2nd May 2008, 10:43

Since there are about 100 GM's on the road for every Toyota, that's still 2 to 1 in favor of GM.

2nd May 2008, 21:43

I'd love to know how you came up with those statistics. 100 GM's on the road for every one Toyota. Must be the same book that says GM's aren't scrap and that Ford's are built 'FORD TOUGH'.

I'll still be driving my 10 year old Tacoma when the new GM's on the sales lot are breaking down along the highway.

3rd May 2008, 07:44

I question how 1998 Tacoma ownership actually completely qualifies one to even begin to offer a complete 2008 full size domestic new truck analysis? Indicating that you do not have to have any first hand experience with anything newer is ridiculous in my opinion. You can buy a brand new model based on my experience that literally has no issues and then buy another 2 years later that completely dispels that experience. It happened me with imports. Same car, same model, same drivetrain. You could buy a new Toyota truck and someday you probably will and it may enlighten you on this possibility. If you want to keep talking about 15 year cars you owned, whatever relevance that has in 2008, we will still read them. It will not have any effect on my purchases; I look at recent ownership of models I buy.

At any rate, I am not going with low mile warranties anymore, it doesn't make sense why any manufacturer does not have the confidence in their products to be equivalent. It would be like my saying nothing in the world is better than buying a 1995 Honda, it's better than any vehicle past or present in 2008. But then I bought new ones that kept getting worse and worse with egg on my face. May happen to you.

3rd May 2008, 07:50

The domestic vehicle owners commenting here are simply unwilling to admit what the general public knows is true. Toyota has and does mean 'quality', and to hear the words 'General Motors' brings to mind a company in serious financial trouble that has made sub standard vehicles for years and years. They write in with story after story about their neighbor's bad Toyota, or have seen a bunch of them broken down on the highway.

I am a member of an off-road club, we do serious rock crawls and so forth, and guess what? Of the 12 or so guys that I drive with, there isn't a single Ford or Chevy in the group. Why? They're junk. They're not built well and simply do not hold up under any kind of abuse for very long. Everyone there drives either modified (suspension) Toyota's, Nissan's, or Jeeps; and only then because of the wheel base.

And guess what again? Of all the times we've been out, never yet has a Toyota or Nissan been pulled aside with the hood up because of some issue; only the Jeeps.

3rd May 2008, 11:17

You know, that's great that you like your Tacoma so much. But come on, making such a big fuss over a 10-year-old pickup? You need to get over it. There are also lots of people driving 10, 15, 20, and 30-year old Fords, Chevies, and Dodges that are just as proud of their vehicles. Yours is not better, even though you believe it is.

3rd May 2008, 15:07

In the past 30 years GM has sold many times the number of vehicles Toyota has sold. GM has had 6 different car lines, each selling anywhere from 4 to 8 different models. You still see an awful lot of both GM cars and trucks built in the 80's still on the road every day. I can't recall seeing a first-generation Camry in many years, but my neighbor still drives the Buick he bought two years before Toyota even built the first Camry.

Considering the average life span for a Ford or GM vehicle is 25-40 years compared to 8-12 for Toyota I'd say the figure of 100 times as many GM's on the road as Toyotas probably is NOT accurate. It is probably more like 500 GM's to 1 Toyota.

4th May 2008, 06:40

07:50.

This thread about full size trucks. A full size truck is not an optimal vehicle for off road no matter who makes it. Of course a short light weight vehicle is better suited for that. You are comparing apples to oranges.

I am sure you would agree your compact Toyota is not suited for hauling heavy loads, nor even the size loads (gag) a Tundra can haul.

As far as durability is concerned, my brother's Ranger (which he takes off road and on the beach) has 400k+ miles with no problems, while I have always run every single one of my domestic trucks (and I have had them from Chevy, Ford and Dodge) well past 200k miles with no difficulty. They have been absolutely perfect. Thus, I do not agree with any suggestion that they are not reliable.

4th May 2008, 06:47

I wonder how many individuals go to their new truck dealer on here to join an off road club. I see a grand total of one Toyota daily lined up at the contractor supply waiting in line with Ford F250-350's,Silverado Duramax and Rams however. I'd rather not crap up my new truck spinning mud and going into creeks; if I did I probably would buy an H1 and pass everyone. Again why compromise on anything you buy... buy the best a heavy duty domestic full size pickup. I'd rather tow out a few nice dirt bikes or 4 wheelers to play off road, and I did years ago, except we simply used a Ford full size Van to go to the few off road sites that are not even legally around anymore. I did see an off roader recently in our park driving around the ball field bases in his truck, which seemed kind of foolhardy. I'll pass.

4th May 2008, 10:16

"Of the 12 or so guys that I drive with, there isn't a single Ford or Chevy in the group. Why? They're junk. They're not built well and simply do not hold up under any kind of abuse for very long."

No, the reason is that you and your friends all like Toyotas, and therefore all hang out together. It's a proven observation that when a group of people with the same views are together, their collective view becomes even more polarized and extreme. So, you put a bunch of guys together who kind of liked Toyotas before, and now you have a group of guys who say "Yeah, Toyota rules! Ford sucks!" because you all reinforce each others views until you accept it as fact.

Nor do you know why you pull out more Jeeps. It could be that Jeep owners take them into more extreme situations than you take your Toyota, and have more chance of getting stuck in worse conditions.

5th May 2008, 12:40

12 or so guys in an off road club... now theres a great tremendous untapped market for all the manufacturers to pursue. Or are the real marketing effort emphasis on full size trucks having a strong bed or has towing benefits? I like the idea that I can carry 1500 lbs or tow with my truck.

As nice as it is, I would rather be off roading or out in an old VW or Spatz dune buggy with a roll bar than a little bouncy truck... but again I went in to buy a full size truck with a long bed and frame Class III hitch that otherwise I would just drive a car 99.9% of the time. I wonder what kind of truck would be sent out to pull (tow) the Toyota club trucks stuck or flipped in a ravine base where a winch would not be effective? I know the answer must be... a 1998 Tacoma?