9th Sep 2013, 17:19
Just because the truck was built in North America, doesn't mean it's an American truck.
The Tundra is engineered by Toyota, a Japanese company; that means it's a Japanese truck, that's all there is to it.
If you want a quality North American truck, go with GMC, Chevrolet, or Ford.
10th Sep 2013, 01:54
No Japanese truck comes close to the quality of an American truck. Sorry you found that out the hard way. 23,000,000 recalls should have given you a clue!!
11th Sep 2013, 01:19
Really, what has the Tundra shown us in about the 15 years it's been in production.
Poor reliability, poor capability, and (regretfully for Toyota) poor sales. But hey, it has a 400 HP V-8, as if anyone cares.
I'm sure Toyota wishes they'd ignored this segment, and concentrated only on small trucks.
11th Sep 2013, 14:59
Both the Tundra and Titan have been jokes as competition for real (read that as "American") trucks.
13th Sep 2013, 11:07
Ah ha.... here we have a Tundra review and the same anti-import comments being made. Very predictable. Sorry to break the news to ya'll, but the Tundra is actually more American than any of the domestic trucks, as it was not only designed and engineered here, but the drivetrain and the rest of the truck - almost 90% of it - is made in the USA as well by American parts suppliers.
BTW... our Tundra now has close to 300,000 miles on it and it's been flawless.
14th Sep 2013, 07:23
The Tundra is absolutely not an American car. It is Japan's. The biggest profits return there. Just because a final build or turning a wrench is in the USA, does not change offshore actual ownership.
I have had a few high mileage imports that ran flawless after many thousands of dollars were spent on them for an odometer claim.
14th Sep 2013, 08:26
If the truck is built by Toyota, then it is 100% Japanese junk as far as I'm concerned. I don't care if it was built in the North Pole.
14th Sep 2013, 15:29
Well, I guess if the Tundra is made in the USA, we can consider these comments as anti-"merican"?
Congrats on your dad's Tundra hitting 300,000 miles. Ford and Chevy trucks do that sort of thing all the time.
16th Sep 2013, 23:07
And the recalls keep coming and coming; just this past week Toyota recalled yet another 1 million plus vehicles, recalls ranging from loose bolts on the engine timing cover, to more unintended acceleration that wasn't fixed properly the first time.
17th Sep 2013, 10:14
We can argue this till the cows come home. The bottom line is that there are some people who probably wouldn't care if American cars were made out of balsa wood and driven by hamsters: They'll proclaim them superior in every which way, despite cold hard evidence to counter their claims.
It's really easy. All you have to do is pull up the web browser of your choice to take a gander at the latest long-term reliability reports. Sorry to burst your bubbles, but yep - Toyota is still in the top spot. So nuff' said in that regard.
As far as the Tundra not being American or whatever, we've been down this road before as well. I'd rather buy an actual American made product that might have a Japanese name badge stuck to the front, versus a domestic brand product that was made overseas. What counts at the end of the day is American workers, and given that the top of the most American-made vehicles are all Japanese models, that tells me the truth of the matter.
18th Sep 2013, 11:30
The day that Toyota announces that they are an American car company, is the day I'll believe that the Tundra is an American truck.
18th Sep 2013, 12:43
J.D. Powers 2013 long term reliability study has domestic trucks all top rated. The Tundra is listed at the bottom with the most problems. This does no support your assertion.
G.M. and Ford are opening new plants in America, and will employ far more factory workers here than Toyota does.
18th Sep 2013, 19:44
Perhaps it's more that people are more discerning today than buying balsa soapbox derby cars. Trans issues, sludging, air bag safety and braking may be why they look elsewhere, besides the largest recent recalls of all time.
If vehicle sales were everything, the population would be driving the best selling vehicle of all for decades; a Ford F Series. Over 6 times the 100000 Tundra sold.
Personally I would rather see more domestic automakers here than the ones that send the greatest profits to Japan. I like passing the Cruze large domestic factory on our way home.
19th Sep 2013, 07:22
There are many that do not feel comfortable having complete lack of control if a foreign corporation pulls its plug in an area. It may appear impressive to see a plant in your state, but we now have zero in mine. If I buy a property to rent out overseas and hire a few people overseas, who is the landlord? And who gets the money? A small amount to a property management company and I get the big breaks and profit. My property is not owned overseas.
Until Toyota announces they are an American owned company, I clearly am steadfast they are foreign owned. They own the asset and get the big profits. If you worked for Toyota, would you be permitted to make that comment? I am sure you would be told otherwise immediately. I am surprised you do not apply for a position there, as no matter what, with all the issues and recalls, the company is utter perfection that can do no wrong.
I am the opposite and fickle. I will buy and shop hard when I have engine issues, and when serious mechanical issues pop up with premature mileage.
19th Sep 2013, 10:42
To me what's going on here is that it's more or less proven that truck owners are VERY loyal to their brands. Now that Toyota has their own truck, the attitude seems to be "How DARE they make a full sized truck!" The other side of the argument seems to be "well, Toyota doesn't know how to build a full size truck, so who cares?"
Well, anyone remember back in the 60's and 70's when nobody really cared about Toyota, and that same attitude was floating around and they weren't seen as a serious contender? Now they're the largest automaker and routinely make the top of the reliability charts. History has a way of repeating itself. Remember the T-100? Yeah, not really a full sized truck. The first gen Tundra? Yeah, better but not quite there. But with every new model they are getting closer and closer to that mark. Nevertheless my Father has the first gen Tundra and that thing is getting close to flipping over 300k. Not bad for a truck that's "supposed" to not be any good.
As far as the tired and worn-out argument over whether something is American or not, why not have the same debate over coffee makers? There's a lot of American brand coffee makers that haven't been made in the US... for decades. So if you're shopping at your local big box store, I can almost guarantee that most of the same folks beating the American brand drum don't even look at the brand of coffee maker they're buying, but instead buy for features and price. That's it. That is the reality of the world we live in and I don't care what you drive. If you flip that good open, guess what? You're going to find parts from either Mexico, Canada, China, Japan, the US, Brazil, France, Germany, and so on, and almost as likely a combination of both. Even some of the American full-size pickups are rolling around on Aisin transmissions, which are of course a Japanese brand.
I happened to have grown up in the Southeast and a LOT of people there are now working for Toyota, Nissan, Honda, BMW, Mercedes, Hyundai, Kia, Denso USA, Volkswagen, and a whole slew of both domestic and overseas parts and tool makers. The Tundra is made in Texas and uses mostly locally sourced components. Delving into that further, let's imagine that you were making a bird house. You go to the hardware store and buy nuts, bolts, nails, wood, paint, and some other things. Let's say that the hardware was all made in Taiwan, the wood is from the US, and paint from Germany, and the rest a smattering of American and import parts. Is that an American, German, or Taiwanese bird house? No, it's actually an American bird house because it was "American made".
So again - wake up to the reality of what is the actual global economy. We don't live in some weird economic vacuum, nor could we. That is the way the world works, so we might as well accept that fact.
9th Sep 2013, 12:35
Yeah, Toyota has seriously slipped through the cracks in recent years. It's like I have been telling people: There is a reason why an F-150 sells every thirty-four seconds or so. They're great trucks for doing whatever you need to do.