I saw one recently in Indio, CA. It had Mexico plates. Ford sells those in Mexico and South America. It is a nice looking truck. I still would only buy the supercab. It fits my purposes better.

 

I know that. You mean it won't fit in any pickup currently on the market. If GM was smart they would make some sort of heavy-duty pickup that could handle the 7.2L Cat. Or just redesign their bodystyle to make the trucks bigger. Another thing. If Dodge was smart they would make a true crew cab pickup, not the cab they have right now, the one that is inbetween an extended cab and a crew cab.

 

The 7.2 Cat is overkill for any pickup truck and weighs way too much. It would add too much weight to the vehicle for it to be a worthwhile venture.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't GM own Isuzu? I don' think they would spend all of that money with Isuzu developing the Duramax just to give it to somebody else after only a few years. If Toyota goes to the HD truck market with a diesel, it will be their own diesel. Toyota already has a diesel truck in the market overseas in Europe and they have a strong market in forklifts (US market) and other heavy equipment in Japan/Europe.

 

Why would you say that? I am looking on the Cat site and it says it only weighs 1295 lbs.

 

I dont believe GM owns isuzu but have worked with them in the past, and GM has also worked with toyota for example the 1.8L 4 cyl in the vibe is the same motor as the 1.8L in a lot of toyotas so any things really possible.

 

Kind of correct, GM owns a controling interest in Isuzu, so it doesn't own it per say, but it might as well do, same for Subaru and Suzuki, they also own a portion of Fiat as well. I would find it very unlikely that Isuzu would provide an engine for a Toyota, Toyota have a lot of diesel knowledge in other markets, and in quite a few markets Toyota is Isuzu's main small truck competitor, it would be like GM provdiding engines for Ford, and as as per a different thread, I don't think to many people like 350's in their Mustang .

 

Toyota has been designing and building GM cars for the last several years, it started in teh 80s, anyone remember the nova/corolla? That was a disgrace to the name Nova.

 

Theres an auto plant in Fremont, California named NUMI (new united something...something) anyway. The plant was a joint effort from both GM and Toyota to produce chevy and toyota vehicles. You always see big rigs hauling out chevys and toyotas.

 

pfogle, you raise a good point, and Yes, Toyota and GM may get along well, and have a good working relationship, but
1. It isn't GM specifically we are talking about, it is Isuzu, which in other markets (I am not sure about the States, but definately here in Oz) directly competes with Hino, which are Toyota trucks.
2. Toyota has been building diesels for 4x4's for at least 3 decades, and other diesel engines for even longer, why would they want someone to build one for them?

 

The Pontiac Vibe is the same vehicle as the Toyota Matrix which is built at the NUMMI plant in Fremont, CA. The 1.8l four cylinder is the same powerplant that drives the Celica. The motor was actually developed by Yamaha for Toyota, so its really a Toyota motor in a Pontiac. Yes, the Geo Prizm/Chevy Nova and Toyota Corolla were the same car for years. From what I've noticed, most of the cars that leave the CA plant are built to Toyota spec and delivered to GM. I guess it helps GM's quality control!

 

My old shop teacher has a '82 Toyota diesel pickup, but it has been sitting for 5 years because he can't find an alternator that fits it.

 

GM owns Isuzu stock and damiler-chrysler now owns Detroit deisel

 

The plant you are thinking of is NUMMI. It stands for "new united motor manufacturing incorporated". It is located in Fremont, California.
In fact, this plant was started by GM and in the mid 80s they asked Toyota to come in and help them improve their quality. The Camaros were made in this plant in the 80s, and we all know what a POS they were back then.
Anyways, Toyota came in and implemented their practice known as "kaizen", which means continuous improvement, and withing 10 years that plant had the least numbe of defect of any auto plant in the U.S. Basically, GM liked what they saw an had Toyota build some of their small cars for them. The Prizm was nothing more than a rebadged Toyota Corolla and the Pontiac Vibe is very similar to the Toyota Matrix (drivetrain, suspension is the same, but the styling and interior are all GM).
As far as Toyota diesels go, I HIGHLY doubt they will be getting them from Isuzu. I know for a fact that the old FJ-40 LandCruisers came equipped with inline-6 diesels and Toyota has offered diesels in just about everything since the 70s.
Also, the Tacoma is still considered a compact pickup, but its payload and capabilities are not compact. It has a higher standard payload rating than the Ranger and is rating for more towing weight than the Ranger. Also, in my opinion, a Tacoma rides an drives better than a Ranger, partly because on the front it uses coil springs (as opposed to torsion bars on the 4x4 Rangers). Coil springs ride a lot nicer than torsion bars, but typically you dont see them on 4x4 because it takes a much longer coil spring to get the same tension as a torsion bar. Also, Toyota 2.7L inline 4 makes the same power as Fords 3.0L V6. The reason for this is very simple: an all-aluminum engine, 4-valves per cylinder and dual overhead camshafts. The Ranger in comparison, uses a much older deisgn: a cast-iron engine, 2-valve per cylinder and ovehead valves. Not that the Ranger's engine is bad, just antiquated.
One other thing. So far this year, the Tacoma has actually outsold the Ranger and is on a pace to dethrone the Ranger as "best-selling compact pickup".
However, I believe that Ford is already working on doing a redesign for the Ranger. I also believe that it will be a bigger truck, much like the new Tacoma will be. Ford has already lost the car market, Im sure they will fight to the death to hold onto the truck market.
Serpent

 

Why even bother with mid sized pickups? I havent driven one yet that has power enough to satisfy a 4 year old, why not just spend the money on a 1/2 w/ a V8? as far as i am concerned no pickup today should have a 6 cylinder (let along 4 banger) gas engine in it. I would however love to see a dakota w/ a watered down cummins in it or a ranger/sport trac w/ a small PSD. But why even bother with a pickup that would have a hard time fighting a stiff wind? a dakota w/ a 318/360 is a prime example of what i would like to see ford do. Drop the 5.4 or the 4.6 is the ranger/sport tracs, better power, equal mileage and better sounding exhaust. Now i know the 360 doesnt get a damn thing for mileage but its the only example out there right now. I have driven a dakota w/ a 318 5 speed quite a bit over the last year or so and i love it so much than the crappy ranger 6 banger truck i drove before (company vehicle).