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Vehicle final assembly plants are no longer all that interesting IMHO - all the real work is done elsewhere. A few years ago I toured the VW Phaeton plant in Dresden and it was less an interesting industrial plant than a VW PR stunt. Guzzi in Mandello is still interesting, especially given the history, but less so than 20-25 years ago. A friend worked for Ducati Corse and gave a tour of the plant, a few years pre VW. It would have been interesting if he'd been able to take us into the race shop but otherwise not too memorable, and the museum is nothing compared with Mandello.
Trucks today have become luxury vehicles and most people rarely if ever haul or tow anything with them.
I find it interesting that Toyota and Nissan full size trucks have never made dent in the US market in over 10 years, unlike their small trucks and cars...Considering just what is called 1/2 ton trucks, Ford, GM and Dodge together sell 10 trucks for each one sold by Toyota and Nissan together...
20 years from now the roles will be reversed just like the cars. They deliberately take there time rather than rush in to take the market by storm.
mid-size and full-size trucks have different customer demographics. So far, the Japanese are selling their full-size trucks to their former mid-size owners. They're not really breaking in to the traditional full-size demographic.The Japanese have owned the small to mid-sized truck market since the 1970s. Full-size Tundra and Titan have a LONG way to go.Every now and then I see a full-size Japanese truck. Sometimes they even have a trailer hooked up, or a load in them. They always seem out of place in the sea of GMC, Ford, and RAM trucks...
When Toyota released their second generation Tundra in 2007 it equaled or beat all of the gas powered 1/2 tons in just about every category
Maybe it's a regional thing. Not really true, in my part of the country.
the number of 3/4 ton fully loaded crew cab diesel trucks that don't even have a hitch in the receiver is astounding.
I remove the hitch coupler from the receiver every time I unhook my trailer. Keeps people from banging their knees and getting greasy. Pull the pin and either put it in the trailer, or in the bed of the truck.So, you might look scornfully upon my GMC 3500 dually, since it can be seen occasionally with no trailer, and with no hitch coupler in the receiver.
You can easily tell the trucks that have never had a hitch in the receiver. :) I believe Illinois has a law about leaving the hitch in the receiver that will side with the pedestrian who bangs their leg and/or soils their pants on the hitch in a parking lot and files a claim.
My Tacoma is one of them. Of course I don't own a trailer so why would it.
Thank you for making my point Perazz. :)
My wife and I just pick up an 09 Tacoma SR5 2WD 4cyl with 98K on it,except for the soft brakes it drives like new. Light years ahead of my old S10, well except for that 4.3 motor in the S10 but we sold the boat so it should be okay.
Oh? It's been near 20 years and no sales increase....Trucks are not cars, the buyers more often are brand loyal...Toyota and Nissan get the 5% who aren't.....
When it comes to cars and trucks, there are three things I take into consideration: Reliability, reliability, and reliability. I've owned 4 Toyota pick-ups. One T-100 and 3 Tundras. In 400,000 miles (and counting) of Toyota ownership, I've had exactly one mechanical problem, a fuel pump failure (T-100) and thats it. Just oil, brakes and tires.