:boohoo:
Hey Y'all ... I'm a reporter and I had a chance to chat with Jim Press, president of Toyota North American, after an energy conference this week. He confirmed what many FJ owners have long suspected, which is that their vehicles are comprised of much more expensive stock parts than you would expect to find in an SUV originally designed to compete with the Nissan Xterra.
Press told me the guts of the FJ are from the Lexus GX, which sells for $44,000 to $60,000 or so. I don't know if this is news to all of you, but it was to me.
:thinkerg:
I don't cover the auto beat, so I don't know if he told me anything new or just repeated stuff he's said before elsewhere. Still, I have often wondered how Toyota ever came up with the FJ, being that they're a publicly traded company that's supposed to max-out profits. It doesn't seem to fit very well in their existing product lineup, a point indirectly proven by all the dealer markups.
Anyway, I transcribed the conversation to share with you all. Here it is:
Press: "Sometimes when you do vehicles, you design them and you have to think about the customer and all these other things... That one (the FJ) came from inside of us.''
:roller:
Q) Is the FJ stealing customers from more profitable Toyota models?
"It's really not. A couple things, first of all, we are able to use the components of a much higher value product. The guts of that car come out of a Lexus GX. So, you get the performance of a Lexus and you get off-road capability - that thing will go over the Rubicon or where ever else that you want to go... (also) ... "the fact that we kept the styling really consistent to the rugged nature of the product makes it appeal to those owners who really want to have an authentic off-road product.''
"The FJ doesn't really doesn't compete (with other Toyota models). And in
terms of other SUVs, it's not even close.''
:roller:
Q) Cost/profit per unit?
It's been "very good for us because we are able to use basically a lot of parts off the shelf. These are parts we wouldn't" otherwise use.
"I love the car. I've taken it on the Rubicon and I know what it will do.''
:roller:
Q) Is there any truth to the rumor that Toyota is going to stop making the FJ in four years?
"We haven't decided that.''
He also said that they've made 300 special edition versions of the FJ, which I'm pretty sure is old news.
Anyway, I felt pretty smart about owning an FJ after the conversation. I'd feel even smarter if I could figure out that friggin roof rack.:jawdrop:
Hey Y'all ... I'm a reporter and I had a chance to chat with Jim Press, president of Toyota North American, after an energy conference this week. He confirmed what many FJ owners have long suspected, which is that their vehicles are comprised of much more expensive stock parts than you would expect to find in an SUV originally designed to compete with the Nissan Xterra.
Press told me the guts of the FJ are from the Lexus GX, which sells for $44,000 to $60,000 or so. I don't know if this is news to all of you, but it was to me.
:thinkerg:
I don't cover the auto beat, so I don't know if he told me anything new or just repeated stuff he's said before elsewhere. Still, I have often wondered how Toyota ever came up with the FJ, being that they're a publicly traded company that's supposed to max-out profits. It doesn't seem to fit very well in their existing product lineup, a point indirectly proven by all the dealer markups.
Anyway, I transcribed the conversation to share with you all. Here it is:
Press: "Sometimes when you do vehicles, you design them and you have to think about the customer and all these other things... That one (the FJ) came from inside of us.''
:roller:
Q) Is the FJ stealing customers from more profitable Toyota models?
"It's really not. A couple things, first of all, we are able to use the components of a much higher value product. The guts of that car come out of a Lexus GX. So, you get the performance of a Lexus and you get off-road capability - that thing will go over the Rubicon or where ever else that you want to go... (also) ... "the fact that we kept the styling really consistent to the rugged nature of the product makes it appeal to those owners who really want to have an authentic off-road product.''
"The FJ doesn't really doesn't compete (with other Toyota models). And in
terms of other SUVs, it's not even close.''
:roller:
Q) Cost/profit per unit?
It's been "very good for us because we are able to use basically a lot of parts off the shelf. These are parts we wouldn't" otherwise use.
"I love the car. I've taken it on the Rubicon and I know what it will do.''
:roller:
Q) Is there any truth to the rumor that Toyota is going to stop making the FJ in four years?
"We haven't decided that.''
He also said that they've made 300 special edition versions of the FJ, which I'm pretty sure is old news.
Anyway, I felt pretty smart about owning an FJ after the conversation. I'd feel even smarter if I could figure out that friggin roof rack.:jawdrop:
