Yeah but I’m part of the 21-35 demographic that lives in the city and goes skiing and mountain biking on the weekend(in addition to off-roading and overlanding). The Subaru Crosstrek is king for that demographic and this will do nothing to change that. Many of my friends have them, I’d probably have one too if I…

Still if you take resale and durability into account that 3 mpg difference is probably negated in the long run. Not to mention that the real world gap will probably be even smaller given the usual disparity between EPA testing and the real world for little turbo engines moving relatively heavy vehicles.

But if 3 mpg is an inconsequential difference the Tacoma, Ranger, Colorado and base V6 Wrangler all cost around $35k and get around 20 mpg and I’d argue that the jump in capability from the BS to one of those is bigger than the jump from the Escape to the BS for the same fuel economy penalty.

I do worry that Ford is marketing the off road ability too much because l’m imagining many of these getting stuck when owners take them on trails that are too difficult. Many trails start out as gravel but then get much more difficult a mile or so in. Not uncommon to see AWD vehicles start a trail thinking they are ok…

That’s not really true, $36k can get you a Tacoma TRD Off-Road, which I own and is just as comfortable as friend’s crossovers and just as well appointed as this, ok the handling is less “car-like” but it’s perfectly acceptable.

It simplifies production and inventory. The lower-end TRD models aren’t actually priced that much higher than the SR5 and the TRD Pro has a similarly upgraded interior the the Limited and also isn’t much more expensive. Out of the already small-subset of people ordering them with a manual the number of people who…

Weirdly on the Tacoma at least Toyota figured out the right logic on this. Manual transmissions are available on the enthusiast-oriented and higher-end TRD models(Sport, Off-Road and Pro) and not the more basic SR and SR5 or the more luxury oriented Limited.

Ok but razor scooters are pretty fun I can’t fault them there

Multiple guys with bro-dozers that you can clearly tell have never seen a trail or a job site by their perfect paint and razor thin cheapo Mud Terrains wrapped around 22s have let me know my badly pinstriped, trail scarred and usually filthy Tacoma sitting on big ATs wrapped around 16s is a little girl’s truck without…

Nice to see that the Toyota Tundra is the most American full size truck. And I happen to know that the final assembly is in Texas, someone should ask them why they like those damn imports so much and let them know “real men” buy domestic.

I actually think they could transition to other kinds of bikes, and really well.

Sons of Anarchy is a great show but it’s a little too easy to let it run away with your imagination.

Well, a few things.

Yeah that damn Google Maps sends me up forest roads all the time! Of course, that’s usually because I’m trying to get to forest roads and haven’t flipped over to a more appropriate backcountry navigation tool yet

Life happens, and cars are big and expensive to own. \

Hey I did my part to give Toyota a plus-one on the manual take rate! Seriously though, I mean to be fair I think there’s a pretty good chance I would’ve ended up with the Tacoma regardless but the Taco being available with a manual and the 4Runner as well as the Canyonado(Ranger wasn’t out yet when I bought it, but…

I think the idea would be semi-autonomous.

My manual Tacoma has automatic emergency braking. No idea if it stalls it, the one or two times I think the system may have activated I was right behind it anyway and had the clutch in by the time it stopped.

Especially because dealers are still trying to move some of the last 2018 JK Wranglers. Given how well Wranglers hold their value I could see some brand new Wranglers with cash on the hood being cheaper than the KBB value for a 2 year old one.

When I bought my 2018 Tacoma new in December of 2017 the one I ended up buying had the cheapest list price I could find for a 3rd gen TRD Off-Road with a manual period, including used.