So Tell Me Why The Japanese Can't Put A Dent In The American Truck Market

That's easy , the truck customers are a very patriotic consumer. In America they take pride in their trucks and brand(usually disliking the other) and the jap trucks just don't have the reputation like an American truck. That is the one segment American cars kill the Japs in.

kussimek, why bother writing such drivel. You are a redneck racist. Kill the Japs? What does this mean? Crawl back into hole you came from and do everyone a favor, stay there.

I doubt it. Hyundai's been focusing on beating the industry in fuel economy. Large trucks in their lineup won't get them there.

Hyundai will never compete with the big three, although they make heavy equipment that is tough, the Koreans will just copy the big three and because they don't know trucks they will do a bland job at it, If they hired off road race truck builders to design it the big three will be in trouble,although that would never happen.And if it did, the big three would not sit back and let the competition pass them by.

I think the foreign competition is willing to cede most of the large/commercial truck market to the American brands. I, however, see a potential battle in the small & mid-size truck arena where the average consumer isn't as focused on pure brawn and maximum towing capabilities. And people interested in light trucks (Ridgeline, minivans, etc) want luxury over rugged capabilities. The foreign auto makers will only enter the large truck category when they believe they can market their brand as being a bit more upscale than the typical American offering while meeting the industry standards. If the domestic brands' large pickups weren't so fuel-hungry, they be popular on a global scale ---- they're actually the opposite of what's desired in the US (small, fuel sipper, more rugged, less amenities).

I know nothing about pickups, but I wasn't really interested until seeing the Ram 1500 Longhorn Edition and the Tundra CrewMax --- these are some pretty upscale trim levels that aren't cheap but offers everything my family needs in an "all around" vehicle.

dumpsy , there is nothing rugged about the Toyota, it is the least truck like after the Honda Ridgeline, as you pointed out a nice upscale vehicle. As far as fuel mileage, they are all equally as bad on fuel, the Tundra isn't class leading in that department , although the Tundra has a great engine, And I love the idea of a bare bones rugged truck, for midsize the H-3 is hands down the most rugged and capable out of the bunch, then the Nissan is next, the Toyota is not a brand that I would trust with quality, ie cheaply made metal,oil sludge, and many quality issues, I would hold off for a while for Toyota to bring quality back, it may be a while.

Invisible- You are right the Taco does well but the Tundra hasn't lived up to the billing.

Here are the sales YTD to prove your point and mine:

33920 Tacoma
17514 Ranger
7241 Colorado
4186 Dakota

143985 F Series
102098 Silverado
51707 Ram
29106 Tundra

Tundra is not selling well at all Toyota my kill this thing next year for poor and dismal sales and a truck load of recalls. leave trucks to Americans.

... Because their frames aren't rust? ;)

rusty***

Um, Huu . . .

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Uh, yea.

mggray , you missed the point. The tundra segment for Toyota is just getting underway really, if you really compare it to the big 3. With all that being said, seeing as how Americans dominated that side of the industry, you have to take into considerations that there ISNT a time when the BIG 3 ARENT giving away vehicles, is there? I mean,.let's be for real....Thats all they do..thats why for years there were barely anysorts of profits. Let's forget about sales figures..we need to discuss how much money is being made compared to raw products costs,operations, etc....Sorry but American sale more, but they also do more for nothing! Kinda, stupid! Its like saying, I want the title of "CEO" but will accept Administrative Assistant pay...Toyota has that long money...

A major constomer for light duty trucks is the construction and hauling industry. Then towing fifth wheel trailers, racecars, boats and the like. This is where the brand image starts. Japanese trucks don't have that image.

Two words: locking differential.

My friends Titan SE has a rear locking differential and the only dodge that has it is the 2500 power wagon. The only ford that has it is the F-150 Fx4 and the Raptor but most F-350's and 250's can get it as an option. You can get an ARB air locker for about a grand installed and air compressor.

The truth is that the Japanese trucks are not as good as their American counterparts. They are not as good and are not that much cheaper, so no one buys them. Its really that simple.

thstone... I should have added your comment to the end if mine.

Not only this but you see a major quality push in cars from US makers as well.

I think it's as simple as the American makers understanding this market segment and customer better and still delivering the better product.

The Tundra isn't half the truck as the F-150, The Ford has a fully boxed frame... does the toyota even have a low range?

1 part nationalism

1 part american manufacturers dumped all their money in large truck/suv platforms for a decade

let us not forget the flip flop that occurs in the med/small truck segment

Agent009 asks "So Tell Me Why The Japanese Can't Put A Dent In The American Truck Market."

God, guns, and trucks.

Any questions?

toyota put all their money into the engine.
ford has been overpowered forever.

you noticed the low end truck likely bought by the common joe blow off the street is th Tacoma. The only reason these Americans trucks sell such high volume is due to their commercial clientele. You rarely see japanese business trucks. That may speak for the higher american volume. But I do see a lot of non business related truck owners driving the Nissan what do they make again? and Toyota Tundra.

Komodo, I was stating something very true and when I wrote "kill japs" READ THE WHOLE SENTENCE its says "That is the one segment American cars kill the Japs in ". Nothing racist about killing Japanese people retard. Just admit that the Japanese don't make a good FULL SIZE pickup and that's why the Detroit 3 are beating them in sales. The Tundra is a piece of crap rust bucket.

kussimek, why bother writing such drivel. You are a redneck racist. Kill the Japs? What does this mean? Crawl back into hole you came from and do everyone a favor, stay there.

Kussimek, you really can't see the point. And the sad part is that without some effort, you may never change your attitude. "Nothing wrong with killing Japanese" What circumstances is this appropriate? To your credit, you changed your word Jap to Japanese. Jap is a prejudicial and racist term. And Americans are known for our rudeness across the world.

Your statement about Japanese building bad trucks is way off base. Think about that one.

Bottom line, my opinion for a consumer is to buy a truck he/she likes. I had a Ranger but it there was always something wrong with it.

My response to your response was necessary for people to see that not everyone is prejudicial like you.

Again what was the point of using the word "Jap?" What if someone else had written "Yeah!, the Japanese are killing those rednecks in sedan sales." You'd eat that without a problem? I'd have a problem.

Cars and trucks are international in 2010. Americans have facilities in Canada and Mexico. The Japanese have factories in America. BMW and Mercedes have plants here in America. Want to let the American Toyota workers and their subsidiaries how much you hate their Tundras? And Unlike the big 3, when the economy tanked, Japanese auto companies did there best to keep their employees on payroll by retraining them. Incidentally, I drove a brand new Silverado from a nationwide rental company. The front windshield was wavy in places and distorted the road view.

I was irritated when I saw your very first comment and I wrote my response automatically. Now that a few days have passed, I can see more clearly encourage you to look into yourself. No need to use "retard" to fire back. Remove the prejudices in your heart and try to stop hating so much. It's not good for you or those around you.

I agree kussimek, the Tundra is a lousy truck with a great engine, it's more of a cross over truck, and my favorite is that the Ridgeline isn't even a truck,lol I am a honda fan, but you are 100% right 009, its a camry with all wheel drive, although I am sure it drives nice and would make a nice vehicle to move furniture in around town. And the Tacoma is junk too, I would take the H-3 T Alpha any day and my 2nd choise for Mid size would be the Nissan truck, it is better than the Tacoma in so many ways.

when you think of the hottest truck, you think f150... its that simple.
its the benchmark in its class.

Why don't the Toyota fans de-boost you? lol The Raptor is the best 1/2 ton 4x4 hands down, and second is the regular F150 4x4, and the Dodge next.

emforcement,You are right about the pathetic payload.. of the Raptor, but I still love it, although I wouldn't buy one because it carry s just a little more weight than my civic.

Tundra is a good truck and it's not far off from a GREAT truck either.

the next generation will surely fix this rounds set-backs...when toyota brings something forth for the first time, they aim for first place but are content with reaching the middle of the pack. expect the enxt gen Tundra to be even better...it's almost a guarantee!

i live in an area where pick-ups are very common, there's a lot of horse stables and ranches here.

there are many tundra's especially fom the past few years, but being that there are new designs to the F150 and Silverado, we are seeing those a lot now.

but definitely agree with you on the F-models and seilverado models as wells, there's likle a million of them and I wonder if they also include up to the F550's???

In the logging industry it has always been the Ford, and the bosses sometimes would drive chev trucks for the smother ride, in the tar sands it is Ford, then Dodge trucks, Toyotas would almost be unheard of.

Have you deboosters ever been logging? I have.

First of all the Tundra does not even have a boxed frame or the different configurations of the F-150 or Chevy Silverado. It just has a good engine and nissan Titan's top engineer said 1/3 of American will never consider buying a foreign truck. So you only have 2/3rds of the market to send ads to on a truck that was not better than the american trucks from a weaker crappier frame. What good is a monster motor when the frame causes the truck to swing so much it can scratch the cab with the bed?
The Tundra had to be perfect to win...it was far from perfect and a strike out instead of a home run.
They also built the plant new and had quality problems and should have made the truck in Japan until all of the issues were sorted out like they do the Land Cruiser which never goes wrong, ever!

I am not biased to any brands, I have owned a few Toyota 4x4 trucks, they were all modified to be more capable off road.ironically most of you here are blind to reality and know little to nothing about trucks.

The F-Series truck is one of the easiest vehicles to obtain as a first time buyer.
I think if Japanese manufacturers wanted to gain marketshare on trucks, they should focus on what originally brought them success - build SMALL trucks.
Chrissakes the current Tacoma is bigger than the old T100!

That is the stupidest statement that I have heard, American trucks are just superior work trucks.

Check out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWjTbiYo3x0

If you people can't understand this you are clearly blind to reality.