My favorite vehicles are Toyota trucks.

[TheDan]

I like the Toyotas but wish they imported a real truck and not the grocery getters.

They don't have to import them... they are made in San Antonio.

1995 Corolla DX which has a very nerdy teal color.

You'd fit right in at Radwood

 

[Axxe55]

The vast majority of so-called import vehicles are not imports, but manufactured right here in plants in the United States. Many of these vehicle manufacturers have global operations, that produce similar vehicles, but they can't or don't meet the emissions and safety standards in the United States. It's much cheaper to have factories here, that make vehicles that meet those standards, than trying to modify import models to meet them.

 

[MacZC7]

 

[avvidclif]

These grocery-getters/cow-haulers/horse wagons/boat-towers are imported from Texas if you live in any of the other 49 states. Perhaps the foreign-made ones are more truck-like. This Tundra needs no diesel motor to haul a loaded 24' cattle trailer. 381 stock ponies under the hood. 401 lb-ft torque. The Corvette ZR-1 in 1991 only had 375 HP.

This Texas-made one is no woosy truck:

Horsepower and torque move the load but something has to carry it. Next time you think it's a truck go put a pallet of concrete mix in the bed and see what happens to the suspension. That's about 4k lbs BTW. Take a glance and see what the load capacity of the tires is? Pulling my trailer my rear axle weight is around 8k lbs.

 

[pronstar]

The vast majority of so-called import vehicles are not imports, but manufactured right here in plants in the United States. Many of these vehicle manufacturers have global operations, that produce similar vehicles, but they can't or don't meet the emissions and safety standards in the United States. It's much cheaper to have factories here, that make vehicles that meet those standards, than trying to modify import models to meet them.

Most folks are surprised that the North American supply chain for the Big 3, also supplies the likes of Toyota and other manufacturers.

By and large, for volume North American production, parts aren’t just shipped here...they’re made here.

Engines are cast at American foundries, as an example.


Tundras are all made here, they don’t produce them elsewhere. They were even developed, engineered and tested here by Americans, not TMC Japan.

The biggest reason why isn’t to show American pride, however...the main reason is to insulate North American profits from currency fluctuations.

Small moves on the value of the yen can have huge impacts on profitability. So this helps ensure that vehicles sold here are profitable.


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[pronstar]

Horsepower and torque move the load but something has to carry it. Next time you think it's a truck go put a pallet of concrete mix in the bed and see what happens to the suspension. That's about 4k lbs BTW. Take a glance and see what the load capacity of the tires is? Pulling my trailer my rear axle weight is around 8k lbs.

A 4K load in the bed is really beyond what anyone should be doing with a half-ton truck.

No half-ton is even rated to carry that much payload.


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[pronstar]

I like the Toyotas but wish they imported a real truck and not the grocery getters.

Some are built in Tijuana, Mexico...but the bulk of them are produced at the San Antonio plant


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[avvidclif]

A 4K load in the bed is really beyond what anyone should be doing with a half-ton truck.

No half-ton is even rated to carry that much payload.


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I agree that's why I said I wished they built/imported more than a 1/2t. Not many 3/4t are rated for that either.

 

[mnpshooter]

If I ever by another 4cyl truck it will be a Toyota. When I was 19 I bought a Toyota truck with the 2.4l inline and a 5spd manual. I abused that truck for 225,000 miles and it never needed to go to the shop (I do my own tuneups, brakes, shocks). Think back to how you drove in your late teens/early 20s and you’ll know that truck was put through the ringer.

 

[d_holliday]

Horsepower and torque move the load but something has to carry it. Next time you think it's a truck go put a pallet of concrete mix in the bed and see what happens to the suspension. That's about 4k lbs BTW. Take a glance and see what the load capacity of the tires is? Pulling my trailer my rear axle weight is around 8k lbs.

So, it seems as Toyota pickups are not fit for heavy construction, farming and ranching maybe, but not heavy construction. Toyota has yet to enter the 3/4 ton and 1-ton market. Helper rear springs might work for Toyota trucks, though. The Tundra might otherwise need a trailer to haul all that concrete. Some wish for a Toyota diesel option as well for the US market. I could live with a Toyota truck since I'm not into heavy construction. A surplus army M35 Series deuce-n-a-half might haul cement real well. 5,000 lbs payload. Diesel power too for heavy towing torque. Even includes factory turbocharger from Kaiser!! Straight-6 Continental motors engine.

M35 series 2½-ton 6×6 cargo truck - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Factory a/c? You're lucky if it even has a cab heater. Power steering? It's called "Arnold Schwarzenegger" elbow grease.

 

[Sam Colt]

Vehicle colors are steered by resale value.

 

[d_holliday]

Vehicle colors are steered by resale value.

True because most used car/truck buyers of this century want the same mundane colors as most new car/truck buyers. Back in 1975, Toyota was offering a Corolla wagon in amber yellow, traffic yellow like road markings, Caterpillar tractors and school buses. My mother was considering this color but decided to get her Corolla wagon in solid white (no wood grain panels) in the end. She said she did not want a car painted the color of the double yellow lines in the middle of the road. My father said wood grain (synthetic, not genuine wood) panels on station wagons looked crappy when they faded and peeled. Our new white 1975 Corolla E5 wagon had the chrome roof rack, body side moldings and nice mag wheels.

 

[GoPappy]

True because most used car/truck buyers of this century want the same mundane colors as most new car/truck buyers. Back in 1975 . . . .

It’s hard to criticize manufacturers for making things in the colors people want. Back in 1975, a lot of appliances were being made in earth tones too, and you don’t see a lot of avocado colored refrigerators on the market today.

Anybody remember flocked wallpaper? Don’t see much of that these days either.

Times change. Tastes change.

 

[d_holliday]

It’s hard to criticize manufacturers for making things in the colors people want. Back in 1975, a lot of appliances were being made in earth tones too, and you don’t see a lot of avocado colored refrigerators on the market today.

Anybody remember flocked wallpaper? Don’t see much of that these days either.

Times change. Tastes change.

My family got a new avocado GE refrigerator in 1969. Grandma had a copper-colored 1960 GM/Frigidaire washing machine and a GE/Hotpoint range in the kitchen copper-colored. Times change, tastes get plainer. I do prefer white home appliances, however. For the moon-high retail prices carmakers are charging these days they could offer a few more exciting color options. I'm not criticising manufacturers mostly, though, but the tasteless newer crops of people in later generations. My mother always bought plain white new cars even from 1969 on up into the '80's. Dad wanted a new red car in the 1970's, mom said not. Dad once had a red GMC stepside pickup from the 1950's. Interestingly, mom had our '75 Corolla painted from white to metallic gold in 1980 for novelty's sake at Miracle auto painting and body. Used to be the poor man's paint/body shop. The trouble with a color change is that the painted body interior areas around the doors, inside the trunk and under the hood don't usually match the new exterior color. That would be prohibitively expensive to do. Always best to repaint a car in original stock colors if the car is even worth repainting.

 

[satx78247]

To All,

For TEXAS & other climates with HOT Summers, I prefer WHITE or another LIGHT color that REFLECTS heat.
(FOR a WORKING TRUCK, the LESS "fancy stuff" on it the better that I like it.)

When my old partner & I had PETROLEUM PROTECTION, Inc. we used ONLY Toyota compact PUs in light blue, with manual transmission, for that reason.
(I "got a deal" on a number of light blue PU that were NOT delivered to the Houston-based "mud company" that ordered them.)

ALL that we added to the Toyotas was a 2-way radio/whip antenna on our 3 frequencies & signs on the 2 doors that said: PPI Patrol.

We got GOOD SERVICE out of the little PUs, which was because they were TOUGH & very "Plain Jane".
(Offhand, I can think of FEW sorts of commercial service that is harder on equipment than "running the oil-patch" is.)

NOTE: TRUTH is that EVERYTHING "PPI" was "Plain Jane": Dickie's work shirts (with a TX flag on the left sleeve & a PPI patch on the right sleeve), blue jeans, work boots & a "baseball" cap as "uniforms", a holstered S&W Model 65 & a Model 870 shotgun in each PU. = VERY "low key".
In point of fact, we caught a lot of thieves, prowlers, assorted other creeps/crooks (that we turned over to the local SD) & even poachers (reported to the Game warden) because we were NOT "showy" . = I suspect that MOST casual crooks thought that our people worked for a drilling company, mud company or some other sort of "awl-biz" company.

yours, satx

 

[ZX9RCAM]

The last "car" I bought was paladio metallic.

 

[d_holliday]

The last "car" I bought was paladio metallic.

View attachment 223378

Meaning SILVER.

 

[d_holliday]

To All,

For TEXAS & other climates with HOT Summers, I prefer WHITE or another LIGHT color that REFLECTS heat.
(FOR a WORKING TRUCK, the LESS "fancy stuff" on it the better that I like it.)

When my old partner & I had PETROLEUM PROTECTION, Inc. we used ONLY Toyota compact PUs in light blue, with manual transmission, for that reason.
(I "got a deal" on a number of light blue PU that were NOT delivered to the Houston-based "mud company" that ordered them.)

ALL that we added to the Toyotas was a 2-way radio/whip antenna on our 3 frequencies & signs on the 2 doors that said: PPI Patrol.

We got GOOD SERVICE out of the little PUs, which was because they were TOUGH & very "Plain Jane".
(Offhand, I can think of FEW sorts of commercial service that is harder on equipment than "running the oil-patch" is.)

NOTE: TRUTH is that EVERYTHING "PPI" was "Plain Jane": Dickie's work shirts (with a TX flag on the left sleeve & a PPI patch on the right sleeve), blue jeans, work boots & a "baseball" cap as "uniforms", a holstered S&W Model 65 & a Model 870 shotgun in each PU. = VERY "low key".
In point of fact, we caught a lot of thieves, prowlers, assorted other creeps/crooks (that we turned over to the local SD) & even poachers (reported to the Game warden) because we were NOT "showy" . = I suspect that MOST casual crooks thought that our people worked for a drilling company, mud company or some other sort of "awl-biz" company.

yours, satx

True, some folks buy trucks as personal/sport/play vehicles also and therefore might want a little flair. Eventually, many of those new play/city trucks eventually become second-hand working trucks after the new car smell and shine wears off. Bright canary yellow should not absorb too much hot sun. Darker colors absorb more heat, black is the worst. Bright yellow is fairly cool.

 

[ZX9RCAM]

Silverish in direct sunlight.
Multicolored at an angle.

 

[pronstar]

Colors also vary by region...obviously white being the most popular in the south and southwest.

Trends follow other consumer goods. As an example, Earthtones became popular a few years ago, so we started to see more of them on cars.

And you’ll notice that there a far fewer “flop” colors now than a decade ago. Flop colors basically change as your viewing angle and lighting conditions change.

Edit: typo

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