2016 Toyota Tundra to come with Cummins diesel

spoon059 wrote:

otrfun wrote:
Toyota has a marketing problem with their 1/2 ton truck---which can't be ignored.

I must have ignored it... what is their marketing problem?

If you like 'em, own 'em, it's an easy thing to do--lol!

First off, let me say I'm not on some kind of vendetta against Toyota or the Tundra. Believe it or not, I've owned two new Tundras during the last few years. They're good, reliable trucks.

If you read all of my posts ref this whole Tundra/Cummins/3/4 ton scenario you'll see a theme that I've stuck to. I'm not on some random mission to bash Toyota. The reality is, after sales of the 2007-2013 Tundra fell far short of expectations, after their grand plans for annual sales of 200,000 trucks a year crumbled, they've lost their way and really don't know how to posture themselves in the market place.

All one has to do is watch the Ford, Chevy, Ram, and Toyota truck commercials on TV to get an idea of what I'm talking about. It is so obvious what each manufacturer is trying to offer. Ford and Chevy boast about their trucks being the mainstream of the commercial truck world---out there in the oil fields, construction sites doing real work. Which they are and the sales numbers prove it. Ram boasts about "Guts, Glory, Ram", "Ram Tough", and brag about all their class-leading numbers---which are substantial across their entire line---and a big reason for their huge success of late. Then there's the Tundra commercial . . . it shows a suburban family working around their yard, going to Home Depot, dragging logs through their backyard, with no mention of one competitive feature. The commercial has a confusing theme. It just shows some of the cool things you can do with any truck in your spare time. For the macho truck crowd it's laughable.

In a nutshell, this is the Toyota Tundra's marketing problem. What image are they truly trying to present? In all honesty, the only marketing card they can play with any sense of credibility is the reliability card. It's a huge card, and IMO the only reason they've been able to sustain sales at their current levels. Toyota's goal is to simply hold on to their current market share.

Let's go back in time a bit. In 2000, Toyota, IMO, made a strategic error when they used a "band-aid", piece-meal, engineering approach for their new 2000 Tundra. All they did was basically convert a Tacoma into a 1/2 ton truck and stick the Tundra nameplate on it. When Toyota introduced the 2007 Tundra 7 years later, they had a terrible time jettisoning this reputation and image even though they had completely re-engineered the entire truck and (and at that time) had industry leading specs. I'm sure if they had to do it over again they would do things much differently.

So, to bring my position full circle, let's say Toyota entered the 3/4 ton truck segment. If they didn't want to repeat the 2000 Tundra fiasco, they'd have to come out with their guns blazing with a full-line, full featured 3/4 ton truck line. That is a huge undertaking of such massive financial proportions it absolutely boggles my mind. Toyota has already shown their unwillingness to invest heavily in the 1/2 ton Tundra, why on earth would they try do so in the much smaller, much more competitive 3/4 ton arena? For argument sake, let's say they did come out with the 5.0 Cummins and marketed it as a 3/4 ton truck. Yes, from a numbers perspective it would fill an important "void" which I've elaborated on in several previous posts. However, from a 3/4 ton marketing perspective they would be destroyed by the "numbers game" (payload, tow, HP, torque, etc.)---absolutely destroyed by the Big 3 in every category except MPG. Now, take the SAME TRUCK we just discussed and market it as 1/2 ton truck. Guess what, ALL these marketing problems go away. Same truck, but now it's a kick-ass, class leading 1/2 ton truck with all the numbers to prove it.

As I mentioned time and time again, if Toyota (or Nissan) can obtain 2000 lbs. payload, 12,500 lbs. tow capacity, and low-mid 20's highway MPG, with the 5.0 Cummins in a 1/2 ton platform, then they'll have a class-leading truck. Otherwise, if it's marketed as a 3/4 ton, it might as well bend over . . . and take it, like a wimpy 3/4 ton truck should.

Again, same truck, but different marketing.

In closing, I hope I've shed a clearer light on my position. Marketing is huge part of a truck's success. It's a lot more than numbers.