Look Out Ford, Chevy and Dodge!

emam · 12-13-2007, 09:56 PM

The big 3 had better stay on their toes with the debut of this bad mofo!!

It was debuted at the SEMA Show in Vegas and man does it look awesome! Granted it's only a concept truck right now, but with the big 3 all hurting, it could probably be that one, two punch that might take them down.

http://www.pickuptruck.com/html/auto...radually1.html

Read more here, but dont put the for sale sign in the window of your tow vehicle just yet.

Enjoy

Pat

nickster60 · 12-14-2007, 06:16 AM

I have never owned a Toyata truck but I have owned there cars. I have never had a problem with my Toyota cars. Tammy has a Scion xa and she is a little tough on her cars. It has 54000 miles of Andretti style driving (that poor little car) and replaced nothing but tires. If Toyota brings that beast to the market the big 3 will have clean up there act. My neighbor has a Toyota Tacoma with 265,000 miles on it. It still chugs right along, he wont buy a new truck he wants to see how long it will run. He has saved so much on vehicles over the past 18 years he bought himself a Corvette.

emam · 12-14-2007, 08:44 AM

My thoughts exactly Nick. I think Toyota stepping into the big truck market would be the best thing for the industry.

It would make the Big 3 clean up their act and really step up their trucks

Pat

HappyCampers · 12-14-2007, 06:04 PM

Like they stated it's basically a Hino Medium Duty Truck crammed into a smaller truck. A lot like the International Pick-up. You can get that baby with air brakes even.

Bobo · 12-16-2007, 08:31 AM

I have rented a Hino 6 wheel staight truck (32,000 GVWR) when my International "toilet" broke down at work. A 260 horse motor with a six speed manual tranny put out a lot of power and still got eleven MPG. The toilet only gets about 8 1/2 MPG on its best day. It rode and handled superbly. Only problem so far with the Hino truck is that it is hard to get replacement parts since it has only been on the market for only a couple of years. The only item that I did not care for was the horn. The same horn you will find in a Toyota car. There is something immasculating about a large truck that sounds like a Prius.

Even though I liked the Hino, I feel that it should get a few more years under its belt to establish its self on the market. Maybe the new Toyota Tundra will help with that.

Personally, I would like to see Freightliner come out with a version of a one ton PU. The Mercedes motor coupled with the Allison Automatic is a winning combination in the medium truck market. Sort of like they did with the Dodge vans, a Freightliner euro style van sold with the Dodge nameplate on it.

Bobo

Mooney · 12-26-2007, 07:28 PM

It's actually not too hard to build one!

Grab a medium duty IH, FL, etc. chassis cab from a dealer in your area (I've been eyeballing them at Minuteman Trucks on Rte.1 just up the road from me), drop on a dually PU bed, and good to go! It's upfitting them with creature comforts that make it expensive- crew cabs aren't cheap to begin with, and then you gotta dynamat, paint, stereo, etc...

If I only had more $$ (along with everyone else) :P

Cool idea from Toyota, but that thing's just too dang curvy to be pretty. I like my trucks square.

Al in PA · 12-27-2007, 10:03 AM

Mooney, I agree with your preference for square vs. rounded trucks. However, I really don't like the new GM and Ford bodies: They look too bloated. The previous generation had much better looks/lines.

**JohnB** · 12-27-2007, 03:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Al in PA

Mooney, I agree with your preference for square vs. rounded trucks. However, I really don't like the new GM and Ford bodies: They look too bloated. The previous generation had much better looks/lines.

I triple that vote…. If you look (or remember) over the years we go in and out of sq, verses round. GM, Ford and Dodge

Right now we are on the round kick again. Like it was back in the 50’s and 60’s

Personally I like the sq better.

Mooney · 12-27-2007, 07:48 PM

I was thinking about this again today while in the work rig cruising the Lakes Region of NH-

TRD (performance arm of Toyota) would have their hands full if they sourced their diesels in-house.

There is such an aftermarket available for the US diesels they'd have to catch up pretty dang quick. I love the diesel drag pickup trucks (like the Bully Dog truck) and even the big rigs that race each other.

I can't imagine that Toyota would let them out into the market without being able to go to 500+ ponies- The Big 3 can do that now.

Glad I got one of the last square ones GM made (so far)- and it's a small block so a motor swap is quick and easy (relatively)- keep the body and underpinnings straight and good- the driveline is so common it's silly!

RPierce · 12-31-2007, 05:47 PM

Take a look at this Sterling Rig.

http://www.sterlingtrucks.com/SterlingBullet/

Here is link to PDF brochure

http://www.sterlingtrucks.com/_Asset...etBrochure.pdf

Steve Collins · 12-31-2007, 06:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RPierce

Take a look at this Sterling Rig.

They look just like the new Dodge 4500 and 5500 series medium duty cab and chassis. The only cosmetic difference I can see is the grille is changed. Everything else looks identical.

I wonder if Sterling just buys the Dodge cab and chassis, makes some cosmetic changes, and installs the custom bodies? Their website seems to emphasize the various utility bodies and applications rather than the chassis and components in that class.

They do have lots of info on their heavy duty trucks, too.

Bobo · 01-01-2008, 09:05 AM

Does Dahmler have any ownership in Sterling? They have interests in Mercedes, Dodge, Chrysler, Freightliner, American LaFrance amongst others. You can see that they interchange product models and just change the name plate or offer options from one product name in another product. IE; you can get a Mercedes motor in a Freightliner truck or even better the Dodge Ram Van is also sold under the Freightliner brand.

Bobo

chuck & lori · 01-01-2008, 11:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bobo

Does Dahmler have any ownership in Sterling?

Bobo

According to the website, Sterling was founded by Freightliner, which is owned by Daimler. Click on the "Inside Sterling" tab for info.

rich2500 · 01-04-2008, 05:26 PM

I think that toyota is pretty cool looking aside from the low roof line and it has a very nice drivetrain but what about the rest of the truck I hope it's would be beefed up better then any of the previous trucks they have made,because from the frames up toyotas are the cheasiest pickups I work on and I work on pretty much every brand out there and I wish they would buy stock in the neversieze company and start using it when they assemble their vehicles,because every toyota I work on more then three years old I can garuntee a few bolts are gonna snap off due to rust.on second thought I will stick to my Fords and Dodges since I know I will be the one working on them when the time comes