Tundra is Truck Of The Year

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witfal wrote:
> >
> After seeing a friend's new GMC, and comparing it to the current Tundra
> pricing and troubles, I'd pick the GMC/Chevy.
>


Get this...

A guy on the woodworking group is a retired, life-long GM manager. He
gets the "real" employee discount on GM vehicles. After driving all
three, he paid full price for a Tundra.
 >> Stay informed about: Tundra is Truck Of The Year 

"EdV" <systmengr.RemoveThis@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:410b8b2c-327d-4881-9ecb-84332a030f31@r29g2000hsg.googlegroups.com...

> just curious, what award giving body do you think is best?

Well all the boies that make awards have their slants and biases. I suppose
the single most important award is sales! But of the awards given by groups,
I'd guess the press association awards are the best. And even though I don't
always agree with Consumers Reports, I think their recommended vehicle
rating is a pretty good "award" to get. Clearly CR and myself don't always
agree on what is important, so I don't always "like" their recommended
vehicles, but I do assume they are at least decent vehicles.

When discussing "Motor Trend [vehicle] of the Year" awards, past winners
have included:

Chevrolet Corvair (1960)
Chevrolet Vega (1971)
Ford Mustang II (1974)
Chevrolet Monza (1975)
AMC Alliance (1983)

I suppose that you could argue that all of these past winners were
significant for some reason or another, but I am not sure looking back they
deserved the "Car of the Year" award on their merit.

BTW, Tundra has been Truck of the Year before (2000). I think it was more
deserving back then. I really don't know what Toyota was thinking when they
created the new monstrosity. It is like they took all the worst features
from Ford, Dodge, and Chevy and rolled them into one over-sized gas sucking
pig. I wrote Ford F150s off my list in 2004 when they jacked the truck up
and raised the sides of the bed. As far as I am concerned the only decent
"half-ton" trucks left are the Tacoma and the Frontier. If I really need a
big truck, the Ford SuperDuty is infinitely superior to the any of the so
called full-size trucks.

Ed
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On Dec 19, 2:46 pm, B A R R Y <beech23pi... RemoveThis @yahoo.com> wrote:
> Jeff wrote:
>
> > So what? He liked the Toyota. A lot of people do. It doesn't mean that
> > it is a better truck. Only one he thought was well suited for him.
>
> I totally agree. That's what! <G>

And Bill gates owns an IPhone =)
 >> Stay informed about: Tundra is Truck Of The Year 

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 >> Stay informed about: Tundra is Truck Of The Year 

witfal wrote:
> On 2007-12-19 04:45:12 -0800, Jeff <kidsdoc2000 DeleteThis @hotmail.com> said:
>>> It seems that most reviews don't encompass reliability trends. That
>>> the Tundra is reviewed favorably in AR, and is the official truck of
>>> B.A.S.S., only adds credence to how effective good marketing had become.
>>
>> If I were buying a truck for car use (i.e., not doing much work), I
>> would definitely consider the Toyota or Honda Ridgeline. As a real
>> work truck, I would still stick with the Michigan 3 for now. But
>> Toyota, IMHO, has done a great job with the truck.
>
> I would consider it only AFTER the reliability issues with the
> transmission, etc., have been resolved.

And the Michigan 3, Nissan, Honda and Mazda have never had any problems
with their trucks. No recalls, no warranty work ever done.

> Honestly, I've been disappointed that Toyota has fallen prey to the same
> issues that have historically plagued any manufacturer when it becomes
> more popular. They ramp-up production to meet demand at the cost of
> quality. I have no doubt Toyota will overcome this, but at present they
> don't make a vehicle that I'd purchase.

You try making a new vehicle at a new plant and do better.

Jeff
 >> Stay informed about: Tundra is Truck Of The Year 

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 >> Stay informed about: Tundra is Truck Of The Year 

witfal wrote:
> On 2007-12-19 05:43:55 -0800, Jeff <kidsdoc2000.TakeThisOut@hotmail.com> said:
>
>>>
>>> I would consider it only AFTER the reliability issues with the
>>> transmission, etc., have been resolved.
>>
>> And the Michigan 3, Nissan, Honda and Mazda have never had any
>> problems with their trucks. No recalls, no warranty work ever done.
>
> I don't recall ever making that claim.

I never suggested you did. DOH!

>>> Honestly, I've been disappointed that Toyota has fallen prey to the
>>> same issues that have historically plagued any manufacturer when it
>>> becomes more popular. They ramp-up production to meet demand at the
>>> cost of quality. I have no doubt Toyota will overcome this, but at
>>> present they don't make a vehicle that I'd purchase.
>>
>> You try making a new vehicle at a new plant and do better.
>
> I wouldn't do that any more than I'd buy one from a new plant. Best
> just to wait until the bugs are knocked out.

Best to get a good truck. The Toyota is one example of a good truck.

Jeff
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 >> Stay informed about: Tundra is Truck Of The Year 

"C. E. White" ...
>
> "Wickeddoll"...
>> http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22317159/
>>
>> This will really piss off Ed White.
>>
>>
>>
>> Natalie
>
> Why would it? I'd have to think the award was meaningful to get pissed off
> about the winner (if I thought it was undeserved, which I don't). Do a
> Google search on my name and Motor Trend Truck / Car / SUV of the year. It
> is now and has been for as long as I can remember a worthless award. Read
> up on the requirements for winning. To be considered you must agree to
> purchase a large amount of advertising in Motor Trend if you win (as I
> recall the facts, you actually have to "bid" on the advertising package
> you will provide). You most also agree to prominently feature Motor Trend
> Truck of the Year in your advertising for the vehicle (providing free
> advertising to Motor Trend). Clearly the winner must have some merit to
> even be considered but once you are in the mix of vehicles to be
> considered, it is money that decides the winner, not merit.
>
> And I actually think Tundra is the "Truck of the Year." Not because it is
> especially good (In my opinion it isn't a good truck, I think they ruined
> a decent truck), but because it is all new, has been massively hyped, and
> is by far the most significant new truck of this year. In is likely that
> the "all new" 2009 F150 will be "Truck of the Year" next year, just like
> the "all new" Silverado was "Truck of the Year" last year and the Nissan
> Titan was "Truck of the Year" in 2003. It is pretty much a bought and sold
> award.
>
> Ed
Ah - like J.D. Power?

Natalie
 >> Stay informed about: Tundra is Truck Of The Year 

B A R R Y wrote:
> witfal wrote:
>> > After seeing a friend's new GMC, and comparing it to the current
>> Tundra pricing and troubles, I'd pick the GMC/Chevy.
>>
>
>
> Get this...
>
> A guy on the woodworking group is a retired, life-long GM manager. He
> gets the "real" employee discount on GM vehicles. After driving all
> three, he paid full price for a Tundra.

So what? He liked the Toyota. A lot of people do. It doesn't mean that
it is a better truck. Only one he thought was well suited for him.

GM, Nissan, Honda, Ford, Toyota, Diamler-Chrysler and Dodge all make
good trucks.

Jeff
 >> Stay informed about: Tundra is Truck Of The Year 

Jeff wrote:
>
> So what? He liked the Toyota. A lot of people do. It doesn't mean that
> it is a better truck. Only one he thought was well suited for him.
>

I totally agree. That's what! <G>
 >> Stay informed about: Tundra is Truck Of The Year 

"C. E. White" ...
>
> "Wickeddoll" ...
>
>>> Titan was "Truck of the Year" in 2003. It is pretty much a bought and
>>> sold award.
>>>
>>> Ed
>> Ah - like J.D. Power?
>>
>> Natalie
>
> J D Powers conducts surveys and bases their "awards" on the results. They
> sell more detailed information to all the automakers (including Toyota).
> Their awards are like Motor Trend's Thing of the Year award in the sense
> they generate publicity for J.D. Powers (and presumably allow the company
> to make more money). They are different in that Motor Trend directly
> solicits a bribe so that your vehicle can be awarded Thing of the Year
> You could argue that J D Powers slants there results to please there
> Customers, but this seems unlikely given the large number of vehicles from
> foreign manufacturers that get awards.
>
> I've actually been sent a Powers survey (for my Frontier). They asked lots
> of questions and want hard data on repair costs etc. It is a far more
> extensive survey than the cheesy Consumer Reports survey. And for me, it
> was actually too extensive. After the second one, I started throwing them
> away - which was probably a good thing for Nissan. J D Powers randomly
> selects people to be interviewed. Some interviews are by telephone, some
> by mail. I always hang up on telephone surveys, so I guess they aren't
> getting the benefit of my wisdom
>
> My main point would be that the JD Powers award winners are nothing like
> Motor Trends Thing of the Year as far as the quality of the results. The
> Thing of the Year is solely based on the opinions of the Motor Trend
> Editorial staff and heavily influenced by who will pony up the most
> advertising dollars. Just remember, the Vega was Car of the Year.
>
> Ed
>
Fair enough.

Natalie
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