Toyota updated website

[Gumby]

I can live with the V-6 and Forerunner/Tacoma drivetrain, but what really separates this from a two-door Forerunner or a Tacoma??

If the price is proportional, it will be competing against Tacoma loyalists or Forerunner loyalists.

I personally think that a removable hardtop/softtop combo would help with a market niche that currently only J**P is capitalizing on.

Don't get me wrong, I like it, but I think it could be much better...

Still a year before it comes out though...

I think there are a lot of differences between it and a 4Runner, sertainly many differences between it and a Taco. The idea is not to compete with loyalists, but to attract new, younger buyers that the 4Runner is moving away from.

I like it a lot.

 

[bkg]

Uhhhh.... 2005 4Runner and 2005 Taco have the same the same chassis.

Uhhhh... no they don't - not even close. 4Runner is full boxed frame made in Japan. Tacoma is only partially boxed, designed and built by Dana corp. 4Runner good - Taco bad.

 

[Gumby]

Well i think the FJ has potential...that is all i will say, before i go spending 40, 30, 20, or even 17k on that thing it better be alot more then what i saw on the unveiling footage. As far as i'm concerned i'll spend 15-20k on an 80 w/ 3 lockers, ome, arb, winched and murder that thing. seriousyl, what does that have that an 80 doesnt? plus its twice the price, or more...

You're right. It's missing a lot of what the 80 has. About 2 feet of rear overhang and at least 1000 pounds.

 

[Cruiserhead05]

True...but who says eftra weight is totally a bad thing, thats what makes the 80 so great, its a tank..i doubt the fj cruiser could go half the places a lockers 80 could though..dont get me wrong, i give toyota props for doing this and im glad they arent totally just letting the cruiser heritage die. I think what will burn me most is when this thing comes out and i start seeing a ton of dumbasses that are my age, or close to it(im 18) and thinking they are something b/c they drive a cruiser....or even worse i will give them a wave, and they will look at me like im not good enough...hopefully im wrong

 

[mabrodis]

i doubt the fj cruiser could go half the places a lockers 80 could though.... I think what will burn me most is when this thing comes out and i start seeing a ton of dumbasses that are my age, or close to it(im 18) and thinking they are something b/c they drive a cruiser....

Hmm...I wouldn't start making challenges though. I have seen instances where an 80 simply would not make it, even Christo's buggy, locked, chopped, running on 40" tires could not make it up something that a highly modified Toy truck walked up like it wasn't even there...difference? About 1500 lbs or more, that makes a huge difference offroad.

The 80 is great, but less weight and more power is always good for wheeling (not alway for towing or general stability however).

I would have no problem at all with a ton of 18-yr olds driving the FJ around. That's what they are designed for. If the only people that buy them are 28 like me, or older, then Toyota has totally missed their mark. They already have plenty of vehicles that stistically appeal to someone my age, and people older, but they are missing is a non-truck vehicle that is for the young generation.

I'm not snobish enough to think that anyone driving a Toyota is a bad thing, or that they don't 'deserve' it or that they can't be part of our Cruiser group because they bought a well built Toyota vehicle, but didn't want one 12 years old, and couldn't afford a new one, so bought the closest thing they could find. I'm just happy Toyota has a huge market segment in the young adult demographics...that's cool...people who have Toyotas when they are younger typically own them when they are older too, which is a good thing.

Woody better get ready for a influx of 18,000 members when the FJ comes out though..

 

[ryanjl]

Uhhhh... no they don't - not even close. 4Runner is full boxed frame made in Japan. Tacoma is only partially boxed, designed and built by Dana corp. 4Runner good - Taco bad.

Quote from a somewhat reliable source, www.toyota.com,

Tacoma

One-piece frame rails with seven cross members and fully boxed front sub-frame

So yes, the Taco frame is not completely boxed, but is otherwise of the same design as the 4runner since the drivetrain, suspension, and axles are identical.

Country of origin doesn't really matter in this case as we know the FJ will be produced in Japan.

So if we wanted to nitpick, the FJ is based on the 4runner platform. But there will probably be the same # of changes between the 4runner platform and the FJ as there are between the Taco and 4Runner.

 

[bkg]

So yes, the Taco frame is not completely boxed, but is otherwise of the same design as the 4runner since the drivetrain, suspension, and axles are identical.

But... they are not. Rear axles and suspension are completely different. 4Runner is setup for and available with a V8, something the Taco will never have. The 05 taco did finally get upgraded to the 8" front diff and updated 4Runner R&P steering.

The 4Runner frame is, from all that I've read and heard, better designed.

So if we wanted to nitpick, the FJ is based on the 4runner platform. But there will probably be the same # of changes between the 4runner platform and the FJ as there are between the Taco and 4Runner.

Likely true... The 4Runner platform is a much better platform than the Taco - over all - but what that means, as you point out, isn't much.