Why are Tundras so unpopular?

I'm trying to convince my wife to trade in my 18 Tacoma TRD Sport for a Tundra. Her family is die-hard Ford family. She thinks I should get an f150 (even though her dad has owned 3 of them in the last 5 years, all had engine problems). Her argument is that the f150 is more popular, and its more popular because its better made.

It did make me think why Toyota doesn't move near the same volume as the F150. Is it customer loyalty? I think truck drivers are more brand loyal than car drivers. Is it the brand recognition? the f150, ram, Silverado have been around for decades. I'm sure the fuel economy on the Tundra doesn't help, but it is eye opening to see the numbers Ford pushes out compared to Toyota.

 

i think you answered that yourself.... blind loyalty to the big two. I struggle with the logic of the truck is better made when they last less than 2 years in her family?

 

Well I assume its not just her family whos stupid. During my drive to work, I'll see 20 F150s, Rams and Silverados before I see a Tundra. Is everybody on the planet just dumb?

 

Lemming mentality. People generally find safety in numbers and will default to that rationalization as a shortcut to decision making when it comes to all kinds of things. Ford has done a great job with marketing the F150 and has built up a large following. Toyota just hasn't done that.

 

Lots of die hard Ford folks around. I won’t own one. I’m done with Gm as well and dont get me started on Dodge.
Tundra has been the most reliable truck for over a decade and still has the highest resale of any truck on the market. Go to any Ford, Gm or Ram forum and see the trouble. Come to this site and all anyone talks about is upgrades and what they are going mod next! It’s a far cry from the other forums.

Take the wife for a drive in a new Tundra and she will agree with you.
Why is Furd the number one selling truck in America! No freaking clue!

 

It's definitely regional as well. When I was out visiting my sister in AZ, there were Toyotas all over the place. It was a nice reprieve from all the Fords, Chevys and GMCs here in OK.

 

You don't have to replace them as often. Ford and Chevy have to sell more to replace their busted ones

 

Tell her you’ll get the F150 if her family promises to do all the repairs and pay for them. Popular doesn’t mean jack. Tide pod challenge was also popular with idiots.

 

+1..when was the last time you saw a Tundra commercial. Usually it's Camry, Rav 4 or Tacoma.

 

and they sell a boat load of Tacos

 

There’s enough followers of the big three that I feel the pressure of their friends and family into not jumping ship. They never learn their lesson. I learned my lesson and I’m here to stay.

 

What’s wrong with the Tundras fuel economy?

 

Yeah we’ve grown up with all of their commercials stuck in the back of our minds. Awesome songs and a video of a truck doing something really cool. I knew I wanted one when I was a kid. Like a rock? I need one!
What a fantasy that was.

 

Do you spend a lot of time outside with people? If so, i'll presume your last question was rhetorical think of it this way... if you take the average person, half the population are more stupid than that person....

 

Plus it was an AMERICAN truck. When you thought truck you thought American, and nothing was more American than an F150. I still remember having ill feelings of import trucks entering the market.

 

Me too. Funny I knew how good Japanese cars were. But I was stuck on wanting American. At least for a truck. I talked shit on the tundra when it first came out. I figured it was probably a decent truck but I refused it accept them as good as American. Also add the fact that all my friends are about the big 3 and they sit there and try to talk you out of jumping ship.

 

Never though of that. I live about an hour from Toronto, Canada. My normal commute to work is about 25 minutes. Its rare I see a Tundra. Plenty of Tacomas. Plenty of other manufactures full size trucks.

 

I agree. When I lived in OKC diesels ruled the road and I never saw Tundras really. Back in Ky/Tn there are far more Tundras. The forum shows this too. Look at the activity on the regional forums threads.

 

Change is hard for most people, especially when they've dug in on a position over the years. Even if it made no rational sense then and still doesn't now, they'll still blindly defend it rather than admit they might have been wrong.

 

The latest IIHS poor rating for pasenger offset collision will do damage to the brand as well. Toyota will need to step it up next generation for sure.

 

I think the only reason tundras fall behind in sales is because people want an american made truck, the irony in that is most american made trucks aren't made in the U.S. but are made somewhere in North America. Now the tundra being a Japanese brand is automatically not an american made truck to most Americans. But the people who are aware (most of us here on the forum) know the tundra is more American than most of the big 3s trucks will ever be. Made in Texas, arguably the most patriotic state in the U.S. and 75% of the parts sourced from the U.S. and built by American citizens. Big 3 loyalists don't think about how buying a tundra helps our economy because they think all the money is just going straight back overseas to japan when its actually going to U.S. based companies and workers. Though nowadays with the big 3 using more advanced transmissions and boasting much better fuel economy its hard to see where the tundra excels over them until you own one. That being said I would love better fuel economy but I think my driving habits would not only put me into the low end of mpg but it would also destroy any truck that isn't a tundra.

 

That’s a good one!

 

1. there are 1200 Toyota dealerships in the US, and 3,000 Ford dealerships.

2. 2019 Best Resale Value Awards: Full-Size Pickup Truck, Best Full-Size Pickup Truck: 2019 Toyota Tundra

F150 isn't even in the top 10, i.e. they are cheap to buy 1 or 2 years later.

 

What’s wrong with the Tundra fuel economy?

 

well at least for me I only get about 11-13. But that's pretty much all my fault, on long highway journeys I get about 15-16 but only if I'm on the highway for pretty much the whole trip

 

Is it your Tacoma or hers that you're wanting to trade for a Tundra? If it's yours, get what you want.

 

How has the Tacoma worked out for you?
Maybe drive it a few more years, and prove to everyone how good Toyota is.

 

I’ve driven Ford, Chevy, and GMC. Ford by far sucked the biggest donkey dong as far as repairs. Chevy was solid but it was also a 97 Z71. Those were known for being solid. Last truck was a 13 seirra. While it was a good rig and never left me stranded, it always felt like it had a miss in the motor. I went through wheel bearings like they were free. My ball joints and struts were shot before there time and I hated the stupid cylinder deactivation. Went to a Tundra for their ruggedness and reliability. So far I have not been upset. There’s a reason there are more older tundras on the road then a lot of the big three. They just last. Yes our trucks design is old, the fuel mileage sucks and our technology is behind the times. But I don’t remember buying truck because I wanted or needed a luxury vehicle. I bought a truck because I needed something to tow my heavy balls in. With my roll down rear window it makes it quite easy. I don’t see myself changing anytime soon.

 

If you add in the time the f150 spends at the dealer for warranty work, the mpg gain over the tundra is worthless.

We do not know what the longer term reliability of all these mass produced turbo factory trucks will be. Its a relatively new thing, it’s possible that most of them are horrible in 10-15 more years... We just don’t know. And while most Americans would never drive a 15 year old vehicle, that affects resle which will affect new purchase eventually.

You know the Toyota v8 will run fine at 15-20 years old