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.
GM Steals 2010 Tundra’s Intellichoice Best Value Award
Intellichoice.com recently announced their 2010 vehicle Best Value Awards, and GM’s pickups nearly swept the truck category. Here are all the winners in the truck categories:
- Compact Pickup – Toyota Tacoma
- Half-ton Pickup – Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Crew Cab Hybrid, GMC Sierra 1500 Crew Cab Hybrid
- 3/4 ton Pickup – Chevrolet Silverado 2500 HD Crew Cab, GMC Sierra 2500 HD Crew Cab
- One-ton Pickup – Chevrolet Silverado 3500 Crew Cab, GMC Sierra 3500 Crew Cab
First of all, congrats to GM for winning the 3/4 and 1 ton categories – that’s great work in a tough segment. However, when it comes to winning the 1/2 ton segment, we think Intellichoice screwed up. Intellichoice didn’t account for the GM hybrid’s diminished capabilities. If they had, they would have excluded the GM hybrids from the half-ton competition, and we believe the Tundra would have been the winner.
Runaway Toyota Accidents Almost Always Driver Error
When the L.A. Slimes L.A. Times asked Richard Schmidt, a noted automotive safety expert, about unintended acceleration back in November 09′, here’s what he had to say:
…the problem almost always lies with drivers who step on the wrong pedal. “When the driver says they have their foot on the brake, they are just plain wrong,” Schmidt said. “The human motor system is not perfect, and it doesn’t always do what it is told.”
It’s really popular right now to say that Toyota’s electronic throttle system is somehow responsible for unintended acceleration accidents, but the data shows that most runaway accidents are simply driver error. We’ve all seen and heard stories of runaway Toyota vehicles, but consider this:
Toyota’s Future Is Brighter Than Many People Think
In the aftermath of floor mat recalls, Prius problems, and “pedal gate,” it’s easy to assume Toyota’s reputation with consumers will suffer. However, there is some compelling evidence to suggest that Toyota will survive and perhaps even thrive as a result of these events.
Toyota Faux Burl Wood Dash Kit For The Tundra – Vote
Toyota’s faux burl wood dash applique might just dress-up the interior of your Tundra or 2008+ Sequoia – if you’re into the wood grain look, that is.
A Tundra with a faux burl wood grain dash kit
The kit is basically four to six pieces of plastic trim (depending on cab), and each trim piece has genuine 3M “peel and stick” tape on the back. Install is brutally simple – you clean the dash, the shift console, and each of the arm rests in your truck. Then, you stick it on. If you’re very careful, it will look like a factory option. The cost of the kit is $290 – and it’s available from your local Toyota dealer (maybe even for a discount off that price). Here’s another view of the kit:
7 Ways Toyota Can Recover Consumer Confidence
Now that some time has passed and Toyota has begun repairing vehicles, it’s likely the media firestorm around the unintended acceleration issue will settle down. While there will certainly be more mentions of this issue in the future, the immediate crisis seems to be over.
The issue for Toyota – once they get all of the cars fixed – will be re-building the confidence that consumers have lost in the Toyota brand. Here are 7 steps Toyota can take to restore their credibility:
