All Entries Tagged With: "f-series"

Ford F-Series Prototype Reduced to Ashes

The internet is abuzz today with pictures of a Ford F-Series Super Duty burning to the ground. While the images are stunning, it is interesting how much (or lack thereof) debris was left. The cat is out of the bag, the new F-Series Super Duty trucks will be made out of aluminum.

A Ford F-Series prototype caught fire while testing. Hmmm… Ford and Fire. Photos courtesy of Car and Driver.

Is Tundra Market Share Sliding, or Are Fleet Sales Obscuring The Truth?

In an article titled “What Happened To The Tundra,” website AutoSavant.com offered a reasoned analysis of the pickup truck market, and – based on sales figures and market share – singled out the Toyota Tundra as underperforming.

While there are definitely some arguments to be made about Toyota mis-steps with the Tundra (everything from bad tailgate design to bed bounce / ride quality complaints to failing air injection pumps), it’s impossible to say that the Tundra is failing for two reasons:

1. None of the market share numbers offered in the AutoSavant number discount fleet sales.

2. Fleet sales should never be considered equal to retail sales, because fleet sales are dominated by the lowest cost product. Quality, reliability, etc. have nothing to do with fleet sales.

NOTE: If you’d like to argue my second point, read about why fleet sales don’t compare to retail sales before you do so.

The question is, if we take out fleet sales, how does Tundra market share look?