Fleet Sales Don’t Compare to Retail Sales – Even With Trucks
If you’ve been following the auto industry long enough, at some point you’ll hear someone talk about the negatives of fleet sales. What follows is a basic review of the difference between a fleet sale and a retail sale and an explanation of the fleet buying process. If you’re interested in why fleet-heavy truck sales figures from Ford, GM, and Chrysler should be discounted when compared to Tundra sales, this post might be interesting to you.
If not, you might want to skip it (there is some math involved). Here we go. Read more…
Pure Performance 4.5″ Triple Threat System
Pure Performance builds off-road suspension systems for a wide range of different applications, including the Toyota Tundra. One of the most interesting products offered to Tundra owners by the company is its 4.5” Triple Threat System, a comprehensive suspension lift kit that is aimed at hardcore all-terrain driving enthusiasts.
According to Pure Performance, “Triple Threat” refers to the suspension kit’s ability to not only improve the ride of the Tundra but also serve as a rugged trail and sand dune platform. Essentially, the Triple Threat System is designed to dramatically improve the off-road abilities of the Toyota Tundra without compromising precision or comfort when driving to and from the trail. Read more…
New Tundra Leveling Kit From ReadyLIFT
ReadyLift has come out with a new suspension kit offering for the 2007 – 2011 Toyota Tundra pickup truck. We covered the ReadyLift SST kit in the summer of 2010, a comprehensive lift package aimed at hardcore off-roading enthusiasts. The latest ReadyLift product doesn’t go to the same extremes as the SST kit, but rather works to level out the Tundra’s suspension and reduce the factory rake inherent in all editions of the vehicle.
The ReadyLift T6 Leveling Kit
The ReadyLift T6 Billet 2.5” leveling kit offers a few extra features to set it apart from other competitors on the market. Most notably, the ReadyLift aluminum spacers that are used to lift up the front end of the Tundra bear an anodized finish that can be had in either red, blue, black or silver. The idea is for the blocks to stand out once they have been installed, and there is no doubt that bright red or blue steel will be extra visible given the additional space in the wheel well afforded by the kit. Read more…
Ford’s EcoBoost Tear-Down Stunt Is Gimmicky
At next week’s Detroit Auto Show, Ford will be tearing-down an EcoBoost engine live in front of the public as an attempt to prove how tough and reliable their new twin-turbo V6 truck motor is. While this sounds like a great way to demonstrate the toughness of this particular motor, it’s really just a gimmick.
Ford's "live" EcoBoost tear down is more of a gimmick than a predictor of engine reliability
To be sure, Ford’s plan sounds impressive:
Ford powertrain engineers will tear down an engine that…has the equivalent of 160,000 miles and 10 years of rugged use. Engineers punished it in temperature and load extremes simulating nearly 10 years of use – a regimen tougher than any consumer could ever subject a truck to….It hauled 55 tons of lumber…It ran at full throttle for 24 straight hours towing 11,300 pounds [and] completed the world’s toughest desert endurance race, the SCORE Tecate Baja 1000 in Mexico
The thing is, there’s a difference between simulated wear and tear and the real world. Read more…
Ridgeline Will Continue?! Honda Blows Smoke
Last week, USA Today reported that Honda will “keep it’s Ridgeline pickup,” saying that “the Ridgeline pickup will go on.” This news would seem to refute our prediction that the Ridgeline will be discontinued in 2012. While Ridgeline fans were understandably excited about this news, we think that Honda’s announcement was just meant to keep sales from crashing.
Honda says that the Ridgeline will continue, but we think it's smoke.
Here’s why:
