GM Engineer Says Tacoma Is Truck Of The Future
In what might have been the most shocking statement at the 2011 Detroit International Auto Show, a GM engineer said that “smaller, lighter trucks” are the wave of the future. To our way of thinking, he’s talking about the Tacoma.
From Automotive News (sub. req’d):
To meet proposed higher fuel economy and lower emissions standards, automakers will eventually need to develop a leaner range of pickup trucks, mid-sized pickups, said Jamie Hresko, vice president of GM’s global powertrain engineering…He would not say whether a mid-sized pickup is being developed by GM.
OK so he didn’t actually mention the Tacoma…but he meant to. This is no small compliment to Toyota all things considered (tongue in cheek).
Why The Tacoma Is The Truck Of The Future
It’s comfortable like a full-size. A lot of people dislike the fact that the Tacoma has gotten bigger during just about every re-design, and that’s certainly understandable. However, let’s take a moment to acknowledge that the Tacoma is bigger because, well, Americans are bigger. As in fatter (I include myself in this category).
Most people will tell you that, aside from the Tacoma’s lower seating position, the truck is big enough to be comfortable. This is critical to future sales because many Americans choose full-size trucks for comfort.
Note: If you don’t like the fact that Toyota doesn’t make a true compact pickup, take heart: Rumors of a Scion pickup truck keep buzzing.
The Tacoma’s capabilities keep growing. The new 2011 Tacoma has a maximum tow rating of 6500 lbs and a maximum payload of over 1,400 lbs…and these figures are calculated based on the SAE J2807 standard. If you’re not familiar,the J2807 standard says that manufacturers must account for the weight of fuel, passengers, and common accessories in their published numbers.
When Toyota adopted the J2807 standard on the 2011 Tundra, the Tundra’s tow ratings dropped as much as 900 lbs. Toyota managed to keep the Tacoma’s payload and tow ratings the same in 2011 because they also made the truck more powerful.
Tacoma’s fuel economy is above average. The newest 2011 Tacoma 2WD Regular Cab has a 2.7L 4-cylinder that gets 21-25 mpg when paired with the automatic transmission. That’s an excellent fuel economy rating compared to similar 2011 trucks from Ford and Nissan.
The thing is, despite being Toyota’s most fuel efficient Tacoma, a 2.7L is no slouch. The truck is rated to haul 1,380 lbs and has 159 hp – certainly adequate when compared to the Frontier’s inefficient 152 hp 2.5L and Ford’s 143 hp 2.3L.
Bottom Line: If GM’s VP of global powertrain engineering is correct, the Tacoma will become even more popular in the future than it already is today.
We can live with that.