I did.
We had a roundtable with Sadayoshi Koyari, the cheif engineer of the Land Cruiser prior to the debut of the new US spec URJ200. Also in our meeting were Allen V. (US Land Cruiser lead) and John M. (US body on frame lead) as well a a few US industry folks. Koyarisan was very generous with his time and listened to our questions, our inquiries and our pleading. We talked in depth about a stripped US LC200 model, a US 7x Series and the future of the 7x and what and when we'll see with the next LC generation to replace the 200. He was tight lipped on some aspect but spoke openly about the stripped 200 and getting a 7x in the US. I was able to spend the day wheeling (a 200 and my 100) here in SLC before the roundtable and then onto the 200 debut at CruiserFest, fantastic experience I won't soon forget. I'll have a formal writeup on that later.
If I didn't know better, I'd say you were practicing for the ongoing political primaries in the US. You said a ton, without providing a single detail whatsoever. haha
All kidding aside. I would love to hear what they had to say out of curiousity...
When I sit back and think about a stripped down LC or a LC70 Diesel I often wonder if these would sell enough to warrant Toyota bringing them to the US market. I'd be shocked if Toyota wasn't closely monitoring sales of the canyon/colorado diesel truck. Why? because if the US customer base isn't willing to pay 40-43K for a top of the line diesel luxury midsize pickup truck, it's not likely they're going to pay more for a stripped down utility style vehicle like the LC70. Perhaps the best thing the USA customer base could do is act and all go out and buy the diesel canyon/colorado and when Toyota follows suit in 3-5 years, trade them in. Ultimately the customer base controls the market and what vehicles come to America.
[My wife and I rode in a LC70 diesel on our honeymoon in Curacao as part of a "saferi/ snorkel" trip to some remote beaches over the course of a weekend... let me tell you, the ride in one of those bad boys is ROUGH!!! there is no refinement at all, if you don't have back problems before owning one, you would shortly thereafter... ]
While great vehicles, the sales just wouldn't be there to warrant the engineering and import of them to America to meet the restrictive USA market standards (it's the same logic the Tundra and Tacoma redesigns didn't get a diesel). This goes back to big picture where these models are sold with the most success in the highest volume are parts of the world that shall we say are "less refined/ civilized".. maybe not 3rd world, but definitely less paved roads so there is a need there in those markets for these vehicles. In America, we don't have that problem (or maybe we do, depending how you look at it) but our paved road infrastructure is so great that you don't need to leave pavement to get where you need to go. If you're leaving pavement in America it's by choice, not by necessity 99% of the time.
I'd love to think I'd buy a stripped down LC200 or a LC70 TD, but in reality, I wouldn't even consider it if it costs more than a new Tacoma or 4Runner because I don't have 50-60K to spend on a toy with zero onroad manners. I'm buying a LC as a family vehicle/ SUV that is equally capable offroad, when/if needed. I think this is the USA market Toyota is reaching out to...
There are lots of facets to this discussion of course (fuel supply in parts of the world, the USA diesel quality sucks relatively speaking), we have more restrictive emission standards because we have the narrow minded viewpoint we can positively impact the world climate as a single country while most other countries have no or limited restrictions, not to mention it's human instinct to always want what you can't have, in this case a stripped down LC200 or LC70 pickup.
When I think about it, I don't want either, I'd rather buy any one of the toyota BOF's trucks or SUV's that are currently available in the USA (their offroading features are equivalent or better and their underpinnings are just as reliable as the LC200 or LC70 in my eyes and a great value.
off my soapbox.... drop the mic