Good morning,
Every day, as a young automotive professional and enthusiast, I am pained and unnervingly frustrated by the immense levels of stupidity I encounter in some sections of the internet, regarding automotive discussion amongst the public.
Especially regarding Toyota's future product line, and more specifically, the body on frame TNGA-F modular architecture, recently launched in the Land Cruiser, new Tundra, Lexus LX, and in July, the Sequoia.
I was among a select few, 5-6 years ago, who brought this future architecture's existence to the global forefront, before Toyota even acknowledged it existed in 2021. No one knew about it outside of Toyota in 2016, nor did most journalists first mention it until 2019.
For a good 2 years now, I believe myself and some members here, have done a job of keeping us all informed on WHEN Toyota comes to market with the next 4Runner and Tacoma.
When things fell behind at any step, I pointed out these newly learned delays, with a grain of salt. I began to trust it as credible insight, considering the sources.
By a certain point, I had idiotic refutations from randoms trying to undermine the 4Runner delay to MY2024 as not being accurate and MY2023 to still be accurate.
Since June 2021, I was strongly skeptical of 2023, until some idiots in the sales body claimed I was wrong recently and cited dealer meetings they had attended in September 2021.
Well, I was wrong to acknowledge them, being that I had it directly from the horses' mouths, the real truth...
Toyota began planning of a 6th generation 4Runner for the 2022 model year, roughly 5 years ago. When that fell behind via a domino effect in 2019, it shifted to second half of 2022 as a MY 2023.
This CY2022 launch information appeared in an internal January 2020 PowerPoint presentation, which appeared here weeks later. Prior to that, I had ghostwritten news articles on future Ford, Lexus, and Toyota products through 2024. This became known to the public in February 2020 and later copied by All Car News in March 2020.
2023MY redesign was valid much of 2020.
When new internal ambitions were envisioned for this program in late 2020 regarding EV mode on its THS, it became MY 2024, ironically toward the 40th anniversary of its March 1984 launch. I declared this to be likely, last June. And have done my best to get out the word.
Yet, so many stupid YouTubers go around spreading misleading BS info and confusing countless amounts of people, who either are so busy and looking in the wrong places for information on things TNGA-F for a quick fix.
Or so willfully obtuse, they lazily trust the wrong sources for insight and are too incorrigible to learn from it, that these entities know nada in most cases, as they don't have internal personnel guiding their narrative.
The little incognito efforts I provide in my free time, to steer the ship straight on misinformation, amount to wasted effort, since too many folks are woefully stupid and still trust these ignorant vloggers, bloggers, and news hacks fishing for easy clicks.
I've stopped commenting on these vehicles until now, because I got sick of the wasted time on my part.
Folks tried to say I didn't know what I was talking about regarding both 4Runner and Tacoma redesigns having 2024 all over them. The minute they saw spy shots of midsize Toyota mules, the idiot-laden media jumped up to calling the next one a 2023 MY.
They do not understand a mule with old skin or even a bodyshell tester can be built and tested for 2 years, before that model hits dealers.
I stood by my insight and refuted such claims of "sooner than later".
You have channels like Automotive Press, RobMotive, TFL, and a few others making the matter of misinformation worse, with their blind speculation leading nowhere in most cases or in AP's case, riffing off of unconfirmed guesses like the Sequoia liftgate window somehow equaling the same for 6G without any proof of it.
David at AP has this horrible habit of hiding behind his similar credentials as an engineer, yet stooping to misinforming people with dumb guesses of his as misbegotten fact.
I warned him last year it was now a 2024 model and the Tacoma was not a 2023 model either, both are 2024s. He didn't listen and doubled down on that drivel.
He embarrassingly tried to save face earlier this year, when it started becoming obvious I KNEW what I was talking about and then WHAM, the NY area dealers gave it away via YouTuber Driven District (thanks to him).
Only YouTuber to be wise on this was TRDJON, props to him for being way ahead of the rest and probably open to my insight. I don't know how he picked up on that, good for him. The rest...(sighs)
I really try to be helpful, but I can't help people who don't want to know better from the right sources and waste time with mindless skepticism, while openly entertaining drivel from TFL and the like.
Particularly those of us on forums or commenting incognito elsewhere, who are able to find (or already have) the right internal contacts and report our findings discreetly. Plus will only come to where it is worthwhile regarding our time, to disclose background info without exposing our identities.
Being still somewhat young, I just didn't realize for years how dumb and uninformed people can be, when a good chunk of this information is out there and accessible.
It took Youtuber Driven District leaking the NY region dealers' launch schedule for Calendar Year 2022 to prove me right and yet, you still have many idiots, hypothesizing that Toyota will discontinue the 4Runner based on their own brainless intuition, replace it with a brawny Highlander trim, or etc. (That concern is outdated)
Or magically surprise them out of nowhere in a few months with a new 2023 model. I have said countless times in different places for 1 year, it will be midway through MY 2024 at earliest. Yet it falls on deaf ears in many places.
In terms of human nature, I am puzzled as to why it's so difficult for some people to pick up on the obvious more readily and not have their heads in the sand. When I covered the Bronco years ago, you had your share of idiots bypassing my attempts to set the narrative straight. Just seems like it even gets worse.
What I see now on YT, TFL, Disqus, and on some other forums, is disheartening in terms of gross cluelessness and the dumbest unproven contradictory theories being put out there and trusted (with no/little skepticism), becoming fodder for never ending rumors, which easily muddle a correct discreet narrative.
I'm tired of it at this point, as their only skepticism is often directed at me or similar folks as the messenger. Most uninformed folks should know better or shut up if they don't, to avoid confusing others. And stop attacking the right messengers, with inside information.
This vehicle as I said it before, is a 2024.5ish model. It will offer an I4 hybrid as mentioned to me by someone on the project, although someone else has also mentioned to me that a tune of the V35A-FTS will be making its way into the 920B Tacoma and likely 4Runner by parallel association. I think of GX 550, when that comes up.
Every day, as a young automotive professional and enthusiast, I am pained and unnervingly frustrated by the immense levels of stupidity I encounter in some sections of the internet, regarding automotive discussion amongst the public.
Especially regarding Toyota's future product line, and more specifically, the body on frame TNGA-F modular architecture, recently launched in the Land Cruiser, new Tundra, Lexus LX, and in July, the Sequoia.
I was among a select few, 5-6 years ago, who brought this future architecture's existence to the global forefront, before Toyota even acknowledged it existed in 2021. No one knew about it outside of Toyota in 2016, nor did most journalists first mention it until 2019.
For a good 2 years now, I believe myself and some members here, have done a job of keeping us all informed on WHEN Toyota comes to market with the next 4Runner and Tacoma.
When things fell behind at any step, I pointed out these newly learned delays, with a grain of salt. I began to trust it as credible insight, considering the sources.
By a certain point, I had idiotic refutations from randoms trying to undermine the 4Runner delay to MY2024 as not being accurate and MY2023 to still be accurate.
Since June 2021, I was strongly skeptical of 2023, until some idiots in the sales body claimed I was wrong recently and cited dealer meetings they had attended in September 2021.
Well, I was wrong to acknowledge them, being that I had it directly from the horses' mouths, the real truth...
Toyota began planning of a 6th generation 4Runner for the 2022 model year, roughly 5 years ago. When that fell behind via a domino effect in 2019, it shifted to second half of 2022 as a MY 2023.
This CY2022 launch information appeared in an internal January 2020 PowerPoint presentation, which appeared here weeks later. Prior to that, I had ghostwritten news articles on future Ford, Lexus, and Toyota products through 2024. This became known to the public in February 2020 and later copied by All Car News in March 2020.
2023MY redesign was valid much of 2020.
When new internal ambitions were envisioned for this program in late 2020 regarding EV mode on its THS, it became MY 2024, ironically toward the 40th anniversary of its March 1984 launch. I declared this to be likely, last June. And have done my best to get out the word.
Yet, so many stupid YouTubers go around spreading misleading BS info and confusing countless amounts of people, who either are so busy and looking in the wrong places for information on things TNGA-F for a quick fix.
Or so willfully obtuse, they lazily trust the wrong sources for insight and are too incorrigible to learn from it, that these entities know nada in most cases, as they don't have internal personnel guiding their narrative.
The little incognito efforts I provide in my free time, to steer the ship straight on misinformation, amount to wasted effort, since too many folks are woefully stupid and still trust these ignorant vloggers, bloggers, and news hacks fishing for easy clicks.
I've stopped commenting on these vehicles until now, because I got sick of the wasted time on my part.
Folks tried to say I didn't know what I was talking about regarding both 4Runner and Tacoma redesigns having 2024 all over them. The minute they saw spy shots of midsize Toyota mules, the idiot-laden media jumped up to calling the next one a 2023 MY.
They do not understand a mule with old skin or even a bodyshell tester can be built and tested for 2 years, before that model hits dealers.
I stood by my insight and refuted such claims of "sooner than later".
You have channels like Automotive Press, RobMotive, TFL, and a few others making the matter of misinformation worse, with their blind speculation leading nowhere in most cases or in AP's case, riffing off of unconfirmed guesses like the Sequoia liftgate window somehow equaling the same for 6G without any proof of it.
David at AP has this horrible habit of hiding behind his similar credentials as an engineer, yet stooping to misinforming people with dumb guesses of his as misbegotten fact.
I warned him last year it was now a 2024 model and the Tacoma was not a 2023 model either, both are 2024s. He didn't listen and doubled down on that drivel.
He embarrassingly tried to save face earlier this year, when it started becoming obvious I KNEW what I was talking about and then WHAM, the NY area dealers gave it away via YouTuber Driven District (thanks to him).
Only YouTuber to be wise on this was TRDJON, props to him for being way ahead of the rest and probably open to my insight. I don't know how he picked up on that, good for him. The rest...(sighs)
I really try to be helpful, but I can't help people who don't want to know better from the right sources and waste time with mindless skepticism, while openly entertaining drivel from TFL and the like.
Particularly those of us on forums or commenting incognito elsewhere, who are able to find (or already have) the right internal contacts and report our findings discreetly. Plus will only come to where it is worthwhile regarding our time, to disclose background info without exposing our identities.
Being still somewhat young, I just didn't realize for years how dumb and uninformed people can be, when a good chunk of this information is out there and accessible.
It took Youtuber Driven District leaking the NY region dealers' launch schedule for Calendar Year 2022 to prove me right and yet, you still have many idiots, hypothesizing that Toyota will discontinue the 4Runner based on their own brainless intuition, replace it with a brawny Highlander trim, or etc. (That concern is outdated)
Or magically surprise them out of nowhere in a few months with a new 2023 model. I have said countless times in different places for 1 year, it will be midway through MY 2024 at earliest. Yet it falls on deaf ears in many places.
In terms of human nature, I am puzzled as to why it's so difficult for some people to pick up on the obvious more readily and not have their heads in the sand. When I covered the Bronco years ago, you had your share of idiots bypassing my attempts to set the narrative straight. Just seems like it even gets worse.
What I see now on YT, TFL, Disqus, and on some other forums, is disheartening in terms of gross cluelessness and the dumbest unproven contradictory theories being put out there and trusted (with no/little skepticism), becoming fodder for never ending rumors, which easily muddle a correct discreet narrative.
I'm tired of it at this point, as their only skepticism is often directed at me or similar folks as the messenger. Most uninformed folks should know better or shut up if they don't, to avoid confusing others. And stop attacking the right messengers, with inside information.
This vehicle as I said it before, is a 2024.5ish model. It will offer an I4 hybrid as mentioned to me by someone on the project, although someone else has also mentioned to me that a tune of the V35A-FTS will be making its way into the 920B Tacoma and likely 4Runner by parallel association. I think of GX 550, when that comes up.
Last edited:
