Author Archive for Jason Lancaster

20,000 Spam Comments

Not that this has anything to do with the Toyota Tundra, but this website has been up and running for about 18 months now and we’ve been hit with about 20,000 spam comments.

That’s probably not that bad – there are probably a lot of sites with more attempted spam – but it sure seems like a lot.

Fortunately, the system we use to manage the site manages to catch most of these spammers automatically so we don’t have to read them all.

Thanks for reading our site – we’re getting ready to publish a three-part updated comparison of the 09′ Ram and the 09′ Tundra so we don’t have a formal post today. Thanks for checking-in.

Is The New Dodge Ram Soft?

The new 2009 Dodge Ram offers quite a few “refinements” not found on most pickups. In addition to a more powerful – and more economical – HEMI, Dodge is also offering a rear coil suspension on the new Ram and the new “RamBox” feature on their new crew cab trucks. While it makes sense for truck manufacturers to innovate, at what point do these “refined” additions hurt a truck’s image?

Is the new Dodge Ram too “nice and refined” to be considered tough?

First of all, it’s important to understand today’s truck market. According to many industry analysts, the days of the “casual” truck user are nearly over. While it was once a common occurrence for consumers to evaluate a truck as a commuting vehicle, the vast majority of today’s truck buyers are more interested in a pickup as a work vehicle than as a status symbol. No longer are we going to see “soccer moms” and urbanites buying crew-cab pickups that are never used for their intended purpose.

If these industry analysts are to be trusted, then future truck sales will be fostered by utility and work features.

Truck Buying Tips – Taking Advantage of an Economic Slowdown

In light of recent economic events, there’s a good chance that most of the people reading this post are probably waiting to buy a new truck. However, if your financial position is good, there has likely never been a better time to buy a new truck.

Tough economic times make for deep discounts on new trucks and sometimes desperate dealerships. Here’ are some tips you can use to take advantage.

Here’s a short list of suggestions for making sure you get the best price possible on your next new truck:

Auto News From Around The Web October 27, 2008

French labor board inspectors have recommended that Renault be investigated for “moral and institutional harassment of workers” following the suicides of 5 Renault product development engineers over the course of 18 months. Once of the engineers left a suicide note stating “Tell Mr. Ghosn [former head of Renault, now head of Nissan] I can’t handle the pressure anymore.” Evidently Carlos Ghosn has a reputation as a harsh taskmaster – hopefully this news will lead to changes.

Indian automaker Mahindra & Mahindra has announced that their new product line (originally scheduled to debut in early 2009) will be delayed approximately 6 months. While Mahindra and Mahindra has promised to offer inexpensive trucks and SUVs with compact diesels that get 30mpg+, a recent product review by JD Power identified nearly 200 ‘issues’ with the vehicles…everything from a lack of cupholders to inferior quality interior components. Of course a few growing pains are to be expected for any foreign automaker entering the U.S. market, but it’s going to be interesting to see if the new Mahindra vehicles will be ready for prime-time when they debut late next year.

Following a 944,000 vehicle recall, GM’s innovative heated windshield sprayer has evidently been discontinued, as they’ve announced that they’re no longer going to be offering the product in it’s current form. Reports of vehicle fires prompted the recall, and difficulties with the supplier have likely stopped production of this feature for the short term.

Toyota will begin offering a Visa “Toyota Rewards” card that will give consumers points on every purchase they make with the card towards parts, maintenance, accessories, and buying or leasing a new Toyota vehicle. No word yet on specifics like interest rate or annual fee info, but you can expect it to be a reasonable offering if it’s backed by Toyota Financial Services.

Finally, in an extremely odd (and distrubing) piece of news, a man claims that a prostitute drove his Toyota Tundra into a brick building. You’ll just have to read this story for yourselves…

Tiger Trucks Champ 4500

Tiger Trucks has significantly expanded their product line since the company first began doing business in Oklahoma almost ten years ago. Although the company is primarily known for its small, runabout trucks which offer high fuel economy numbers coupled with good cargo capacity and a low initial purchase price, the company has also branched out into larger, longer vehicles with increased cargo capacity as well as passenger vans.

Tiger’s Champ 4500 can haul 4,000 lbs, gets 32 miles per gallon, and pricing starts at $12,995. Unfortunately, it’s not legal to drive on most U.S. roads…yet.

Their recently released flagship truck, the Tiger Champ 4500, is an excellent example of this new trend. The Tiger Champ is powered by a 4 cylinder engine making a maximum of 54 lb-ft of torque. While this number may sound small, it is enough to give the vehicle a cargo capacity of almost 4000 lbs