2002 Toyota Tundra SR5 from North America - All Comments

"I just had the misfortune of driving a brand new Chevy Aveo tonight. Long story short, left a wedding and drove the groom's Aveo from one place to another. He paid for this car the same price I paid for my new Hyundai Accent... and the Aveo is laughable. I literally felt bad for him as soon as I sat in it. This is the most cheap, tacky looking interior I've EVER seen."

It's funny how different people view things. I've test-driven two Aveos and my best friend owns a Hyundai Accent, which I've drive quite a bit. My impression is just the opposite. Though the Hyundai is a VERY good car (way ahead of the Yaris) the interior is not one iota better in any way, shape, or form than that of the Aveo. In addition, the Aveo was one of the quietest, smoothest small cars I've ever driven. It was quieter and smoother than the much higher quality GM compacts I've test-driven.

Since the Aveo is a virtual CLONE of the Hyundai, it's ludicrous to try and persuade anyone there is any really great difference in the two cars. Both are Korean imports. Both have nearly identical 4-cylinder engines, as well as comparable drive trains. Interior quality is actually just a tad BETTER in the Aveo. The materials used are slightly higher quality. I wouldn't buy either because they are imports and I don't buy anything made by a foreign-owned company (even if GM does sell it), but there is virtually ZERO difference in these two cars. For the money the larger GM compacts or the Ford Focus are a far better buy and much better quality, so in a subcompact one of those would be my choice.

"Just because something gets old doesn't mean it's automatically going to become problematic. Age in regard to a mechanical thing is only incidental."

Cars are full of plastic and rubber parts that get old and brittle and are subject to breaking much more easily. Age matters a lot more than most people really want to admit. Please also be aware that modern safety standards are recommending tires be replaced when over a certain number of years old because of quite a few fatalities when low mileage, but old, tires blew out. Age does matter.

"Sure. You're helping the 9% of all automotive workers in the U.S. who work for foreign companies. Apparently you have little concern for the other 91% of auto workers OR the entire economic stability of a country that consists of 50 states, not just a handful that employ a minuscule number of people."

Like I said - I don't care about Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, or any of the other rust belt states. They have been in a downward spiral for decades. I'm a Southerner and that's where my patriotism goes.

Secondly, Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Mercedes, BMW, and even Hyundai ALL have plants in the US. Toyota has numerous plants alone. There is a significant amount of US workers at non-domestic auto plants. So yes - I support US autoworkers, but only at companies who I feel makes a good product, and admittedly supports my home region of the country.

As mentioned before, auto manufacturing is NOT the entire Auto industry. If and when GM fails (which they are going to no matter what at this point) the economy is not going to go to heck in a handbasket.

"Since the Aveo is a virtual CLONE of the Hyundai, it's ludicrous to try and persuade anyone there is any really great difference in the two cars."

The Aveo is based off of the Daewoo Kalos using the T200 platform and a Daewoo developed engines. These were sold as the Kalos in the US prior to GM buying a chunk of Daewoo. Saying that a Daewoo is the same as a Hyundai is like saying that a Chevrolet is the same as a Ford. I too have rented these cars on business trips and I agree with the person who proclaimed them as garbage. They are. You could not pay me to own one of them either, regardess of who makes it.

"Cars are full of plastic and rubber parts that get old and brittle and are subject to breaking much more easily. Age matters a lot more than most people really want to admit. Please also be aware that modern safety standards are recommending tires be replaced when over a certain number of years old because of quite a few fatalities when low mileage, but old, tires blew out. Age does matter."

Yes, cars have plastic in them. That's nothing new. My 1955 Mercury has quite a bit actually, and it's over 50 years old. But just like qualities of steel, there are qualities of plastic. Some plastics disintegrate quickly. Others don't. Engineered plastics use things like more stable resins and UV inhibitors. Though my truck is 14 years old, all of the plastics are still just as flexible and stable as they were before.

As far as safety in regards to maintenance, well that's up the owner. I drive a lot and keep a close eye on the brake pads, tires, alignment, and whatever else needs attention. If someone else doesn't, that isn't the car manufacturer or vehicle's fault. As mentioned before, the driver of the car is the biggest safety component. Again, age is only incidental.

I consistently do my best to remain on topic, but here's my take on value. The most valuable vehicle is one that you really enjoy, love driving and gives you the best quality of life.

I own a full size new pickup, but no matter what I do it's a truck. What I tow with it is what makes its ownership worthwhile. Everyone is trying to save piles of money thinking that scrimping on vehicles is the solution. Not everyone can plan their breakdowns to be in their driveway and has all the tools, the manuals and the 2 1/2 hours spent under the hood. I would rather stay in my office and work that direction. I make a sizable decent income, have a new truck paid for.

It amazes me someone will have the capability to own a fun truly enjoyable car and settle for a $1000 beater. I have actually seen situations where someone will sacrifice owning a decent car, yet will redecorate, remodel their homes, new window treatments, new carpets, buy all new furniture without batting an eye every few years. And houses are flat or backward. No one ever talks about sacrificing smoking, spring water, tanning salons, multiple Blackberries, yet will sacrifice in their vehicles.

My parents always had cool cars without breaking the bank. The first I remember really well is my mom driving me to 1st-3rd grade grade in a brand new 1960 black MGA MKIII roadster every day, cost just over $2000... at 50,000 miles the engine blew and she sold it for $900. Sounds like a bad deal right? It wasn't whatsover as she still talks about that car today and the great times she had driving me to school everyday with the top down and smiling. The money she has accumulated now is not as much joy as that car and with us together. That started me on my zest for many great cars since.

My son went to Barrett Jackson Palm Beach just last weekend and shares the family passion. Does anyone on here truly like what they own and run out to drive it? He said the parking lot (not just Valet) was loaded with beautiful great cars driven in. As exciting as what was on the auction block on stage. I have had many great cars, none of them ever treated as just a basic plain appliance attached to a checkbook. If that brings you joy, it's sad it's a $200 expense annually to you. What fun.

If you truly love a vehicle, why not attain it? I would rather have a payment if necessary and spend great time behind the wheel. Give up a little somewhere else.... maybe quit smoking? It's a lot more fun than dipping into your fat checkbook to replace money reductions caused by 2 week furloughs that have become very popular in our area lately.

19:50 Sorry, if you have driven the Accent, you'll have seen the obvious night and day difference between it and the Aveo. This is not even a matter of preference or opinion to anyone who's driven both. The Accent is obviously the better looking car as far as the interior at least, without question. There is no comparison in the styling, design... etc. I just couldn't believe how cheesy the Aveo is compared to the Accent, or that GM would even SELL a car that looks like that inside. It's pathetic.

"Since the Aveo is a virtual CLONE of the Hyundai"

Nope. The two are made by different companies and are unrelated. *The Daewoo Kalos is a subcompact automobile manufactured by GM Daewoo (the South Korean subsidiary of General Motors) introduced in 2002 and marketed globally in 120 countries – prominently as the Chevrolet Aveo.*--this quote taken from Wikipedia.

This makes the Aveo very much like the Ford Focus in that both are mostly built or based on a model from a different company owned by either Ford or GM. The Focus is built on the Mazda 3 platform. Buy what you like.

Excuse me... wasn't this review about a Toyota Tundra?

"The most valuable vehicle is one that you really enjoy, love driving and gives you the best quality of life."

Agreed. But that will mean different things to different people. Some people want the newest, latest fashioned, fastest, most expensive car money can buy because they like the attention and exclusivity of their cars.

Then there's people like me. I want a vehicle that runs for a very long time and do so reliably so as to not hinder my financial situation on the road to retirement. Additionally, the older my vehicles get, the more proud I get. I take great pride in keeping my now aged vehicles looking new. Believe it or not I get compliments on how good they look for their age. I also take pride in the fact that they run flawlessly despite the high mileage. So for me the pride in ownership is perhaps different from someone else's.

There's no problem with buying new cars frequently or keeping them forever just the same as there's also no problem buying small or large trucks. Neither type of vehicle will fulfill everyone's idea of what is perfect.

How anyone could look at a Hyundai Accent and a Chevy Aveo and find a nickles worth of difference inside OR out is beyond me. The interior of the Aveo is clearly higher quality, and the styling is strictly a matter of personal taste.

"I own a full size new pickup, but no matter what I do it's a truck. What I tow with it is what makes its ownership worthwhile. Everyone is trying to save piles of money thinking that scrimping on vehicles is the solution. Not everyone can plan their breakdowns to be in their driveway and has all the tools, the manuals and the 2 1/2 hours spent under the hood. I would rather stay in my office and work that direction. I make a sizable decent income, have a new truck paid for."

This is a great point. Year before last when we were on vacation in the mountains we were stuck for a while behind a Toyota Tundra that had overheated trying to tow a modest little travel trailer up the mountain. Not only did our GMC zip up the mountain as if it were coasting downhill, but on the entire 1000+ mile trip we averaged closed to 20mpg. Larger domestic vehicles have the edge in both power and utility over flimsily built Japanese vehicles. Toyota is good at making little flimsy economy cars. They should stick to something they are good at and not try to compete with proven success in full-sized vehicles.

"Secondly, Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Mercedes, BMW, and even Hyundai ALL have plants in the US. Toyota has numerous plants alone. There is a significant amount of US workers at non-domestic auto plants."

Only 9% of auto workers in the U.S. work for foreign-owned manufacturers. The other 91% work for the Big Three. Thanks for your support of less than 1 in 10 auto workers. I'm sure they appreciate it.

"Excuse me... wasn't this review about a Toyota Tundra?"

Excuse me... didn't you notice that the last 1100 comments or so have been "off-topic"?? :)

P.S. I agree with you if you think that this thread should be directly about the Tundra.

I am certain many on here can change oil/filters tune ups if they can get to all the plugs... and to date you have got by cheap.

I have had transmission replacements and engine issues with imports. Sorry I am not as capable as yourself in this complex area, I have neither the skill, equipment.

It's possible your make and year vehicle has avoided this... so far. Are you going to spend more than the old truck is worth sometime to find a higher priced engine or trans used. Plus labor? With the state of the economy I am sure there are many willing to take a risk... and yes take the old one to the scrapyard and find another still running. Not everyone wants the hassle and I do worry when I see high mileage very far from home. I am certainly not going to tow on a long trip after the recent issues we had with our new Hondas. If I were 30 today and not having long term job security as before (1 job then a pension) I might buy a monthly bus pass and have zero car or truck. I could certainly walk 1 block and buy a monthly bus pass. And then double my house payments up, rapidly pay it off and buy nice cars after it's paid off. I advised my son to pay his house off very quick and then buy whatever he likes.

High mileage vehicles consistently towing long distances is not my advice on here. I prefer new full size trucks, don't necessarily have to be flashy to impress someone, just makes common sense.

"Only 9% of auto workers in the U.S. work for foreign-owned manufacturers. The other 91% work for the Big Three. Thanks for your support of less than 1 in 10 auto workers. I'm sure they appreciate it."

Regardless - I don't care what company or factory a US worker works in. I buy what I deem as the best product. We are not a communist country where we are forced to buy national brands. Thus I buy what I see as the best product, and if the domestic automakers can't cut it, then it is their responsibility to make the changes necessary to make their products meet the quality demands of current consumers. Otherwise they can go bankrupt.

Lastly, if those US autoworkers lose their jobs, they will hopefully have seen the writing on the wall a long time ago and prepared themselves for other careers. The signs have been out there that this was inevitable, and what is happening should not be a surprise. That's what life is about - change. How many elevator operators do you see these days? That's the same analogy.

And in regards to the "Toyota builds flimsy cars and trucks"... It's funny to repeatedly read these comments made by folks who think that we should all be driving monstrous, huge, gigantic trucks to go get the groceries or pull toys to the lake on the weekends. If Toyotas were indeed flimsy... then they wouldn't be getting the quality ratings and loyal owners they currently have.

The irony here is that if you want to point fingers at some of the reasons GM and Chrysler are failing miserably, some of that "Big truck" mentality is what got them into hot water because Americans for so long insisted on buying huge, gas-guzzling cars and trucks, conditioning themselves to actually believe that they MUST have such vehicles. I've traveled to several countries. Full size trucks don't exist anywhere else. Yet somehow those people get by don't they? Now why we would consider ourselves deprived if we don't have those giant trucks is to me just more proof of why this line of thinking is going to go extinct, right along with the car companies that make them.

"I've traveled to several countries. Full size trucks don't exist anywhere else. Yet somehow those people get by don't they? Now why we would consider ourselves deprived if we don't have those giant trucks is to me just more proof of why this line of thinking is going to go extinct, right along with the car companies that make them."

I am always amazed at U.S. citizens who want to see our economy fail. It makes little sense.

As for heavy-duty vehicles, U.S. companies have to have them. Our companies have to have vehicles that can carry heavy building materials and be depended upon to get to and from job sites every day. Needless to say, none of our trucks are Toyotas.