Loose Wheels

I was going about my normal day, scrolling idly through Facebook marketplace in search of cars I will never buy. Then it happened. I came across a vehicle I had never seen nor even heard of, a vehicle that came at the peak of GM’s pre-recession weirdness.

The GMC Envoy XUV, on the surface, looks like any other GM SUV from the mid 2000s. Round, muted, dull. It has a kind of hearse-like look to it. However, it hides some incredibly practical features. Starting with the retractible rear roof, that essentially converts the rear into a high-sided pickup truck bed. This makes it easy to load tall items, such as fridges or dressers, without having to lay them down.

It also has multifunction tailgate, similar to the Honda Ridgeline. It can open down, like a regular truck tailgate, or open sideways, which makes getting something from the back (front?) of the bed/cargo area much easier.

Finally, it has arguably the best feature of any of these truck/car vehicles, a fold down mid-gate. This turns a tiny 4-foot bed into a much more useable 8-foot bed when you need it, without having to drive around in a long-bed pickup truck. Some other GM vehicles also have a folding mid-gate, such as the Avalanche or the Hummer H2T. Unfortunately, it hasn’t really caught on with any other manufacturers, even though vehicles like Honda Ridgeline would be even more practical with one.

So, what are the negatives? there must be some negatives. Well, for starters, they are pretty rare. Only 12,000 of them were sold. Im guessing buyers had a hard time justifying this over an Avalanche or a regular GM truck, especially with the abysmal fuel economy these things have, at 15mpg combined. Then theres the quality issues. These were not great times for GM, and a lot of their vehicles were plagued by poor quality, and this one was no exception. Even if you do find one of these, the likelihood that the all the cool features are still working is pretty slim.

Hopefully in the future, as crossovers become more and more popular, some of these features will be reincarnated. If we cannot stop the SUV apocalypse, the least companies can do it add a bit of cool practicality into their lineups.

Last year, I bought my first motorcycle. It’s a 2000 Suzuki Katana 750, a 4-cylinder sport touring bike. I dreamed about the moment I would finally get to ride a motorcycle for years, what it would be like to carve up the roads and feel the freedom of cage-less transport. Now, after a year of ridership, I thought I would share five things I’ve learned.

1. Riding a motorcycle is scary. I’ve nearly hit a deer, been cut off by drivers, and had the bike try to slip out from under me several times. It feels like a constant battle, where it’s you versus the environment, the people, and the animals. You are constantly in a state of alertness, trying to predict what other drivers are going to do, and hope that they can see you. Every corner I took at speed, I hoped there wouldn’t be a patch of gravel waiting for me mid turn. Every intersection I entered, I hoped the drivers around would see me. It wears you out.
   
2. Riding a motorcycle is fucking awesome. In my mind, it’s the closest thing most of us will ever get to flying. Carving through corners, accelerating more rapidly than nearly any other car on the road, it makes you feel like a superhero. Even with my newbie-level skills, I still felt ridiculously awesome every time I started up the bike. No-one else really cares that you ride, and most people just think it’s dangerous, but it doesn’t matter. Until they’ve done it, they cannot understand the feeling of being so open and free, with no cage around you, no windscreen or doors, just you sitting on top of a fire-breathing beast that wants to kill you. It’s like nothing else I’ve experienced.
   
3. Riding a motorcycle did not replace my love for cars. This one surprised me the most. I was 100% certain that once I had a motorcycle, I wouldn’t care for cars anymore. Why would I? My bike is faster and cheaper than most of them. I was completely wrong. If anything, it make me truly appreciate the benefits of cars. Ease of use is a big one. I like to think of myself as a sane person, and because of this I wear all my gear when I ride the bike. Armoured jacket, pants, gloves, boots, helmet. These are all cumbersome things you don’t even need to think about when you drive a car, just hop in and go. No need to check the weather or road conditions, you’re in a climate controlled steel cage. Carrying capacity was the other big one. I like to camp and rock climb, both very gear-intensive activities. Good luck carrying all the stuff you need for those two things on a sportbike. Sure you might be able to fit everything, but riding with all of it is going to be a nightmare (I can already hear the adventure bike crowd laughing at my complaints).
   
4. Riding a motorcycle makes you realize how many bikes you want. There’s so many types of bikes in the world. Dirt bikes, cruisers, sport bikes, adventure bikes, supermotos, minibikes, on and on the list goes. Having a sport touring bike, I can go as fast as I want, maneuver quite well, and commute in relative comfort. Not bad for one bike. However, if I wanted to ride on dirt, not a chance, need a dirt bike or ADV bike for that. If I want to hoon around and be a delinquent, the sport touring bike is too heavy to really get wild, I need a supermoto or a supersport for that. If I want to just look cool or experience old bike goodness, I can’t really on this bike, I need a cruiser or a vintage bike for that. I’m only one year in to riding, and I’ve already picked out what my next bike, and my next next bike, and my next next next bike will be. My goodness this is an expensive hobby.
   
5. Riding a motorcycle is expensive. Sure, bikes are cheaper than cars with equivalent performance, but dropping a good chunk of change on a bike still hurts the wallet. Then there’s the gear. To be well protected (and smart), you need at least a grand to get properly suited up. Then insurance, upgrades, maintenance and repairs, all for a toy that, at least in Canada, you can only ride for 6 months of the year. In my mind, the expense is worth it for the experience and the adventures that can be had on two wheels, but for others the tradeoff may not be worth it.

And that’s it! Well, not really, but these are the five big standouts after a year of riding. I don’t know about everyone else, but I can’t wait to get back on the bike.

 I don’t consider myself a conspiracy theorist. While stories of alien sightings and secret societies are entertaining, I don’t really pay them too much attention. However, I have come up with a bit of a conspiracy theory of my own. The next Toyota Tundra is going to be a hybrid, and here’s why.

Toyota is arguably known for two major things. Reliability, and the Prius. The name Toyota is synonymous with quality, reliability, and the ability to take a beating. BBC’s Top Gear sunk a Toyota pickup in the ocean, dropped it off a building, set it on fire, and still the truck started and drove. The Prius, while likely not able to be drowned, was the first mass market hybrid, and has gained an immense following since its release in 1997. The Prius was the Tesla of the early 2000’s, with every celebrity who wanted to appear eco-savvy and “with the times” driving one. It also proved that hybrids could be reliable, with taxi drivers putting hundreds of thousands of miles on them every year.

The Toyota Tundra, Toyota’s only full-size truck, has been a staple of their model range since 1999. It never received a massive following compared to the beloved Tacoma, however the following it does have is a passionate one. It was highly praised when it was first released, winning the Motor Trend‘s Truck of the Year award in 2000. It never really competed with the Big Three however, having power and capacity numbers below that of its rivals. 

The second generation faired much better in the truck wars, with performance numbers more equal to the competition. Its design and features took into account the end-user, with handles and buttons large enough to be operable while wearing work gloves. However, it has become a little long in the tooth. The second generation has been around since 2007, receiving a facelift in 2014 and some updated hardware, but not much else. That’s over a decade with only incremental changes, a long production cycle for Toyota. This is where the conspiracy theory kicks in.

Why would Toyota be waiting so long to come out with a new Tundra? What could be keeping them from updating their only full-size offering, when that it one of the hottest market segments? While I don’t have proof, I believe it is because they are currently in the process of designing, building, and testing a hybrid Tundra. 

Now hear me out. Toyota has been in the hybrid game longer than nearly any other major manufacturer. for over two decades, they have been fine tuning their hybrid design to be reliable and robust enough to deserve the Toyota badge. However, the Prius faces a major problem. SUV’s and trucks. The sales of small cars has been plummeting for quite some time now, while truck and SUV sales are hitting new records every year. People like fuel efficiency, but they seem to like ground clearance and cargo capacity even more. While Toyota has been killing it in crossover, SUV, and mid-size truck sales, they have not been doing nearly as good in the full-size segment.

The full-size truck segment is becoming more and more competitive each year, with manufacturers constantly trying to increase their horsepower, towing capacity, payload, and fuel economy numbers. While its progress, nothing of late is really “revolutionary” in the segment. The Big Three have released diesel engines, and Ram has released a mild hybrid for their v8 and v6 1500’s, yet none of these are really game-changers. This is where the hybrid Tundra will make a splash.

Truck manufacturers know that gas is not going to be cheap forever, and that electrification is the way the world is going. People can’t always afford to have multiple vehicles, but they want vehicles that can do everything. Carry cargo, tow boats, go off road, go fast, be reliable, all while still returning respectable fuel economy numbers. That is quite the tall order. A hybrid pickup truck would meet most of these requirements, returning good fuel mileage or possibly some all electric range, and still providing capacity and capability.

While Ford, GM, and FCA Chrysler have been very loud about their plans to electrify and modernize their trucks, we have not heard anything other than side comments from Toyota. I believe this is because they are planning a massive reveal of a hybrid Tundra that has been in development since at least 2014 (when the Tundra was refreshed).

Why 2014? Well, the pre-facelift Tundra needed to be spiced up in order to keep sales up, however Toyota was not ready to release the hybrid version just yet, so they gave the regular Tundra some new styling and called it a day. This gave them time to work on the hybrid version in the background. If this is true, they will be years ahead in development compared to the competition. They would have had time to test and improve the vehicle, ensuring that the hybrid Tundra’s reliability is on-par with the Toyota brand, and the performance meets or exceeds the competition’s offerings.

The full-size segment is far too competitive for any manufacturer to half-ass such a risky endeavour, as a poor-performing first attempt would likely create prejudice in buyers and ruin the company’s chances of ever being a segment leader. Toyota knows this, and while Ford, GM, and Chrysler will likely release a so-so attempt in a rush to be first to market, Toyota will sweep them all away with a vehicle far better developed and tested.

While I cannot say if it will be a traditional hybrid, plug-in, or even a full EV, I believe it is coming, and soon. Toyota has the history and experience with hybrid technology to design something reliable, and they know a thing or two about making un-killable trucks. To further support my rantings, I bring to attention the horrible job Toyota did at keeping the new Toyota Supra a secret. There were spy shots, leaked images, and interviews galore about the new sports car, which is a low volume vehicle. This excitement distracts the journalists and enthusiasts from any testing or development of the hybrid Tundra, allowing Toyota to make a surprise unveiling.

And there you have it. My conspiracy theory about how Toyota is planning to release the next Tundra as a hybrid. While I cannot confirm or deny it, there have been some interesting prototypes that have been spotted, with camouflage being placed in areas that a plug-in port would go, as well as batteries. Seems a little suspicious if you ask me.