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New Toyota Tacoma, Ranger, Colorado/Canyon fight for midsize truck dominance

Sam Wedll has been driving his Toyota Tacoma pickup on the rugged roads of Northern California for seven trouble-free years, racking up almost 100,000 miles, so he’s interested in the redesigned version of the truck coming later this year. He paid $34,000 for his truck in 2016, loading it with plenty of options. HeÂ’s eyeing the new gas-electric hybrid Toyota Motor Corp. is going to offer, but Wedll, who does his own repairs, isnÂ’t interested in paying luxury prices. “The hybrid is pretty interesting to me because I like the idea of the fuel efficiency,” says Wedll, 47, a casino operations manager in Blue Lake, California. “IÂ’m just trying to save some costs wherever possible.” The Tacoma, known as the Taco to its legions of loyalists, is the leader of the pack in midsize pickups, one of the fastest-growing auto markets of the past decade. With outdoorsy weekend warriors and do-it-yourselfers looking for a truck that could fit in their garage, sales of midsize pickups more than doubled from 2010 to 2020. General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co., which abandoned the market segment when sales slowed early this century, returned with new trucks to take on the Tacoma, which has dominated the medium truck market for almost two decades. Although it's easy to predict that the most lushly appointed versions of the new Taco could approach $50,000 (prices wonÂ’t be announced until later this year), Toyota insists it isnÂ’t backing away from budget buyers even as it rolls out fancier trucks. The current Tacoma starts at $28,030, and the company says affordability is critical to its success. In fact, Toyota will continue to offer the Taco with an old-school stick shift. The Tacoma controls 42% of the midsize truck market and outsells FordÂ’s offering 4 to 1. ThatÂ’s a role reversal from the full-size pickup market, where FordÂ’s F-Series has ruled the road for 46 years. Tacoma sales in the U.S. surpassed 237,000 last year, more than twice the number of GMÂ’s No. 2-ranked Chevrolet Colorado, according to consultant LMC Automotive. But as growth in the overall segment slows, the midsize market is developing into more of a turf war, with manufacturers vying for the sweetest highest-margin spots. “This segment is likely past its prime growth spurt,” says Jeff Schuster, president of the Americas for LMC Automotive.

Earthquake causes most of Toyota's Japan operations to shut down

Toyota is idling a large portion of its Japanese assembly plants as a result of the devastating earthquake in Hokkaido, Japan. The earthquake had such a big effect on the carmaker's supply chain that a number of its plants will have to be shut down for an undisclosed period, starting on Saturday. The 6.7 magnitude earthquake occurred early on September 6 th, resulting in more than dozen casualties and hundreds of injuries, cutting power to the entire island; the powerplant supplying half of the island's power was located so close to the earthquake's epicenter that it shut down automatically, bringing down the rest of the island's grid with it. Tens of people were also reported missing, as reported by Reuters. The affected factories are the Kyushu, Tahara and Toyota Auto Body plants, according to Automotive News, and they manufacture vehicles such as different Lexus models and the Toyota Land Cruiser. Some of the models produced in these factories are exported to the United States, but a Toyota spokesman said that North American operations are not likely to be significantly affected by the plant closures. As well as the automobile assembly plants in Hokkaido, Toyota also has a facility there that manufactures transmissions and transfer cases. As it was also without power, Toyota could not confirm when the plant would be back online. Out of Hokkaido's 2.95 million households, 1.54 million had regained power by Friday afternoon. All in all, Toyota has 18 manufacturing facilities in Japan; spokeswoman Akito Kita said that from Monday on, the shutdown will affect all Japanese Toyota and Lexus lines — not including two Daihatsu facilities that are also used for Toyota products. The shutdowns come directly after Toyota also announced a recall for Japanese-built hybrid models, mainly Prius. Related Video:

15 vehicles most likely to surpass 200,000 miles

Americans drive a lot. Collectively, we put, on average, more than 13,000 miles on our cars each year according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. Because of this, a vehicle's ability to travel long distances without major problems is a huge consideration when it comes time to purchase a new one. It's also worth remembering that keeping an older car on the road instead of trashing it and buying new can be considered an eco-friendly decision. After all, it takes a lot of resources to build a car. iSeeCars.com, a website that aggregates used car listings from all around the country, recently ran through the numbers on millions of vehicles that are currently on the road to determine which last the longest. Alternatively, you could choose to look at this list as vehicles likely to be driven by owners who travel long distances. Either way, we've laid out the top 15 vehicles most likely to hit or even surpass the 200,000-mile mark. It's important to note that while these are the vehicles that have stood the test of time up until today, we can't guarantee future results if you decide to opt for one of these from a current model year. That said, unless we specifically say so in the text below, we've used pictures of current models for illustrative purposes. Now, with all of that out of the way, scroll on down for the top 15 vehicles most likely to crest 200,000 miles. 15: Toyota Sienna 14: Honda Odyssey The 15th spot and 14th spot on the list of the top 15 vehicles most likely to surpass 200,000 miles are both minivans. Spoiler alert: They will be the only two minivans on the list. According to iSeeCars, 3.2% of both of these family haulers crest the 200,000-mile mark, making them the best bets for families looking to put a ton of miles on their machines. 13: Honda Ridgeline 12: GMC Yukon The next spot on the list is occupied by the Honda Ridgeline pickup truck with 3.7% lasting past 200,000 miles. Unlike any of the other midsize trucks it competes with, the Ridgeline is based on a unibody chassis. Opting for this more car-like structure — as opposed to a traditional body-on-frame layout — allows Honda's hauler to ride and drive more like a car. Up next is the GMC Yukon, also with 3.7% past the 200K mark, and the first, but very much not the last, big traditional SUV you'll see on the list. In fact, get ready to see a whole bunch of 'em, including several from GMC parent General Motors.