Rural Dealerships A Big Sales Advantage for Ford, GM, and Chrysler-Fiat
According to this Automotive News story, GM classifies 1200 of their dealers as “rural.” While the definition of rural is likely a little loose, here’s what we know about GM’s dealership operations:
- GM has 4,400 dealerships across the USA
- 27% of these dealers are rural
- Toyota has about 1200 dealerships across the USA, and a very small portion of them are rural (our sources say less than 10%)
Assuming that each of these 1200 rural GM dealership can sell either Chevy or GMC trucks, and assuming that each of these dealership can sell a measly 5 trucks per month, GM can generate about 70,000 truck sales in rural areas that Toyota can’t hope to match.
In other words, GM has a big sales volume advantage because of their extensive dealership network in rural areas. Ford – and to a lesser degree Chrysler-Fiat – enjoy this sales volume advantage as well. Here’s what it means to Tundra sales figures. Read more…
New Platinum Package for 2013 Tundra, But That’s About It
The big news coming out of Toyota for the 2013 Tundra is the addition of the Platinum trim package as a stand-alone option. Sadly, that’s about it on the 2013 model.
This the interior of the platinum package for the 2013 Toyota Tundra. Looks nice right?
Need to Tow a Space Shuttle? Toyota Tundra is Your Truck
Toyota recently announced that a stock Toyota Tundra will tow the space shuttle Endeavour during its final journey to the California Science Center on October 13, 2012. Talk about a big tow job!
A stock Toyota Tundra will tow the space shuttle Endeavour on its final journey to the California Science Center. What a cool project!
End of the Manual Era for Full-Size Trucks
The era of the shift-it-yourself full-size pickup seems to have come to an end. There was once a time when trucks of all sizes included a manual transmission option almost by default, with all of the domestic and Japanese manufacturers providing gearboxes ranging from tow-focused units with granny-low first gears all the way up to five-speed overdrive trannies. Try to use an online configurator to build a similar type of half-ton pickup today and you’ll find yourself completely out of luck.
This dusty-looking old photo of a manual transmission full-size truck maybe the only reminder that stick shifts used to be commonplace in trucks.
Quick and Easy Toyota Tundra Gun Mount
Do you need to keep a gun in your Tundra within easy reach? For your sake, I hope the answer is “No.”
Check it - a standard gun holster mounted below the Tundra's steering column. Click for a larger view.
However, if the answer is “yes”, here’s a quick and easy gun mounting tip for you. Read more…
