My Brother in-law says he is going to buy a 1997 Tacoma 4x4 with a Diesel ?? He is in Costa Rica, I have not even heard of a Toyota Diesel since the 80s, Anyone Else Lost ??? If this is True, Why don't we have these in the States ??? E.P.A Maybe ??? He wants to bring it up to the states, is it even Legal ? Any Thoughts ??? Thanks, Rob !!!

 

there's no kind way to put this but the Toyota company doesn't believe that there is enough of a market in America for a diesel engine plant. EVERYWHERE else in the world I have been there have been yota diesels and not just in trucks. I have seen them in vans, minivans, and large sedans. I was actually looking at snagging a hilux(Tacoma/4runner) Turbo diesel from Japan while I was there but.the only thing.that stopped me is the cost of parts. Other parts of the world also don't do smog and I highly doubt that I could get it to smog and/or run well on the ultra low sulfur fuels. Just my opinion though.

 

I bought an imported 3.0 TD from japan and it's awesome. Runs fine on low sulfur fuel, but I do try and add some biodiesel when ever I get a chance to make it.

 

Wish I would have known that lol

 

Nice to know they will run fine on our fuel !!! Parts availability may be the biggest problem !!! Thanks !!!

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Hilux

 

mmm, no... Well, kinda...

See, YOUR law makers like to tax things. And guess what gets taxed?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_tax

Toyota's not dumb... They know for a fact a Tacoma won't sell if it's got a Diesel in it and a MSRP of $50,000.

They know all they have to do is put a "Luxury" interior in an already-ready to import car/truck/SUV and dumb Mericans will drool all over it.

Look at what a basically stripped, V8 Diesel 70-79 Series in Australia goes for... @ $100,000

Do you know what you can get in the US for that kind of money?


Ever wanted a Prado? The Lexus (Gx) version only costs as much as the Full-Size Land Cruiser variant

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Land_Cruiser_Prado






Vary simple... EVERYWHERE but the US can NOT afford to live beyond it's means.

In Merica where debt is king, guess what we can do? Go buy overpriced cars/trucks and SUVs...

 

http://www.dieseltoyz.com/

just go to this site and you can learn a lot about getting a good diesel engine into a Tacoma, and they can even set these up to run on veg oil. Costs about $10,000 though. But so sweet!

 

I have to disagree there. I was driving a crown super saloon over in Japan and it is nicer than any American car under 50k. So its not the fact.that.they throw luxury into it at all to sell in the American market. I think Toyota would have a harder time convincing the American public.that.they can make diesels just as well as.gas cars. Either that or the us has some serious protection on American diesel manufacturing so they can't crack into the market.

 

VGP^^^

And a vary good point. "getting a good diesel engine"


If you find one... Don't assume just b/c it's a Toyota, and a Diesel, it's a good motor...

The LT's are horrible! Save yer pennies for a KZ and up.

 

look up space-junks rebuild thread.
hes got a diesel in his bahaha

 

I forgot what it's called, but the american government basically has a thing where imports have to have a level playing field with the domestic market.

And in order to do that, it taxes the difference b/c it would be "unfair" to the home team...

Teriffs IIRC. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tariff



And again, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_tax

If there were no teriffs Chevy Ford and Dodge would all be a part of history now.

They serve for economic protection b/c if something never broke, it'd never have to be fixed and therefore a company would un-do itself by making a good product.

(You have to think big here, and economically)

Personal, or minority "wants" have NOTHING to do with it.

And don't get me started with the costs involved to test and import a vehicle.

Just so a .0000001% of Americans will buy it?

In order for a Toyota + Diesel to become available in the US, it'd first have to overcome its Tariff.

And trust me. You think you want a Tacoma with a Diesel? But you won't when you see the $20,000 more over base model it will cost.

 

Oh I know all about the costs of importing LOL. I tried to bring the crown back with me from Japan. Since it wasn't on the list of crash tested cars its basically impossible to import unless you have 6 of the exact same model, make, and options. There's what.they do with the other 5 you don't need. They crash them and 1. Don't compensate you for the loss of a vehicle but its also several thousand dollars for the test itself! Talk about protection of the "home team". Also if your vehicle is on the list it can cost between 10 and 20k to have the safety modifications done to said vehicle. You are right about the tariffs though. I honestly think that Toyota will have.to bite the bullet eventually anyway though if they plan to compete in the heavy truck market.

 

umm... 20K over standard is still only 36K... and i would absolutely pay that much for a tacoma diesel...

 

Actually I would pay that much as well but I'm not sure that a lot of Tacoma/tundra owners would. Maybe in a few more years when the Bio diesel has taken off a little more Toyota will release it.

 

Americans don't want to buy a truck with a 0-60 time of 15+ seconds. That's one reason you won't see it here.

Those Toyota diesels in Australia and down south have small high torque engines, the American market doesn't want them.

Plus most dealerships would have to retrain mechanics, buy entire sets of factory tools and hold a massive inventory of expensive diesel only parts.

There's a few other reasons too.

.

 

Are you implying the government will allow you to run Bio-Diesel?

There is NO way you can supply the numbers of ppl that would need it.

And most of the appeal of B-D is it's cheap... And part of that is b/c there are no road taxes paid, wink.

And that's Anti-American!


You do know running B-Diesel is a federal offence, right?

And PS, Did you know GM makes its new Diesels where they will NOT run on Bio-Diesel? huh, huh? Did'ya did'ya?




For a stripped down, regular cab, SWB, 2WD with a 5 speed?


A 15y.o 2WD 22RE Mini will almost get in MPG what that Diesel will...

But for $36,000? And that's what after finance? ...And depreciation?

 

Thanks for the Input !!! So what will they do when he drives this rig up from Costa Rica to the states and tries to register it ??? Will he get bombed with extra taxes because it is a diesel ??? Maybe ???

 

Im not sure what they will do. If it was me I would call that guy "Todd" at dieseltoyz.com, in all the testimonials everyone seemed to say he was really helpful. He imports regularly so I would think he would be a good contact to make.

Side note to tried4x2signN, what do you mean when you say bio diesel is a federal offense? Is this the same thing as having waste vegetable oil setup on your truck? why is this breaking the law?

 

my 0-60 times aren't 15+ seconds. My diesel/auto setup is considerably faster than my V6/MT set up ever was. I did basically the same mods to both, intake, exhaust, ignition (v6), fuel (diesel).