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InformationThe
2007 Pickup Durability Updates for Model Years
1998, 1999, 2000 and 2001:
Has Toyota Intentionally Degraded
the Durability of Its Pickups to Only 4 Times That of GM Pickups?
The 2007 Pickup Durability Updates for Model Years 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2001: Has Toyota Intentionally Degraded the Durability of Its Pickups to Only 4 Times That of GM Pickups?
We begin with model year 1998. The following two charts depict Toyota Motor Corporation's Reliability Score averages for its 1998 pickup trucks at age ranges 2-to-4 years, 3-to-5 years, 4-to-6 years, 5-to-7 years, 6-to-8 years, and 7-to-9 years, together with an extrapolation of these averages well into the future, and General Motors Corporation's Reliability Score average for its 1998 pickup trucks at age range 2-to-4 years (first chart) and at age range 3-to-5 years (second chart).
The first chart suggests that a typical 1998 Toyota pickup will be as troublesome to own at about 108 years of age as was a typical 1998 GM pickup at about 3 years of age, and the second chart suggests that a typical 1998 Toyota pickup will be as troublesome to own at about 131 years of age as was a typical 1998 GM pickup at about 4 years of age. (Note that since an extrapolation very, very far into the future is needed to estimate when a typical 1998 Toyota pickup will be as troublesome to own as a typical 1998 GM pickup, the accuracy of the estimate is subject to question.)
The next two charts depict Toyota Motor Corporation's Reliability Score averages for its 1999 pickup trucks at age ranges 2-to-4 years, 3-to-5 years, 4-to-6 years, 5-to-7 years, and 6-to-8 years, together with an extrapolation of these averages well into the future, and General Motors Corporation's Reliability Score average for its 1999 pickup trucks at age range 2-to-4 years (first chart) and at age range 3-to-5 years (second chart).
The first chart suggests that a typical 1999 Toyota pickup will be as troublesome to own at about 76 years of age as was a typical 1999 GM pickup at about 3 years of age, and the second chart suggests that a typical 1999 Toyota pickup will be as troublesome to own at about 84 years of age as was a typical 1999 GM pickup at about 4 years of age.
The next two charts depict Toyota Motor Corporation's Reliability Score averages for its 2000 pickup trucks at age ranges 2-to-4 years, 3-to-5 years, 4-to-6 years, and 5-to-7 years, together with an extrapolation of these averages well into the future, and General Motors Corporation's Reliability Score average for its 2000 pickup trucks at age range 2-to-4 years (first chart) and at age range 3-to-5 years (second chart).
The first chart suggests that a typical 2000 Toyota pickup will be as troublesome to own at about 25 years of age as was a typical 2000 GM pickup at about 3 years of age, and the second chart suggests that a typical 2000 Toyota pickup will be as troublesome to own at about 31 years of age as was a typical 2000 GM pickup at about 4 years of age.
The final two charts depict Toyota Motor Corporation's Reliability Score averages for its 2001 pickup trucks at age ranges 2-to-4 years, 3-to-5 years, 4-to-6 years, and 5-to-7 years, together with an extrapolation of these averages well into the future, and General Motors Corporation's Reliability Score average for its 2001 pickup trucks at age range 2-to-4 years (first chart) and at age range 3-to-5 years (second chart).
The first chart suggests that a typical 2001 Toyota pickup will be as troublesome to own at about 12 years of age as was a typical 2001 GM pickup at about 3 years of age, and the second chart suggests that a typical 1999 Toyota pickup will be as troublesome to own at about 16 years of age as was a typical 2001 GM pickup at about 4 years of age.
Combined, the above four pairs of charts suggest the following important points:
1. For model years 1998, 1999, and 2000, it may have been more appropriate for General Motors Corporation to have paid money to its pickup consumers to take the vehicles off dealer lots than for its consumers to have paid anything for GM's pickups.
2. While GM appears to have done little-to-nothing to impart value to its pickup trucks, Toyota appears to have done a lot to give value to GM's pickups by greatly degrading the quality of its North-American-sold pickup trucks. Toyota may have concluded that if GM can sell pickups to Americans, it need only offer pickups that are 4 times (or maybe only 2 or 3 times) more durable than those of GM to expand its customer base and still ensure a customer replacement rate that is some less than that for GM pickups, but still respectable.
By using the above regression line formulas, we obtain, via Microsoft's Excel, the following tables of Toyota pickup age-equivalent estimates for typical pickups of various manufacturers at various ages for model years 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2001.
Source: AutoOnInfo.net data banks
Internet's Auto-Quality News-and-Information Hub since 2001
