On Aug 22, 10:47 pm, "Leon" wrote:

SNIP of good stuff

Leon, thanks for the insight. I appreciate an intelligent look from a
guy with your personal experience. You make a lot of good points, and
I got a good chuckle out of the fact that your take was that the fact
was the reason domestic truck parts were so plentiful was because they
were so needed.

How true is that?

My last two trucks have been Fords, simply because they "had the deal"
and were more comfortable to me than the GM products. This is my 14th
truck, and personally I really don't care what brand I drive as long
as it wears well and is reliable. Overall I have been lucky with my
last 3 Fords, but the best truck I ever owned was a '75 GMC "Heavy
Half" with a three on the tree and a Olds made 350 engine in it.

I have never owned a foreign made truck, but like a lot of my
compatriots, we have had enough of shoddy domestic products. I was
leaning towards the Nissan Titan when I thought I might buying a new
truck, but their repair record scared me off.

I was in a newer Tundra not too long ago, and while I don't know how
well it will do as a work truck, the truck cab was like being in a
small, airtight sound studio. It was QUIET, really comfortable,
looked nice, and the AC blew cold. Same crappy gas mileage as my
Ford, but the ride was really comfortable and solid. I liked it a
lot. It felt like you wanted your truck to feel, not like a delivery
wagon.

My amigo paid his $35K for it, but he only uses it for light work.
Here's hint of the difference: my truck is PACKED with tools and odds
and end of repair crap. In his truck tool box, he still has room for
his small bag of golf clubs.

I will personally feel better about the Toyotas as work trucks when I
see them with head racks for ladders, bed liners, tool boxes and bed
side tool boxes, maybe pulling around a small skid steer loader, and/
or any of the other job specific hardware on the trucks that let you
know their job is work.

Like you, I will pay more if I think I am getting more. But the jury
is still out. And as before, you can bet I will be looking somewhere
else than the big three next time I buy.

Thanks again for the insight.

Robert