I'm thinking of buying a Frontier...

[hollohas]

The Frontiers are made in the USA (Tennessee to be exact), while the Tacomas are made in Mexico....The Tacos sell so well that dealerships don't really have to negotiate down to get rid of them, so expect to pay full price if you want one.

The first part is not entirely true. Well over 2/3 of Tacomas are made in Texas.

The second part is very true. They don't offer any deals on Tacomas because they sell anyway (They sell almost 3 times as many Tacomas annually in the USA than Frontiers) But Tacomas also hold their value incredibly well. See one of the posts above regarding trying to buy a 4 year old Tacoma. The MSRP of similarly equipped "off-road" models of the Frontier and Tacoma are close in price with the Tacoma costing $1-2k more but with a few more convenience options in the Tacoma. The Tacoma has a LOT more aftermarket support. The Frontier has a about 10% more ponies from the factory.

Test drive them both.

[sic_semper_tyrannis]

The first part is not entirely true. Well over 2/3 of Tacomas are made in Texas.

Are there actually two different assembly plants? Or do you just mean that 2/3 of the components in the Taco are Texas-sourced? I researched it years ago when I was shopping for the truck, but I've forgotten the specifics long ago. I do know that every single Taco I've looked at on the dealer lots showed a final assembly location of Mexico on the window sticker (Tijuana if I remember correctly).

And I agree completely on the aftermarket support. The Tacoma is like the Wrangler of pickups. I haven't done any offroad mods to my Frontier, and don't intend to, so it wasn't a factor for me.

[hollohas]

Are there actually two different assembly plants? Or do you just mean that 2/3 of the components in the Taco are Texas-sourced? I researched it years ago when I was shopping for the truck, but I've forgotten the specifics long ago. I do know that every single Taco I've looked at on the dealer lots showed a final assembly location of Mexico on the window sticker (Tijuana if I remember correctly)

Yes, two different plants with most of the production moved to Texas in 2010 I believe. The plant in Tijuana only has the capacity to manufacture 50k Tacomas per year. They also manufacture most of the Tacoma beds in TJ for later assembly on the truck in TX. The plant in Texas can make 250k trucks per year split between Tundras and Tacomas. They are planning to increase that soon as the demand is higher than that.

Not sure which trim/model Tacoma they make in the TJ facility. I remember hearing it was the double cab but I could be wrong.

Toyota used to make some Tacomas at a joint plant in CA they shared with GM. But GM pulled out in 2009 due to their financial problems and Toyota pulled the Tacoma production from there as well. That's when they transferred majority production to TX.

Oh, also interesting is that prior to 2010 Tacomas were made in CA at a plant Toyota shared with GM. GM pulled out in 2009 due to their financial problems and Toyota followed. It was Toyota's only UAW facility in the USA. That's when they transferred Tacoma manufacturing to TX/TJ.

[baglock1]

I haven't done any offroad mods to my Frontier, and don't intend to, so it wasn't a factor for me.

Too bad. The Titan swap front end with coilovers is tits.