Tundra Targeted as "Too Thirsty" by Environmentalists

A bunch of babies I swear. I going to whine and complain to them saying that their herbal and organic things are making us look girly. The amount of weed they smoke probably does more damage than a "lot" full of working lawn mowers.

What's the matter? I thought Toyota was supposed to be the most environmental friendly company.

Oh..That's right it's Honda. However, you'll never know if you just buy into their advertisement.

i TOTALLY agree! Honda is the most fuel efficient car company in America, but Toyota sure does act like they are in press releases and commercials. all the Prius is good for is PR. hmm....PRius.

Toyota is right behind Honda at number 2. Toyota is also a full line manufacturer of cars and trucks, Honda is not. Yet it still falls right behind Honda thanks to its high number of fuel efficient cars AND trucks.

I guess The prius does not come in big sizes. LOL!!

NEWSFLASH: They already do! Remember..the "big bad 3" that's keeping America addicted to foreign oil. Looks like Toyota just joined the party.

well, toyota is just offering people what they want.

are you forgetting ALL the FLAK toyota got for offering the trimmer, more efficient current tundra and the earlier T100?

in any case, toyota STILL sells more 4-cylinder PUs than anyone else, in the tacoma line. my '94 toy is fully capable of 30+ mpg on the highway.

and it WILL haul up to 3/4 tons of stuff. americans are just stupidly wasteful, demanding V8s for what even V6 --to say nothing of 4 cyl-- trucks can ALSO do 90% of the time.

Ha!

What gives? If the EPA numbers are correct, the Tundra gets better mileage than GM, Dodge (HEMI), and Nissan in RWD and it on par with the others in 4WD models. What's the big deal? If you want (need) a big truck with a lot of towing/off road capacity then you've got to contend with low fuel economy. Toyota is making a conscientious effort in their other offerings because power/size are not the primary goals. If they came out with a full size pickup that offers decent fuel economy, but lacks the punch and size of its competitors (previous Tundra) - who would buy it? You can't please everyone.

Can you give stats to back that up?? I believe the Tundra is 1-2 mpg shy of the Silverado..

You won't find a V8 in a Honda here either. The biggest Honda engine is what, a 3.5L V6? Yeah, that's ballsy.

Try 3.7 in the MDX. and since when does Honda need to be 'ballsy'? they kick ass in Formula 1 and in the retail game...it seems as though they are doing SOMETHING right.

oh, and BTW, Honda is coming out with a V10 in the next NSX that should produce more than 500hp.

honda used to OWN the Formula One arena!

when they got bored and quit some years ago, they sold their hi tech F1 engine secrets to ferrari, who dominated it since. yeah, the "advanced" europeans had to BUY FROM THE JAPANESE, leading edge engine tech.

the CURRENT honda F1 effort is just having to play catch up, after being out of the game for awhile.

I certainly fll into the environmentalist camp, so I understand their rationale. It is an obligation of environmentalists to keep car makers in check. Honestly, if no one really cared about the environment, or if we had plentiful oil and crystal clean air, would Toyota really be building hybrids. They build them because people do care, and the more vocal environmentalists are doing their part to keep the debate front and center, especially during times when others may be talking less about it. I know everyone is afraid some radical group will come spraypaint and slash the tires of their Hummers. But let's be real, most eco-groups do not engage in that behavior. They put out press releases and organize events to highlight corporate shortcomings and successes, to try to educate the corporations and citizens on how to sustain life on a fragile Earth. Whew.

That said, Toyota has not ignored the realities of our fragile world in its quest for truck supremacy. Toyota's new 5.7L engine in this new larger truck is generally more efficient than the 4.7L. Since the 4.7 is less efficient, I presume it is only being sold to offer a compromise to buyers who need a cheaper alternative. That is unfortunate, but Toyota's predictions are that most will opt for the 5.7 anyway. Judging by Toyota's track record, I'm sure the 4.7 will soon be replaced by a better mid level engine.

All I have to say is:

Damn Environmentalist.

On another note: I remember seeing in a Top gear episode where they reveal a rating system for when a person goes to buy a car. It had green arrows for something like the Prius and Red arrows for something like a Ford GT. Their conclusion was to go striaght for the red arrows and skip the green marked cars. That is a very good way to shop ;).

yah. good for the type of peeple who think nothing of pissing in public swimming pools.

these types should live in windless areas, so ALL their pollutants STAY in their own neighborhoods.

OK DallasMR2 - interesting name for a Honda fan. I stand corrected. Honda has a new 3.7 L. I was off by 0.2 L - way to drive that point home. My main point being Honda does not have a full size truck offering or a V8 in their ROADGOING vehicles (not F1), so their fuel consumption numbers should be higher. This article is about a full size truck with a big V8, right? Honda makes planes, too. You gonna include that in your next post?

Their fuel consumption should actually be lower, but their NUMBERS should be higher.

Go Honda!

We have landed on the moon.

a know a coupla guys with V10 trucks. one was basically just a poseur.

the other, a contractor, actually made use of the power and torque, often hauling heavy shit and/or a trailer laden with heavy shit.

but the mileage cost him too much. he traded back to a crewcab V8 truck.

there are bragging rights. and there is COMMON SENSE.

Wow, what a surprise. A huge truck isn't as fuel efficient as the Camry Hybrid...

LOL.

I meant Toyota's numbers should be higher. Dang it, you know what I meant!

Paul3230 - I'm using the 6.0L Vortec as a basis for comparison - not the 5.3L. The ouput of the Toyota 5.7L V8 is 381 HP & 401 LB-FT, and the 5.3L V8's numbers weren't even close at 315 HP & 338 LB-FT.
GM's 6.0L Vortec produces 300 horsepower @ 4400 rpm
360 lb.-ft. of torque @ 4000 rpm and is a better comparison (www.chevrolet.com). BTW, the 6.0L GM V8 only gets 15/19 EPA MPG & Toyota's engine is rated at 16/20 (RWD versions of both).
Go here for more:
http://www.epa.gov/emissweb//E-CHEVROLET-Silverado1500-07.htm
http://www.toyota.com/tundra/specs.html

I would have used the chevrolet.com link, but they only posted EPA numbers for their 5.3L Silverado.
http://www.chevrolet.com/fueleconomy/index.jsp

in any all out battle for fuel efficiency between toyota and chevy, it's a FOREGONE CONCLUSION who will win.

the tundra's figures are ONLY a first shot. when and IF toyota tries to OPTIMIZE it for mileage, it could go even higher.

among the multiple factors which affect mileage: 1) engine displacement, 2) final gearing, 3) torque output at low and medium rpm ranges, 4) vehicle aerodynamics, 5) vehicle weight, and 6) tire choices.

the last 3 are probably close between the 2 rivals. with the first 3, from the specs, one can easily calculate mph/1000 rpm with any tranny/final drive set-up. at any given speed, the revs and swept volume will give comparative theoritical fuel consumption figures. real world figures ought not to differ much, modified mainly by the other factors.

given that the tundra has MORE torque AND less displacement, with equal gearing it WILL be more fuel efficient.

Agreed.