Pure speculation on my part - indulge me.
I like Mike Swears a little but after following his career and watching just about every interview available, I do think he lacks vision/the ability to see where the market is going. I think when he became chief engineer he thought:
1. Full-size pickups were on the way out because of emissions/mpg regulation and this is the main reason why Tundra has been treated like a hobby. He failed to see and/or realize at a later time they'd become even more popular in spite of regulations. He failed to see "glam trucks" would be popular - people like me who want luxury, don't really need a truck, but want a truck and will pay a decent $ for that truck.
2. I also think he thought most of the defectors out of the full-size market would go to the Tacoma which is why they've put more effort into it (yes, it has always sold more too). But, even with the Tacoma, he neutered its "truckiness" by using the 3.5 V-6.
3. I think he thought body-on-frame and longitudinal layouts were on the way out too. Toyota has invested much more into unibody vehicles with transverse mounts. This at least partially explains why 4-Runner/GX have been allowed to languish in spite of the fact mid-sized SUVs are wildly propular. I think they've been waiting for body-on-frame to die and sales to plunge and year after year they not only won't die, I think 4-Runner sales rebounded in the last few years. This left Toyota thinking ok, it has to die sometime soon but they're selling well so lets just keep selling it as is until sales drop off. We now have multiple manufactures going back to body-on-frame and longitudinal designs.
The net result of all of this is in a decade under Swears Toyota has been stagnant in some of the most popular segments.
I like Mike Swears a little but after following his career and watching just about every interview available, I do think he lacks vision/the ability to see where the market is going. I think when he became chief engineer he thought:
1. Full-size pickups were on the way out because of emissions/mpg regulation and this is the main reason why Tundra has been treated like a hobby. He failed to see and/or realize at a later time they'd become even more popular in spite of regulations. He failed to see "glam trucks" would be popular - people like me who want luxury, don't really need a truck, but want a truck and will pay a decent $ for that truck.
2. I also think he thought most of the defectors out of the full-size market would go to the Tacoma which is why they've put more effort into it (yes, it has always sold more too). But, even with the Tacoma, he neutered its "truckiness" by using the 3.5 V-6.
3. I think he thought body-on-frame and longitudinal layouts were on the way out too. Toyota has invested much more into unibody vehicles with transverse mounts. This at least partially explains why 4-Runner/GX have been allowed to languish in spite of the fact mid-sized SUVs are wildly propular. I think they've been waiting for body-on-frame to die and sales to plunge and year after year they not only won't die, I think 4-Runner sales rebounded in the last few years. This left Toyota thinking ok, it has to die sometime soon but they're selling well so lets just keep selling it as is until sales drop off. We now have multiple manufactures going back to body-on-frame and longitudinal designs.
The net result of all of this is in a decade under Swears Toyota has been stagnant in some of the most popular segments.