Fairly critical take on how Toyota has repositioned the Tundra

First off, in response to Toyota's new Tundra Capstone commercial, I gotta say "pimps up, hoes down playa!":
https://youtu.be/7aZqn4K5ZcU


Secondly, the guy who helped advertise the Gen 2 Tundra launch has a fairly honest take on how Toyota has repositioned the Tundra, as a few of us have asserted (ahem, tow hooks and regular rear bumper please?):

https://usa.streetsblog.org/2022/05...ing-75k-pickup-trucks-for-the-cappuccino-run/

 

To say they were targeting different audiences with the 2nd gen vs the 3rd gen is evident in both the marketing and the final product….remember these gems?


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=lggT2Tf270M

 

I'll stick with the SR and Maxwell House. And yes, tow hooks and normal bumper

 

"Biggest toad in the puddle". LOL!

 

I think providing new trims is smart. Surely the Tundra sales justify it. Ford, Dodge, GMC, Chev all sell lots of luxury rides. Toyota knows how to do luxury. I think it's a perfect fit. I'm moving from an ES 300h to my first pickup because of the Capstone trim. If it's not for you, then it's not for you.

 

You can wrap a turd in pretty packaging but it's still a turd

Until Toyota fixes the major issues with its new power plant, the whole reason to buy a new one is moot. Especially at the polished turd price point.

 

Seems like a smart move to me. They want to differentiate the Tundra in some way and capture a market segment that others are ignoring.

All the brands go after the suburban segment that wants to imagine themselves getting the tires dirty and not just make trips back and forth to work and Chuck E Cheese. I mean, Toyota can try to out "manly" and "rural" Ford, Chevy and RAM, but that's a loser.

I've often joked that if a foreigner watched American SUV and truck commercials they would conclude we have no paved roads.

 

My next thought is, why is any auto manufacturer spending money advertising trucks when they have a huge backlog of buyers willing to pay MSRP+?

Edit: well OK, except RAM. They still have plenty of those on the lots it seems.

 

Love the changes. Drove me crazy watching Toyota figure out how to make the fake grill unibrow thing just a bit longer each year.

 

I bought mine for the Unibrow. As an amatuer entomologist it's how I collect my specimens.

 

And if a foreigner saw on many truck forums how people are getting lifts to go to the grocery store, they might conclude that conditions are as bad here as they are in Baghdad.

 

Seems to me in the tundra market your options are eyebrows or mustaches.

 

Literally, the kids I have recently hired at work are barely older than the 2nd gen Tundra at this point. They don't get my references to office space or billy madison.

Perhaps it is the entire 1/2 ton market that has changed?

 

I don't think the trim level is the problem here being alluded to. If you want a capstone, great. I think what the op is getting at is that the entire model has been diluted from actual truck duty , seemingly at the expense of high end luxury features or details (streamlined roll pan bumper for looks, tow hooks , tesla screens etc.) If you're in to all that stuff, great, but it seems the whole truck was designed around that type stuff and the sr5 sr type crowd just has to deal with a diluted Mashup with details that don't really fit the need of that type of truck.

 

Haha. They just went Charlie Chaplin to Hulk Hogan while we've all been asking for a goatee.

 

They don't make as much money on the SR/SR5 crowd. The larger profits are coming from the higher end trucks. If I had to guess, I bet the highest volume seller would be a crewmax Limited. They probably don't turn over too many SR doublecab 8' beds.

Blame it on the whole, "I use my 1/2 ton as a minivan" craze.

 

Same thing is happening to many brands. I see Volvo did the same for 2015+ models. They don't advertise uttermost reliability and utility anymore, only luxury, dashboard TV, retarded driver support systems and the "safest car on the planet"*. In return, you see more old boxy 240 on the road than those new "discard after use" plastic ones, because they break and are insanely pricey to repair.

I put safety in double quotes, because wife's brand new Volvo got a leaky master brake cylinder in just 6 months, and it took two dealers and an HQ field technician to admit my diagnosis and replace it under warranty. Can't see how car is the safest on the planet if it does not brake, and the dealer can't diagnose/fix it. We took advantage of used cars high prices and got rid of it recently. Waiting for wife's new ole good Tundra SUV to arrive

 

So hoping someone can explain this to me without a huge fight thread, but how much do people use front tow hooks? I've been stuck a lot in my life and either you can't pull in front of me to use them or I'd rather back up to someone so I can pull them out moving forward not in reverse. How has this become a make or break truck feature? And if you do need them wouldn't you be replacing a front bumper anyway for something with better angles?

 

I don't even care how unreliable this is, its gorgeous.



Volvo is the only company that understands a wagon anymore.

 

I've had one and had really good luck with it. Biggest problem I had was wheels. Once every other year during fresh snow when you can't see potholes you'd blow out or bubble a tire or two.

I still contend that Volvo makes the greats seats. So good.

 

I tried to find a V70R but couldnt. I did test drive a S60R, but then immediately after went and test drove a Subaru Legacy GT Spec.B and end up buying the Legacy.

 

Mine were through work as volvo was a partner. Loved the wagon. The s60R was alright but seemed to be more of a rough riding BMW without the excitement or feel.

 

I've had three P2 wagons, still have one. Not an R, but a beefied up (ECU tune, downpipe, sway bars, Nivomats).

Test drove a V90CC, one of the first in MA - thanks, but no, thanks.

 

I do , but I am very likely in the minority. I use my truck for offroading. I also just replaced the front bumper just like you talk about. That is however a large investment as those bumpers aren't cheap. For the last 3 years I've had my truck, I used factory tow hooks. That being said I don't think tow hooks are the only example of why people are bashing on it. In years past companies built a truck for truck purposes and if you wanted the luxo version they used the burly base model and added a bunch of stuff to it. It seems now though that they started with the high end model first and built everything to suit that, and then all the other models were just kind of after thought and just removed certain things but in the end the core was still based with the premium model in mind , not the " truck use" model. At the end of the day , money is why they are in business and they chose to base it on where they make the most profit margin it seems. I don't have a dog in the fight , as I'm 38 and my tundra is paid for with only 77k on it. So I don't see myself buying another truck before I retire. Just sharing m y viewpoint.

 

The tow hooks IMO are non negotiable on a truck. From the offroad prospective, if you’re on a narrow or technical trail and the only wait out is forward or you’re the last truck in a line of a group you will want them. If everyone got past an obstacle and your truck is stuck on the trail, it may not be possible for your buddies to pull you out from behind. As for the bumper swap…You’re now saying someone can’t take their truck off-roading without investing in an expensive offroad bumper that requires cutting the painted front fascia of their truck in half. There’s no cost free swapping back to a factory front fascia from an offroad bumper on these 22s. It’s a whole fascia replacement, painting required.

From a truck utility prospective, say your stuck on a slippery boat ramp (especially the 2wd guys) and you’re just spinning tires. There’s no other way of recovering your truck from going in the lake other than pulling it from the front by the tow hooks. There was a guy that posted on this forum @tgrasshopper that already got screwed pulling a trailer with his 22. Got it stuck in a snow mound and could not be pulled out from the front without tow hooks so he had a nightmare debacle of unhooking the trailer and pulling it out with the jack down. He was lucky to not break or damage anything in his scenario.

These are just two scenarios, but the biggest thing is when there is no way out but forward you’ll have answered your question as to why they’ve been a staple on trucks since the beginning of trucks. When you need them, you need them. I won’t buy a truck without them.

 

I've noticed RAM has been showimg that 0%/60 + 90 days no payment for the last month or two. Generally don't do that when sales are good.

I was surprised to see 2.75%/60 on the new Tundra today when I peeked at Toyota's website this morning.

 

Is this correct? I don't remember them on old farm trucks we had. We always had to install front receiver hitch. I know jeeps and land cruisers did though.

 

Well, admittedly I’m not an encyclopedia of every truck ever produced so I can’t say this with certainty. Perhaps that was a slight hyperbole. I will say every truck I’ve ever encountered in my lifespan has had them. Did you have to install a front receiver on those trucks because you, I don’t know….maybe needed the utility of a front recovery point?

 

Thank for the answer and not shooting at me. I'd rather not buy lifts and tires but throw that money into a dirt bike for off road but in the midwest we're looking at muddy fields more than narrow trails and ledges.

 

I don't think they are standard on all trucks, but are at least optional. I believe 2wd F150's don't get them, but they are added with 4x4. That almost seems backwards to me as I would imagine a 2wd is more likely to be stuck in a mundane situation, like a boat launch or a wet lawn.