Our family has been driving with Cummins power long before Dodge put them into their trucks. We've had them in farm tractors, semi tractors, military tractors and even boats. You have to admit, the Dodge frames are very strong to handle that much torque. Will I stay, if they lose the brand? It depends on what they'll use as a replacement. I've driven a few of the MB engines. They are very quiet and have lots of torque. My fear is they don't have a good reputation for parts availability and the prices are high.

 

And the truck in your sig doesn't pollute??

94Freightliner FL70 custom 32ft box conversion 12ft living quarters and 20ft garage pyro/tach/boost gauges pump rebuilt fuel screw all the way in, , PDR HX35 14cm gated, Bully Dog +50hp injectors. 4" straight exhaust,ARP head studs, piston style lift pump, 8* or 1/8" of timing. Soon To Be : 3200 gov. spring, HTBG turbo, everything port matched GOAL:300+hp 750+tq have to put on: new head w/60lbs spring,HTT exhaust manifold, old smokey fuel pin is waiting for a new or rebuilt pump.

 

Wow. After reading all 12 pages of this thread I can only shake my head. Toyota is poised to be the #1 manufacturer in North America. Toyota's profit is up. Ford and GM are down.

Toyota's profit hits top gear

November 5, 2006 - 7:14AM


Toyota Motor Corp will become the first Japanese company posting more than Y2 trillion ($A22.1 billion) in group operating profit in fiscal 2006 to next March, thanks to the brisk overseas sales of its fuel-efficient cars and the yen's weakness against other major currencies, a Japanese business daily reported.

The Nihon Keizai Shimbun estimated Toyota's consolidated operating profit for the current business year will amount to 2.2 trillion yen, based on US accounting standards, up 17 per cent from the previous year, on sales of Y23 trillion ($A254.16 billion), up nine per cent.

The operating profit will reach a record high for the seventh straight year.

The Toyota group's bottom line performance will show a net profit of Y1.45 trillion ($A16.02 billion), up six per cent, hitting a record high for the fifth year running, the paper said.




The archaic mentality posted here (buy American....blah blah) is obviously not the majority opinion. If so Toyota would not be climbing so fast. So fast in fact that they are concerned about their quality control. I gave up long ago on the "big three". I thought having problems with vehicles was the norm. That was until I started purchasing "offshore" vehicles. Driving them for years with only regular maintenance?? What???
Personally I think that 10mpg pulling trailers stinks. Highway tractors running 80000 get 7 and I get 10?? Redicilous. People say that 18 is good for a truck this size. I disagree. I think if Dodge was pushed by the EPA (God knows they won't do it for the customer) to get 28 they could do it with gearing, programming and (GASP!!!) dropping the horsepower. I would gladly take 180hp or 200hp to gain 10mpg.
Ford sells their trucks-specifically the 6.0 diesel abortion-because Ford owners have blind loyalty. The diesel website is full of problems starting back in '03 and continuing. One only has to read the posts over there to understand why America is in the financial position it is today. Absolutely unbelievable that anyone....ANYONE..would buy another 6.0 diesel after having one bought back for major engine problems.
Lift pumps and VP pumps on the Cummins. How long has this been going on? Why? If you require a diesel truck for your business what else are you going to buy? Hopefully soon a Toyota with an Isuzu diesel. They just purchased a piece of Isuzu. GM is in desperate need of cash so it sold it's shares in April.

Under the terms of the deal, Toyota will buy 100 million shares of Isuzu stock from trading houses Mitsubishi Corp. and Itochu Corp. The stock purchase will be completed on Friday, Nov. 10.

$373 million deal

Watanabe says Toyota will pay 440 yen, or $3.73 at current exchange rates, for the Isuzu shares. That means the deal is worth $373.0 million. That is almost a 6 percent premium to today's trading price of about $3.52 a share.

After the purchase, Isuzu's largest shareholders will be Mitsubishi Corp. with 9.7 percent of the stock, Itochu with 7.2 percent, and Toyota with 5.9 percent.

The deal is another example of Toyota linking up with an automaker that was cast off by GM.

GM sold its remaining 7.9 percent ownership of Isuzu in April, after having held partial ownership of Isuzu since 1971. In a move to raise cash, GM sold 90 million shares of Isuzu stock to Mitsubishi Corp., Itochu Corp. and Mizuho Corporate Bank for about $300 million.

Isuzu's Ida said the deal with Toyota will not affect Isuzu's business relationship with GM.

Although GM has ended its equity stake in Isuzu, the two maintain a business relationship. They share vehicles and diesel engines.

"We will continue our business relationship with them," Ida said.

In October 2005, Toyota linked up with Fuji Heavy Industries, the maker of Subaru cars, by buying an 8.7 percent stake in Fuji from GM for about $315 million. Toyota has since said it will use the Subaru plant in Indiana to build Camrys.

My Dodge diesel has been a relatively good truck. It is only 4 years old so it has another 6 to go in my ownership. It will probably have 600k on it when I am done with it. It is not a luxurious truck by any means. It is far from refined. My wife and I spent a month in Europe this past Oct. We purchased a German car and through a European Delivery system we were able to drive our car in Europe. It really hit home to both of us how unrefined this truck is compared to the vehicles in Europe. I was passed on the Autobahn by Sprinter vans traveling 190kph (about 120mph). I don't think my Dodge would hold up or hold the road at that speed-even if it could go that fast. We traveled many miles in a 750 BMW diesel. You could not tell this thing was a diesel. You do not see any "big 3" vehicles there. No need to wonder why.

Some people buy a diesel truck because it is rough, stinks, and rattles. Fortunately you will have the Dodge/Ford/GM to choose from. And the "big 3" will be counting on that. For us who require and will pay the difference for a reliable, comfortable, refined "offshore" vehicle, I think the Toyota will fit the bill.

 

This is just my humble opinion, but it is the thinking that everything America makes is so much worse than everything from overseas that will be the downfall of the big three. Everything from customer sevice for your cell phone to your television has been outsourced to foreign countries. That "archaic mentality to buy American blah blah blah" is the only mentality that keeps America running. If everything that the countries overseas do is so much better, why stay here?? Why is Toyota quality so good? Easy, kids are taught at a young age respect, honor, and dedication. To have pride in you and your heritage. What are young americans taught? Buy American to keep americans employed and support your country is a crap way of thinking. Without getting into details, I have spent a long time having to familiarizing myself with "terrorism", why it exists, and the reasons for why we were attacked. Straight from Al qeuda one of the reasons for 9/11. "America has no sense of itself, no pride in its history or its people" "They (americans) are a throw away society" To them, on a religious way of thinking, is just cause to rid themselves of the infidels.

Now I apologize rammtuf if this seems like I am lashing out at you, it is not in anyway directed at you personally. It just goes along with my earlier post. My grandfather served in WWII, and I have served in not only the 1st Gulf War, but am currently serving in this war as well. I do it for pride, honor, and dedication to American way of life. I do it so that I can freely teach my kids about the american way of life, and to have PRIDE in America.

 

Toyota is in the "cat-bird" seat.

It's only a waiting game with GM to either merge with Ford or fold up their tent and disappear.

Europe has had diesel powered cars and trucks, since WWII in one form or another. Their technology is superior in every manner to ours. The fit and finish is unbelievable.

The Japanese have taken German technology, applied it to their model lines and they've taken advantage of it. But not us.

Anyone remember the Mitsu D50 trucks sold during the oil embargo in the 70's? Mine got 35mpg. It was nothing truck and a tiny engine, but it got the job done and saved me a ton on gasoline bills. We could have expanded that marketplace, but the Big 2 didn't want to follow the bread crumbs.

Toyota will dominate the marketplace. And if the other two don't wake up, they'll be run over, passed by, left in the dirt!

But, I doubt it.

 

A Toyota truck with a Cummins engine would be interesting. Toyota already uses the same CAD program for their drive trains that Cummins uses for their engines, so it wouldn’t be hard to design such a truck.

 

Guys - I don't think it's gonna matter if they have a diesel in the new Toyotas or not. Have you seen the pics of the new 'full-size' Tundras? Talk about getting hit with the ugly stick....

And with this redesign, it looks like they went the way of the Ford and are now shoe-horning their engines into the engine bay. I remember looking at some of the older Tundras, and it appeared they were fairly easy to work on. Maybe I'm wrong, but that's what it looks like to me...

https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...d.php?t=124368

http://news.windingroad.com/auto-new...cab-long-beds/

http://www.leftlanenews.com/2006/02/...tundra-pickup/

 

89dieselkong,

You ask "if everything that the countries overseas do is so much better, why stay here?" That misses the point completely. It's not about leaving our great country because we think other products are better, it's about frustration with automakers that could do so much better but won't.

My favorite example company is Ford but it applies to others too. The quality is so obviously bad and the unfairness of companies saving a few cents that later costs their customers thousands is just outrageous. Or vehicles that barely make it through the three year payment schedule and are worthless. But leave the country over it? Hardly.

As someone else here once said " you could put a blue oval on a pile of dog s**t and people would stand in line to buy it" How true and how sad. So if people want to spend their hard earned money on junk that's up to them but, again, it won't cause me to leave the country. Only stare in amazement and fear for our countries future. And when Ford talks about the loss of billions I just wonder how they could run the scam for so long and get away with it. Further, I'm mad at them for deliberately endangering the public and for costing me thousands to save them a couple cents. So I don't feel sorry for them at all. They are gonna have to get a clue and do some serious making up before they deserve to be profittable. They are gonna have to stop cheapening good designs till they are junk. And they are going to have to convince the public through a proven track record that they deserve some consideration. That's the free enterprise system at work and it's long overdue. I don't envy their task. To be in a market with serious and increasing competition. Having to cover the loss of so many warrantee problems, trying to figure out just how to make things better, the cost of the redesigns, and the general loss of confidence by the buying public. They've got their work cut out for them.

Just as a side note: The recent Mustang commercials are not too likely to change the tide much. Ad 1. Two guys practicing long and repeated burnouts in the Mustang. An older guy showing the younger one how to do it right. Ad 2. A young college girl excited about her new Mustang to drive to school. Question: Would you want your young daughter driving a hot rod Mustang to school? And are you willing to buy her one to do it?

Meanwhile, Toyota is building cars right here in the US and making a good profit doing it. And Honda too has built a reputation for economical and reliable cars from friendly dealers.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Ford is making another sweeping engine "upgrade" with it's 6.4 and touting them as the greatest thing since sliced bread. Errrr, the greatest thing since the last stupendous failure is more like it. And the beat goes on...............


Wetspirit

 

Yes, I have no complaints with the Dodge chassis, 210k and not 1 squeak, rattle, no rust, paint is fine except for damage due to me. Only driver side seat getting a little thin.
As far as a Mercedes diesel, bring it they have been building diesels as long as Cummins.

Jed

 

The 3.0 litre 215 hp available in 2007 Grand Cherokees is a Mercedes diesel . Mercedes engines are also showing up more and more in Freightliner trucks . Mercedes bought Detroit Diesel and expanded the plant and builds Mercedes engines there . Daimler will sell off Chrysler before the Cummins contract expires .

 

Toyota had 1/2 ton diesel trucks in Canada and U.S. in the late 70's early 80's. My 81 Toyota pickup has a 350 Chevy in it ......oh yea I put that in there

 

I'm STILL waiting for a diesel powered Landcruiser in the US.

 

You're gonna wait a long time. Driver to Mexico if you want one bad enough.

 

You might be able to get one up here from Mexico and get it licensed if you took an older one down there to get it "refurbished" like they do with the VW bugs. It's great. You drive the older one down and when you return everything but the VIN plate has been refurbished. . It almost seems like a new car.

Wetspirit

 

They also had dual wheeled 1 ton trucks here, but they were the size of my son's Matchbox toys, and couldn't haul much more.