Why does my coworkers need a big homes out in the suburbs with more fuel oil to heat their homes, gas to mow a couple acres? The answer that I hear is for their families, but they buy a small car to justify the commute.

I need to see if the combination highway into the city fuel consumption is any less than my own. I burn maybe 10 gallons a week to work... any comment on what anyone is getting with imports driving the longer distance doing any better?

Add in less repairs, less tire wear and the cost of petroleum to mfr the lesser life tires etc. due to the high commuter mileage. It starts getting less practical driving so far. Downsizing the car is only part of the solution.

Well, no matter how near or far you live from work, a V8 still gets less fuel economy than a 4 cylinder. You are technically still using more gas per vehicle.

Besides- not ALL people who live far out own small fuel efficient cars. Quite the opposite, because it seems like the vast majority of those I see making those commutes back and forth to their McMansions drive Suburbans and Escapades. Ironically, where I live near the city, the majority of the people here drive small compact cars.

21st Aug 2008, 09:32.

Actually the Corolla does have some collector models, they are just real hard to find in the US. The AE-86 chassis known in the US as the Corolla GT-S/SR5 coupe but the rest of the world knows it as the Sprinter Trueno. Which has the 4A-GEU 1.6 L I4, 16-valve DOHC, EFI, 130 hp and could easily have a turbo added. This car is quite popular in the rally circuits and has resulted in most of them being bought and taken to Europe.

For all of the I only buy American built cars. The AE-82 & 84 Corolla was also re-badged and sold as the Chevy Nova / Holden Nova and Geo Prism. That is right GM purchased cars from Toyota and slapped there name on them. Sounds like GM knows that Toyota makes better built cars than they do.

I doubt those that own businesses with the Mc Mansions locate 100 miles from work as typically they need to be close. It seems that 10 gallons = 10 gallons of fuel either a V8 or 4 cylinder. My reasoning is a family far out in the suburbs in not necessary a mansion buys the little car... yet burns 5 tanks of oil to my 3 in their home. But drive a 4 cylinder extremely far to justify the distance. I know as I work with quite a few. I am also seeing more on Motorcycles as well. Keep in mind most anyone can afford a car payment and that includes used Escalades... I prefer a more sedate vehicle but not anemic.

Of course most V-8's get far worse mileage than most 4's. And NO, all 4's are not dog-slow and unresponsive. No matter how far you drive, whether 5 miles or 500 miles, you'll burn less gas with most 4's.

Two and a half decades ago a Mustang GT boasted a whopping 170 horsepower. Now 4-cylinder Fusions have that much, and the new V-6 Mustangs put out more power than the last generation V-8's did.

You don't have to give up performance in driving a 4-cylinder car, especially if you stick with the more reliable domestic 4's that require less repairs and less maintenance and produce respectable horsepower.

Who cares if a 4-cylinder gets slightly better gas mileage on short trips to work? I drive an old V-8 to work, 10 miles, and get about 16 mpg in 1/3rd stop-and-go, 1/3rd flat interstate, and 1/3rd 12% uphill interstate. I put about 4,500 miles per year on the vehicle. Trading it on a new 4-cylinder would make no economic sense -- I would be better off making a donation to the Environmental Defense Fund rather than buying a new car in hopes of saving money by getting better gas mileage.

Even if a 4-cylinder gets 5 mpg better under those conditions, it just isn't worth it to trade to save 44 gallons of gas per year. Maybe that will change when gasoline reaches $6/gallon, or if I have to drive farther to work. Until then, I'll drive the car I have (and enjoy), and when it's time to park it or sell it or it gets hit by a semi, then maybe it will be time to look for a cheap commuter like a Focus, or something fun like a Caliber SRT4.

What I won't do is jump on the bandwagon that says everybody has to buy a Corolla just because gas prices have gone up a buck.

"For all of the I only buy American built cars. The AE-82 & 84 Corolla was also re-badged and sold as the Chevy Nova / Holden Nova and Geo Prism. That is right GM purchased cars from Toyota and slapped there name on them. Sounds like GM knows that Toyota makes better built cars than they do."

Toyota bought Chevy Cavaliers, slapped their name on and sold them as the "Toyota Cavalier." Your argument is moot.

No, I wouldn't buy a Corolla because they are bland, boring and don't come in any attractive colors. They are also very unreliable compared to domestics.

I WOULD buy (and DO drive) a sporty GM 4-cylinder compact, or the awesome Dodge Caliber SRT-4. These cars are economical, sporty, VERY fast (the SRT will leave many V-8's in the dust) and have a warranty that is really not needed (no new domestic is going to have a problem in less than 100,000 miles) but is a nice indication of the manufacturer's confidence in their product.

You'll notice Toyota still has a VERY poor warranty. That says volumes about their poor reliability.

My 4-cylinder compact with only minor engine upgrades does 0-60 in just over 7 seconds. That is not slow by any means. It also handles very well, gets GREAT fuel mileage and is extremely sporty. It is a very sporty bright red (which imports don't even offer).

I am very pleased with its performance and don't understand how I'd benefit by driving another gas guzzling V-8. My last V-8 muscle car got a whopping 15 mpg highway and did 0-60 ONE SECOND faster than my 4-cylinder GM compact. For ONE SECOND I should buy TWICE as much gas?? What's the point??

Talking economy and mpg is one thing, and performance and mpg is another.

The last thing I would recommend is buying a 6 cylinder Mustang, even convertible. I know 2 owners, one has even added Cobra wheels but why? I had a 75 Vette convertible with only 165 hp due to the wonderful smog requirement, and today with all the engineering advances, the horsepower has more than doubled and 28 mpg on the expressway.

I could move out to the suburbs and do a long commute. But then I am saving energy buying 2 less tanks (275 gallons x 2) fuel oil in my smaller home.

And back to my 75 Vette; even though the HP was the worse of any V8 model I ever owned, I sold it for $3000 more than it cost. The saving grace was it was a convertible that was not available again til mid 80's. Even selling for more than it cost new is not realistic when you factor in interest on a car loan, insurance, but it's nice having zero depreciation.

I question modifying a Datsun 210... the time work and when you sell what is it?

I had a 1982 Datsun 280ZX and it was a very stylish car in its day... I had the white 2 + 2 which looked nice with the dark glass T Tops.

Interesting enough it cost more to insure than our Corvette we owned at the same time. Even with the 2 + 2 (back seat with lower rates) Mine was pre Nissan it was still carrying the Datsun labels on the 280ZX at the time.

Pretty plush, but A/C totally failed at 50,000 miles, and even being only 4 years old at the time had rust!

Not a great performer or even very quick in non turbo form.

Ones I have seen have rusted badly lately, and they certainly depreciated heavily.

The diagnostic display was ahead of its time.

I switch back and forth domestics and imports. If it's stylish and fun I buy...

I drove a pretty bland 210 when my 280ZX was in the shop by the way. A very bland plain sedan but it got you there if that's all you expect. Even my full size truck is fun to drive, it's from coming from the sports cars.

That's a good truck. Of course it is; it's a Toyota, which means it's top of the line in 2002, or 1982, either way, it's a far cry better than any disposable Ford or Chevy.

And the '08 Tundra is Motor Trend's 'truck of the year', as it should be.

If you own a Ford or Chevy, and don't like Toyota's, no one cares. It still doesn't change the fact that Toyota's are better made.

I am using my new full size Silverado almost exclusively for towing my boat only. It's tough and up to the job. If you need a full size truck, use it for its intent and purpose. It somehow gets into small car debates... so buy one and commute empty.

I've owned 7 Mustangs. The last V-8 was a '90 LX 5.0 H.O. It got 15 mpg on the highway and 10-11 in town.

In August of '07 I bought a fully loaded V-6 Mustang. It cost $5000 less than the new V-8, the insurance was about 40% less, and it gets 25 mpg highway and 20-21 in town.

The interior (which is leather) is identical to the V-8, and the ride is much less harsh. It is actually FASTER than my '90 5.0, especially from 0-100. The only modification on it is a cold-air system.

In this day and age I can't imagine why anyone would want to pay 5 grand more, 40% more insurance, and get much worse fuel mileage just so they can boast about having a V-8. You can't even fully use the full potential of a Chevy Aveo legally, so why pay out the wazoo for bragging rights? I'd rather use my hard earned money for something a little more tangible.

In 2007 Motor Trend picked the Camry as Car of the Year because Toyota finally put a V-6 in it capable of better than a 10-second 0-60 time. However as it became obvious that very few Camrys were even remotely reliable (it is one of the most unreliable cars ever made) Motor Trend wisely chose a DOMESTIC for the 2008 Car of the Year. No doubt the very bad reliability of the Tundra will again embarrass them and a domestic truck will (AGAIN) be Truck of the Year in 2009 (probably the world's best selling F-150).