Author Archive for Jason Lancaster
Jason Lancaster is the editor and founder of TundraHeadquarters.com. He has nearly a decade of experience on the retail side of the auto industry, and another decade of experience of the part and accessory side of the industry.
Tundra Wins JD Power Vehicle Dependability Award 6 Years In A Row
For the 6th time in as many years, the Toyota Tundra has won the JD Power Vehicle Dependability award in the large truck category. According to the JD Power website, the Tundra came in first with a rating of 4.5 out of 5, the F-150 came in second with 4 out of 5, and the Ram 1500 came in 3rd with a 3.5 out of 5 rating.
Amazingly, GM’s trucks had different dependability scores despite being essentially identical (the Chevy scored 3.5 out of 5, the GMC just 3 out of 5). It’s worth noting here that JD Power’s award is based on vehicle surveys, which, like any metric, has some limitations…but more on that in a minute.
Here’s a complete description of the JD power process, as well as some funny quotes from Ford, Dodge, and GM truck owners who just can’t accept Toyota’s dominance.
2011 F150 Scores Only 3 Stars In Government Safety Tests
Last week we published a comprehensive table of 2011 pickup truck crash test ratings, and today we’ve got updated crash test results from the National Highway and Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) website detailing the crash test results of the Ford F-150.
NHTSA government crash tests gave the 2011 Ford F-150 three stars in frontal crash tests. Click to see the full details.
While the 2011 F150 scored an overall crash test rating of 4 stars, the F-150 only scored 3 stars in frontal impacts, making it the second worst truck in terms of frontal impact safety among products for Chevy/GMC, Toyota, and Ram. Only the Ram 1500 scored worse – a paltry 2 stars. Fortunately for Ford, their strong performance in IIHS crash test studies seems to indicate that, overall, the F150 is comparably safe to the Tundra as well as trucks for Chevy and GMC.
Ford's 2011 F-150 crash test results rate it behind both the Tundra and the Chevy/GMC 1500 pickups.
Still, technically speaking, the F150 did not perform as well as the Tundra in the NHTSA tests the F150 had a lower front impact score, but as noted by Tim in the comments, the F150 did slightly better than the Tundra in a couple of ways (albeit small ways)…so the performance is likely closer to “equal” between the Tundra and the F150 than it is towards the Tundra.
2011 Truck Depreciation Data and Resale Value Facts
Analysis Shows Tundra Biggest Winner, Titan Biggest Loser
Last week an automotive data company called VinCentric announced their 2011 Best Value awards. While Toyota was the big winner – Toyota models that won 9 segments – the Tundra was surprisingly shut out. Considering how well the Tundra has done in other value award competitions, this was a surprise.
VinCentric named the F150 the best full size pickup value, but when you read VinCentric’s explanation of the F150’s victory something seems wrong:
The victory was earned with low insurance costs, segment leading fuel economy, and the lowest depreciation rate in the segment
Lowest depreciation in the segment? That’s not right…is it? Here’s how we went about trying to prove VinCentric’s data:
Japan Earthquake Will Hurt Toyota Sales, Effect U.S. Automakers Too
Update 3-16-2011: Toyota has announced that they will be closing all vehicle production plants in Japan through at least March 22nd, but that replacement parts manufacturer will resume tomorrow. Toyota has also said that they will resume building component parts for production outside Japan by March 21st.
The knee-jerk analysis here is that Toyota has the ability to ship parts at this time but not cars. Mazda’s facilities, for example, are mostly in southern Japan and have not been affected as dramatically as some Toyota facilities. It’s safe to assume that Toyota has the means to begin shipping parts via some alternative ports as soon as possible. However, shipping cars may be another story.
We’ll stay up to date.
—original story starts—
A Saturday Toyota press release reported that almost all of Toyota’s Japan operations have been unaffected by the recent earthquake. However, as a result of the massive disruption to the people of Japan, Toyota will be suspending all plant operations through at least Monday the 14th. Toyota’s press release also noted that (thankfully) there do not seem to be any casualties to Toyota team members – only it must be noted that accurate casualty estimates are still forthcoming.
Toyota’s press release did note, however, that a small number of plants will likely be unable to resume activities immediately and may be out of commission for a few days, weeks, or possibly even longer. These plant shutdowns will have a fairly large effect on Yaris sales according to our sources, as well as most Toyota vehicles exported from Japan (that means Prius, some Corolla, Scion, and almost all of Lexus). Automotive News is reporting that Japanese port closures could effect worldwide auto industry production – even Ford, GM, and Chrysler-Fiat.
2011 Prius vs 1993 Geo Metro
I like to read as many auto blogs as possible, and occasionally I find something that strikes a chord with me. About a week ago, Christopher Demorro at Gas2.org lamented that the Prius isn’t advanced enough and that it was “falling behind.”
Christopher’s argument (which you can read at the link above) goes a little bit like this:
- Toyota had a 10 year jump on everyone in the segment that they didn’t take advantage of
- Toyota’s latest gen Prius only gets 50 mpg, which isn’t much better than the 40mpg Focus, Fiesta, Cruze, Elantra, etc.
- Toyota’s new Prius minivan was an obvious need years ago – why didn’t Toyota do it sooner?
While I’m not qualified to judge other auto writers for tearing down a manufacturer’s decision making – I do it all the time myself – Christopher’s whole rant against the Prius is poorly considered. I told him as much in the comments, we went back and forth, and here’s what we’ve come to:
93 Geo Metro XFI vs 2011 Toyota Prius - Gas Mileage Is Similar, But That's It
Christopher says he’d rather have a 93′ Geo Metro XFI than a 2011 Toyota Prius, since they both get about the same mileage and the Metro is cheaper and easier to fix.
if you put a Toyota Prius and a Geo Metro in front of me, and told me I could have either car…I’d probably take the Geo. It isn’t safer, or faster, or better looking, but it is simpler with an equivalent MPG.
OK Christopher you asked for it. Here’s why I say that’s ridiculous:
