Author Archive for Jason Lancaster

2011 Tundra Gets 4 Star Overall Crash Test Rating, Tied For First In Segment

Last updated 3-17-2011

NHTSA has released their crash test ratings for many of the 2011 half-tons on the market – here’s a summary of the ratings.

So far, it looks like the 2011 Tundra is the safest half-ton on the market, with only the narrowest lead over the GM trucks as a result of the Tundra’s superior IIHS test results. The F150 and Ram come in to third and fourth place respectively (the Nissan Titan has not been rated by NHTSA, so it’s not included in our comparison).

Libyan Police Use Toyota Tundras

It might not be the most flattering endorsement of a Toyota product, but here it is: a New York Times article features an image of riot police rolling down the street in armored blue Toyota Tundras.

New York Times photographers captured these Libyan police using Toyota Tundras - click the image to see the original story

The question is, who sold the Libyans these trucks? The only thing worse than a North African dictator using a made-in-the-USA pickup to crush rebellion is using a made-in-the-USA pickup that was potentially sold by a US police vehicle upfitting business.

Driving Isn’t In Our Collective Automotive Future

The tendency in automotive media (of which I consider myself a peripheral member) is to focus on the positives and negatives of the cars that are available in the hear and now. Which truck has a more realistic tow rating? Which car is a better value? Which auto executive is smarter than the rest? Etc.

One topic that doesn’t seem to get enough attention in the automotive press is the idea that, in the near future, driving is going to be incredibly easy. In fact, drivers themselves may be mostly unnecessary in a generation (maybe sooner).

Stick with me and think about how driving has changed in just the last twelve years:

• No more manual transmission options on most vehicles – driving complexity is greatly reduced
• Many vehicles offer proximity sensors to help with parking, and some cars even park themselves
• ABS and traction control are found on almost all new cars – correcting for inclement weather is easier than ever
• Stability control and roll-over sensors prevent accidents before they ever happen. Poor judgment on behalf of the driver is corrected now more than ever.
• It’s now possible to buy a car that will warn you when you’re following too closely and automatically apply the brakes if you aren’t paying attention.
• Safety systems have become so effective that NHTSA had to re-calibrate their “5 star” ratings

While many will argue that these enhancements aren’t really enhancements, there’s no denying that driving is less complex and therefore easier today than it was a short while ago.

The amazing thing is that these enhancements are just the tip of the iceberg.

2nd Annual Tundrastop Meet Truck Show Coverage

Just this past Saturday, TundraStop.com – in collaboration with DubzDirect.com, Toyo Tires, and Fuel Off-Road Wheels – hosted their second annual meet and truck show in Brea, California. The show included too many 2nd generation Tundras to count, some very nice 1st gen Tundras, some dedicated off-road trucks, and even a couple of very nice Toyota Tacomas.

2nd Annual Tundrastop.com Meet 2011

We sent freelance photographer extraordinaire Shannon West to try and capture the event, here’s what she found:

Ford Weaseling Out Of Full F-150 Airbag Recall

A little more than a year ago I noted that Ford F150’s had a mysterious exploding airbag problem, reporting that NHTSA was investigating F150 airbag complaints. In that article I predicted that Ford would likely need to recall some trucks, as their own internal documents indicated airbags were spontaneously exploding due to an electrical short. From Jan, 2010:

In light of Toyota’s recent recall problems, Ford would be wise to get ahead of this thing as quickly as possible…The F150 is Ford’s most popular vehicle, and they can ill-afford to have consumers question the truck’s safety… Hopefully, Ford will manage this issue better than Toyota

Today Ford announced that they would be recalling F-150s to fix this problem, but reportedly Ford will only recall 150,000 trucks rather than the approximate 1.5 million that NHTSA has requested. Ford argues that the only trucks effected by this airbag problem were built at the Norfolk, VA plant, yet NHTSA investigators have found evidence of spontaneously exploding airbags on F150s made at other plants (link).

In March of 2010, Toyota came under heavy fire when records showed that Toyota executives attempted to “negotiate” their way out of a NHTSA floormat recall to save money. Today, Ford seems to be doing something similar: Rather than replacing airbag assemblies on 1.5 million trucks as suggested by NHTSA, Ford is only going to replace 10% of the assemblies.

Evidently, 90% of 2004-2006 F150 owners who may be driving around with a spontaneously exploding airbag aren’t important to Ford.