Why Did Toyota Put This In Their Cars?

Issue #111

Happy Saturday! We hope you have a great weekend!

What’s your biggest pet peeve when it comes to car interiors? It’s all about this topic today.

Market News

• The Slate truck took the world by storm, but how did the Bezos-backed company build such a cheap truck?

• Talking about Slate, is it a Tesla killer? Here’s what experts think. 

• Toyota and Waymo partner to add self-driving technology to personal vehicles.

• Volvo will build a new model in the US as a last-ditch effort. Here’s what we mean.

• Here’s what some people think will happen to car prices. 

• But the White House says one thing. Automakers say another. Who’s right? 

• Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and Ram dealers created excellent employee pricing offers that won’t last long. 

• Tesla’s Board of Directors is seeking a CEO to replace Elon Musk. Here’s how the search will start.

• GM projects a massive amount of tariff costs in 2025. Here’s how much. 

• Car subscriptions raise the risk of government surveillance. Here’s why.

Safety and Recalls

• Volkswagen recalls ID.Buzz vans because the seats are too wide. Seriously. 

• GM recalls 721,000 vehicles with 6.2L V8s due to a critical problem. 

• Polestar recalls 28,000 vehicles in the US over this issue. 

Car Culture

• This was Plymouth’s true last muscle car, and it was a beauty. 

• These cars won’t come back in 2026. Will you miss any of them?

• The 2026 Toyota Camry Nightshade is the coolest boring car you could buy. 

• Which company makes the best beater? Here’s a very peculiar showdown for less than $2,500. 

• Chrysler once built the ultimate American supercar.

• Have you ever wondered what happens when you buy YouTubers’ cars? This. 

• The Ford Mustang GTD was fast. It just got a lot faster. 

• It’s a Honda. It’s a Batmobile. It’s both!

• These were the 10 most exciting cars at the legendary Bonham car auction. 

• Is America falling out of love with huge trucks?

Video Of The Week

Here’s Donut Media’s explanation on tariffs and cars. It’s very educational.

Power On The Go

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Yes, that’s an affiliate link. No, it doesn’t cost you anything extra. But every click helps support this newsletter and keeps the content coming. Win-win.

In The Know

The new 4Runner, Land Cruiser, and GX550 all have a fatal flaw, but why?

On October 17, 2024, Ford made a small announcement that sent almost no shocks across the industry.

No one batted an eye after the company released this announcement, and the company continued its business. If anything, it was mostly ignored, but it was a key move to remove a fatal design flaw from the Bronco’s interior.

Fast-forward to 2025, and our founder Kern was at the North Carolina Auto Show, where Toyota and Lexus displayed their latest models, including the 4Runner, Land Cruiser, and GX550. 

As soon as he climbed inside one of them, he was completely disappointed. 

As a side note, I’ve had at least one Toyota model in my driveway since 2008. Kern has had all Tundra iterations and still owns his 2001 model.

He also had one of the best Toyota vehicles ever. You can read his love letter to this old SUV here. 

Where are we going with this? Here at FWT, we know Toyotas well, so when we write about something that disappoints us, it must be extremely bad, and this was no exception. 

We know that recent Toyota models aren’t perfect. As this article explains, many have a bittersweet experience towing with the new Tundra. 

Then, there’s the big elephant in the room: the new 3.5-liter twin-turbo V6.

Many were excited to see how this engine performed, as it was replacing the legendary V8.

Let’s face it: V8 might have been clumsy and outdated, but it was indestructible.

Unfortunately, the new powerplant had some critical issues causing serious damage. Here are some common problems associated with the new V6, so you can learn more about it. 

And, yet, that’s not what we’re talking about.

In fact, we’re addressing an issue not only in Toyotas but other brands. It’s the same issue Ford had dealt with in the Bronco but kept in others.

What blew our minds is that it’s much older than anyone would think. There are even entire articles dedicated to it. 

Not only that, but many car interiors are becoming much more uncomfortable, as strange as it sounds. Here’s a little rant we did about it. 

What bothers us is that Toyota made this feature so prominent.

It makes the interior almost unlivable, and it’s present in all its big SUVs. Ironically, it’s not as noticeable in the Tacoma, which is helping boost the company’s sales.

By the way, did you know that the Toyota Sienna (that’s right, the minivan) saw a 72% increase in sales since 2024? Here’s more on that. 

Bonus points if you note something about the Sienna’s interior. 

So, if it’s not present in some of its vehicles, why did Toyota decide to keep it in its larger SUVs?

Usually, larger SUVs are more comfortable for taller drivers and passengers. However, this feature might be so intrusive that it renders these vehicles impractical for long trips. 

Here’s what we mean. What are your thoughts on this feature?