Bizarre convo

[testerdahl]

So, I'm at the bar at the Toyota event this week. (Note why do my best stories always happen at a bar. Hmm...)

Anyway, a guy walks up to me and I'm standing with a Toyota rep I've known for about a decade. He is a younger guy and introduces himself. I didn't know him. That happens more and more. I'm a terrible networker the older I get.

He says, "you are Tim Esterdahl." Uh, yeah. "You are that guy. I've wanted to meet you in person for a while."

Uh. Ok.

"You don't know this, but for about 6 months I worked at GM PR on the truck team with (a few people I do know) and we used to sit around and talk about things. They would say out loud, 'what would Tim Esterdahl think? What would Tim Esterdahl say about this truck?'"

Me. I'm speechless. And if you know me with some whiskey in my hand, I'm rarely speechless.

I share this story to another Toyota rep I've known for 10 years. He chuckles and says, "oh we say your name all the time too."

Huh.

I'm going to tamper my ego back into a box. I'm just a guy who spends way too much time in the sun and on camera. I really don't think I'm making a big difference. Just doing my job.

 

[Saddle Tramp]

But you're saying the things we're thinking or telling our friends. That's doing your job and they're listening! That's a good thing.

 

[Hilux]

Tell that Toyota rep to tell his Toyota higher ups to get off their duffs and build a compactish Toyota pickup and I will cancel my Slate reservation.

 

[Saddle Tramp]

Rumor has it that Toyota is going to make a small pickuo for the US market, but it is going to be like the Maverick. Unibody and crewcab.

 

[Fightnfire]

Rumor has it that Toyota is going to make a small pickuo for the US market, but it is going to be like the Maverick. Unibody and crewcab.

A RAV4 with a bed? Interesting.

 

[testerdahl]

Rumor has it that Toyota is going to make a small pickuo for the US market, but it is going to be like the Maverick. Unibody and crewcab.

Funny that rumor came up while we were there. We all laughed. That story has been reported on since 2019 or so that a Toyota compact truck is coming.

 

[Saddle Tramp]

It could easily be a rumor that other sites use to grab clicks, but with over 131,000 Mavericks sold and 32,000 Santa Cruz sold (What is the plural of that name?), I cannot see Toyota ignoring this market opportunity. They just redesigned the RAV4 and it wouldn't surprise me if they quietly engineered in a pickup variant off this platform. (Having that pickup be just a hybris would be a big poke in the eye to Ford.)

 

[NorthskyBlue NHT]

So, I'm at the bar at the Toyota event this week. (Note why do my best stories always happen at a bar. Hmm...)

Anyway, a guy walks up to me and I'm standing with a Toyota rep I've known for about a decade. He is a younger guy and introduces himself. I didn't know him. That happens more and more. I'm a terrible networker the older I get.

He says, "you are Tim Esterdahl." Uh, yeah. "You are that guy. I've wanted to meet you in person for a while."

Uh. Ok.

"You don't know this, but for about 6 months I worked at GM PR on the truck team with (a few people I do know) and we used to sit around and talk about things. They would say out loud, 'what would Tim Esterdahl think? What would Tim Esterdahl say about this truck?'"

Me. I'm speechless. And if you know me with some whiskey in my hand, I'm rarely speechless.

I share this story to another Toyota rep I've known for 10 years. He chuckles and says, "oh we say your name all the time too."

Huh.

I'm going to tamper my ego back into a box. I'm just a guy who spends way too much time in the sun and on camera. I really don't think I'm making a big difference. Just doing my job.

It probably has a lot to do with your time at Tundra HQ/Tacoma HQ. If I remember correctly you interviewed Mike Sweers several times.