Consumers cross-shopping the Tundra Double Cab against the Ford F-150 SuperCab will see two immediate advantages for the Toyota: size and power.

The Tundra’s cab is obviously a little bigger and inviting. A quick check under the hood reveals Tundra’s more impressive V8 engine lineup and the availability of a V6.

Here’s a closer look at the cab and additional convenience features:

• Tundra has four forward-opening doors, Ford has just two with rear doors opening rearward (aka “suicide style”)
• Tundra rear doors can open independent of front with the outside handles; F-150 front doors must be open before rear doors can be opened with their inside handles
• Tundra has more legroom both front (42.5 in. vs. 41.4 in) and rear (34.7 in vs. 33.4 in.)
• Tundra rear seat has the back angled at a comfortable 22 degrees
• Some of Ford’s top-of-the-line packages are not available in SuperCab, like King Ranch, Platinum and Harley Davidson. All of Toyota’s trim levels and special packages are available in Double Cab, except Platinum.
• Tundra offers entry-level navigation system on base trim level; Ford-150 owners have to order FX4 or Lariat trim level to get navigation
• Even though Tundra Double Cab has a longer wheelbase than Ford SuperCab, the Toyota truck has a much tighter turning circle (44 feet vs. 47 feet)

Here’s a closer look at how Tundra’s engine lineup is more diverse and powerful:

Additional advantages include:

• Toyota engines are modern aluminum block/cylinder head construction while Fords still use heavy cast-iron blocks
• Toyota engines are the more efficient DOHC, 4-valve-per-cylinder design while Ford engines are SOHC with 2- or 3-valve per cylinder

Closing thought: Ford may boast a slightly higher towing capacity for some of its models, but which engine would you rather have towing a full load up a mountain grade? Thirty-one horsepower and 36 lb-ft of torque can make a big difference up steep grades.

A new national telephone survey by the Rasmussen polling firm found that “64 percent of Americans who currently own a Toyota say they are at least somewhat likely to buy their next car from the troubled automaker, including 40 percent who say they are very likely to do so.”  By comparison, 57 percent of current GM owners surveyed said they are at least somewhat likely to buy their next car from GM, with 32 percent saying they are very likely to do so.
 
Separately, the poll also found that “69 percent of Toyota owners have a favorable opinion of the automaker, with 39 percent Very Favorable.”

The House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations has scheduled a May 6 hearing “to further examine Toyota’s inquiry into potential electronic causes of sudden unintended acceleration.”  

In preparation for the hearing, Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., and subcommittee Chairman Bart Stupak, D-Mich., sent letters Friday to Jim Lentz, president/COO of Toyota Motor Sales, and Paul Johnson, president/CEO of Exponent, Inc., seeking additional information about Exponent’s work for Toyota.

Toyota retained Exponent, a leading engineering and scientific consulting firm, in December 2009 to help the company evaluate reports of unintended acceleration in Toyota and Lexus vehicles equipped with electronic throttle control systems. Exponent’s preliminary work showed no problems with the throttles.

Lentz testified before the same subcommittee Feb. 23. Other Toyota executives testified before a different House panel Feb. 24 and a Senate committee March 2.

Toyota said in a statement Friday it was “more than willing to meet with the committee and discuss the ongoing testing related to our electronic throttle control system, as well as the steps we are taking to improve our quality assurance processes. Nothing is more important to us than the safety and reliability of the vehicles our customers drive.”

WHEEL TYPE, WHEEL SIZE, TIRE SIZE

An excerpt from an article this weekend featured an interview about the current Toyota recalls with a Toyota owner and dealership customer. “They’re the best cars ever invented,” the customer noted in the article. “Don’t be fooled by all the bad news.” Many Dealership owners have reported positive supportive comments from many customers while they were in the dealership having the recall repairs completed.  “They all have said, “Thanks for getting it handled and moving on.” …and in March, Buyers Voted With Their Wallets!

Commenting that some media coverage perhaps hasn’t presented the full range of information related to the recalls, one dealer owner pointed out, “None of this makes the front pages.” Describing Toyota, he added, “They want to be careful.  They aren’t trying to hide something. All they are doing is looking for the right answers.”

Brand loyalty of Toyota customers and Toyota’s commitment to taking care of business is helping to turn things around following the negative publicity generated by the recalls. “We have a lot of repeat customers,” say Dealership Owners.There are many ways Toyota Dealers are keeping customer loyalty intact, from setting up a Web page dedicated to the recalls to spending a lot of time in the waiting room, speaking with customers and answering their questions one-on-one. 

All of these genuine efforts are paying off. In March, Toyota reported a whopping 72 percent jump in sales over the prior month and a 35 percent hike over the same period last year. About 60 percent of March sales were to Toyota owners, and the remaining 40 percent were conquest sales to owners of rival brands.

While buyers were obviously reacting to Toyota’s special offers, they were also showing their confidence in the Safety and Quality of Toyota Vehicles. No incentive would persuade someone to buy a vehicle they thought was unsafe.

Toyota was the top-selling retail brand for the month, and also the top-selling manufacturer, beating Ford and General Motors by nearly 40,000 retail sales. If anyone wonders whether Toyota will recover from the recent negative publicity, take a look at the March sales results; Consumers Voted With Their Wallets!

VEHICLE , TANK(GAL) , MPG. EST.CITY/HWY.COMBINED

A little publizied act occurred this week that went largely unnoticed and could affect the future availability of Sequoia, Tundra and even 4 Runner . President Obama has forced the big three US carmakers, and their unions, to accept tough mileage rules for cars and SUVs. The rules will cut emissions from vehicles by more than a third over the next four years.

Whether the new rules end America’s love affair with huge cars like Sequoia remains to be seen. But they are being introduced at a time when SUV sales are at a fraction of their peak level five years ago. Their demise coincides with the country’s first mass-produced “plug-in” electric car, which finally rolled off a Michigan production line this week.

From 2016, new cars and SUVs will have to deliver an average of 35.5 miles per gallon, comparable for the first time with European and Japanese requirements.

SUV mileage under the new regime is expected to average 28.8mpg, or nearly three times that of the Hummer H1 that Arnold Schwarzenegger once drove into Times Square in New York to begin the vehicle’s transition from armoured personnel carrier into celebrity runabout.

The new rules end a notorious loophole in US law by which SUVs were exempt from emissions standards that applied to cars. This made them so much more profitable that at the peak of the sport utility boom, a single Ford plant was generating up to $15 million a day in pre-tax profits.

The rules were welcomed yesterday by the industry and environmentalists. Of course, The US Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, had little choice but to accept the standards after the $25 billion bailout of Chrysler and General Motors.

The Big Three producers will have to spend about $52 billion to upgrade engines, power trains and air-conditioning systems to meet the requirements. The average cost of a new car or SUV is expected to rise by $1,000 as a result, meaning that the future of American motoring depends on consumers’ willingness to pay a modest premium for old-fashioned cars — or a larger one for something very different. Higher prices and an uncertain economy under our present government will most likely cause manufacturers including Toyota to be very cautious with inventory levels on the large vehicles like Sequoia, Tundra and 4Runner.

US motorists have shown repeatedly that their affection for big cars rebounds as gas prices fall, but the new regulations reflect a long-term trend. On average, Ford sold 412,000 Explorer SUVs each year from 1995 to 2003. By 2008 sales had slumped to 78,000. GM has sold the Hummer brand to a Chinese rival and SUV sales fell overall by 52 per cent last year alone.

The new standards are based on a 2007 Supreme Court Ruling that reclassified carbon dioxide as a pollutant. They will be enforced by the Environmental Protection Agency, whether Congress approves or not.