6th Apr 2015, 16:06

My Dad owns a 02' Tundra. That was their first go at making a full sized truck. They got most, but not all of it right. The number one thing is the brakes. The calipers and discs are too small for the size of the truck. His pads wear out every 40k or less. Secondly, the body sheet metal seems to dent a little easier. His looks like crap because he uses it to haul cement repair equipment. The paint is also rapidly fading away.

That said, the truck has held up amazingly well. The last time we talked about his truck, it had over 300,000 miles. At this point he's just going to drive it into the ground.

The new Tundras seem pretty much on par with the offerings of the Big 3 these days, minus a commercial series, which might be in the works.

6th Apr 2015, 21:10

If you love your imports so much, then why are you knocking the Chevy Luv?

That particular truck was built by Isuzu, a Japanese company AKA "import".

7th Apr 2015, 15:06

OK, well if we're gunna' go that route, then I suppose if where a truck is made determines whether it's an "import" or not, then I reckon the Tundra is basically as American as apple pie, seeing as how it was designed, engineered, and built in the US, using American parts distributors and manufacturers.

8th Apr 2015, 12:02

And yet you don't own the vehicle. My company has its headquarters in United States and has a small plant in Poland. It's a domestic brand. Haven't we covered this and where the main profits remain?

This is a full size truck review. Not an LUV, Pinto or whatever you actually own. My dad owns a Victory motorcycle It's nice, but I can't comment fully on its operation and ownership issues firsthand, any more than if I test drove a car from a dealership or as a rental. It's not enough to convince someone to buy one when you haven't done so as well.

I have a 2005 Ford F-150 daily driven. Smooth and trouble free. I also have coworkers with trucks too. But can't bring much to the table with their daily experiences and costs to own.

8th Apr 2015, 12:16

I saw this comment coming from a mile away, even though it hasn't been posted for quite some time. I guess if the Tundra is American, then comment 8:24 is contradicting itself.

9th Apr 2015, 17:25

So is Toyota a USA owned based corporation? I would be surprised if anyone on here would define it as a domestic. If you are a landlord in America with overseas property with a maintenance staff in place... who owns and cashes the big check? It's the owner. An analogy, but maybe it gets the point across. You can have a few employees who pay tax working for you. But you get the biggest piece, and probably the tax concessions and breaks as well. Get tired and you can uproot and totally pull out of the country.

9th Apr 2015, 21:42

There's not a lot of cachet overspending for a new truck. Especially a small, limited use one. At least this is full size.

10th Apr 2015, 23:44

I work in construction trade/heavy equipment, and let me tell you, I have still never seen a Tundra/Tacoma/Ridgeline used on a work site, not even once! These are trucks for suburban soccer moms, and for retirees to haul around golf clubs. Everyone who actually works/hauls stuff with their truck has a Silverado, Ford Powerstroke, Ram Cummins diesel, etc...

My Chevy truck has over 400k on the original 350 engine, and my friend has over 500k on his F-250 7.3 IDI. Why would I or anyone else want to gamble with an overpriced, unproven product when you can stick to a proven, tried and true product that always delivers? People who say domestic trucks are unreliable have obviously never owned one. I know plenty of company owners who buy lots of fleet trucks, and believe me, Honda/Toyota trucks are not even considered as an option for a smart business owner.

Sure Honda and Toyota make nice reliable small cars (or they did in the 90s anyways, post 2000 quality dropped a bit), but they still have light years of catching up to do in the full size truck market.

Even if at some point Toyota/Honda makes an affordable and reliable heavy duty truck, most of us where I live (Northeast) will still only buy domestic trucks as they have always worked for us, and we love to buy local and support our economy, as many of us have relatives etc... employed by the big 3 in manufacturing, which sadly is on the decline in the US due to all the import buying infidels sabotaging our economy!

11th Apr 2015, 17:02

Full size domestic trucks are very strong. Sharp styling as well. They are large, but they can often take the place of an SUV.

The Ford 4 door especially is luxurious, quiet and quite comfortable. The Silverado as well. Even MPG has gone up.

I am sure a Tacoma comment will likely turn up on a full size review. If you are going to pay truck insurance, get a full size. I had a couple of small trucks before and will never look back. These easily achieve high mileage.

We have a fleet of domestics at work. I have driven the big 3. In order, my preference is Ford, GM and Dodge. Well optioned, they don't come cheap. But you get what you pay for.

I drive in a variety of road conditions. I can drive all day comfortably in these. It's wise to order cruise control, as your ankle can get a bit sore otherwise. These full sizes are able to be a main vehicle today.

16th Apr 2015, 16:03

I've seen PLENTY of Tundras at construction sites. The fact is that with each new generation, the Tundra just keeps on getting better and better. At this point it's right up there with the F-150, and there is also news that there will also be a Tundra with a Cummins V8 diesel coming soon. Toyota will do as they've always done: When they first started selling cars, what they sold were small, tiny cars. They eventually kept at it until they dominated the small and midsized car market, and as of now and for a long time the Camry has been the best selling family car in the country.

In regards to the tired domestic versus overseas companies, if someone buys an American truck that is stuck together with a lot of foreign parts from foreign parts makers, then where do you think the profits go? They go to the overseas companies who make those parts. If you buy a Tundra, which was not only designed and engineered, but also built in the US using US-sourced parts from US sourced companies, then where do you suppose the profits go? They go to US-based companies.

The old argument that a foreign company has profits that goes back to the corporate office bears little weight these days. A lot of money also goes overseas to domestic automaker's overseas offices as well. So what's the point? That's right - there is no point.