Did Toyota Make A HUGE Mistake Discontinuing The FJ Cruiser Now That The Segment Is Hotter Than Ever?

Did Toyota Make A HUGE Mistake Discontinuing The FJ Cruiser Now That The Segment Is Hotter Than Ever?
For every vehicle an automaker nails, there's always a story or two of a company essentially missing the boat. To a certain degree, this is to be expected.

When you're a product company, sometimes timing can be off. And, in some cases, you may actually be ahead of the trend.

That's more or less what happened with Toyota and its FJ Cruiser. While the FJ Cruiser wasn't a complete miss, it seems like Toyota may have really been onto something if it wasn't discontinued. THINK: Today, the category is hotter than ever.

Just check Ebay values: The FJ Cruiser that's linked to this story is being sold for a rather steep asking price of $58.9K!

That said, we've got to ask: Did Toyota make a HUGE mistake by discontinuing the FJ Cruiser too soon?

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wilfredwilfred - 6/19/2019 3:06:21 AM
+1 Boost
“When you're a product company, sometimes timing can be off. And, in some cases, you may actually be ahead of the trend.”

I disagree, FJ wasn’t off on timing nor ahead of anything. It’s a retro thing like the VW Beetle, MINI Cooper, Fiat 500, & etc... After that retro thing wears off, sales dwindled.




wilfredwilfred - 6/19/2019 3:10:56 AM
+6 Boost
However, cars like the Acura ZDX and the Honda Accord Crosstour were ahead of it’s time. Who would’ve ever thought a fastback SUV would ever make sense for anyone...


TruthyTruthy - 6/19/2019 8:23:14 AM
+4 Boost
And the ZDX looks better than the MB and BMW fastback SUVs. And it was a better luxury vehicle than the RDX.


scenicbyway12scenicbyway12 - 6/19/2019 1:03:56 PM
0 Boost
"Who would’ve ever thought a fastback SUV would ever make sense for anyone..."

BMW, wait no wait it was the AMC Eagle. Damn BMW for making it work.


MDarringerMDarringer - 6/19/2019 4:03:48 PM
+1 Boost
The ZDX is hideous.


bmw7erbmw7er - 6/19/2019 3:24:29 AM
+2 Boost
I bought my son one in 2007. Just a few months ago we traded it in. We never had a single problem. It was hard to see out of it though. But they should refresh it and bring it out.


PUGPROUDPUGPROUD - 6/19/2019 5:44:31 AM
+1 Boost
A combination of being too early and an economic slowdown killed the FJ. When times get tough and money is tight top management funnels development dollars to their largest brands and niche models get pushed aside. Similarly the same conditions cause consumers to tighten their belts and concentrate on must have items not like to have trendy/cool items like the FJ.


MDarringerMDarringer - 6/19/2019 8:33:06 AM
+1 Boost
Actually, it much more simple than that. The FJ had terrible sales because it was a terrible design. When it was introduced, it immediately failed to reach anywhere near the volume that Toyota had projected for it. Then the sales tanked and it staggered on until its miserable death.


mre30mre30 - 6/19/2019 7:41:19 AM
+3 Boost
They could probably just roll it back out if Toyota still had the dies/tooling. I think it was based on the Tacoma/4Runner so all the parts are there.

It is actually a very niche vehicle in the northeast (kind of filled the role that the old Land Rover Defender held - 35 to 45 year old, affluent, douchy white males love it).

There is actually a conversion shop that makes convertibles out of them and sells them for like $80,000. I have seen at least 5 or 10 of them in the Hamptons in the summer. https://newportconvertible.com/toyota-fj-cruiser-convertible/

Bring it back!


MDarringerMDarringer - 6/19/2019 8:29:56 AM
+2 Boost
No. The FJ Cruiser was a terrible design. It was rather overweight. It was a gas hog. Sales were ATROCIOUS. It was also like a fat chick dancing his stilettos when taken offroad.


scenicbyway12scenicbyway12 - 6/19/2019 1:19:25 PM
+3 Boost
" It was also like a fat chick dancing his stilettos when taken offroad."

Having spent quality time in the FJ off-road, no it didn't


MDarringerMDarringer - 6/19/2019 4:04:20 PM
0 Boost
Yes it did. A Wrangler is simply better.


scenicbyway12scenicbyway12 - 6/19/2019 4:49:59 PM
+2 Boost
Yes, the Wrangler is more capable especially the Rubicon. (have spent quality time off road in it too), but anybody saying the FJ is a pig off-road has never been in the technical backcountry with it.


MDarringerMDarringer - 6/20/2019 5:33:03 PM
+1 Boost
I wouldn't want to be given the ones I've seen off road. Yikes. The incredible vehicle mass makes then nightmarish.


cidflekkencidflekken - 6/19/2019 1:00:42 PM
+3 Boost
The FJ was the right car, executed the wrong way. It didn't have the convertibility/open-air ability of the Jeep. It didn't have the timeless design of the Jeep. It's blind spots were dangerous. I would love to see it revived but with better execution. I'd love to see Honda come back with a revived Element also, with the same utility as before, but with more off-road ability baked in.


skytopskytop - 6/19/2019 6:13:56 PM
+1 Boost
The FJ was a cute, funky looking little SUV that was killed off way too soon. Aparently the sales were not sufficient for Toyota to continue keeping the FJ on life support.


YoCarFantoYoCarFanto - 6/20/2019 5:00:39 PM
+1 Boost
For every 2 FJ Cruisers sold, Nissan sold 3 Xterras. Back in 2007 I test drove both cars and even though I am a hardcore Toyota fan (worked at a dealership during summers while in college) I despised the reduced visibility, blind spots and the weird three-arm windshield wiper mechanism. I opted for the Xterra with manual transmission so no radiador ATF issues. It's been a reliable SUV currently at 166K Miles and still strong.


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