Are there actual specs…

I live in SoCal and rarely ever see a sequoia, most white moms drive a suburban or other full size brand new domestic suv, Asian moms never ever drive an suv they always drive a Toyota sienna or Tesla

 

trying to compare sticker prices without adjustment doesn't really work.

you would have to convert 2008 dollar prices to 2024 prices

which currently is 1.47 difference. so that 2008 is roughly 45k in todays dollar. granted its not close to the 53k you posted, but the standard features (safety and required feds rules included) you have now compared to then will probably be the difference in cost.

no one is going to match the cost you paid xx years ago to current pricing, its a vicious cycle. people will complain about the cost in 5-10 yrs compared to now.

 

I made $90,000 in 2008
The economy took a huge hit the last half of that year
In 2009 i made about $30,000 and rode the struggle bus
Things have slowly built back and i'm making about $60,000 this year.
In my world wages have not gone up to justify the cost of ownership of all the other items around us that we need. Many are like me who simply cant and wont afford a $57,100 4x4 Tacoma TRD Sport with rubbermaid plastic door panels and a 4cyl engine that gets the same fuel mileage as a big v6. If you watch the vids that are popping up from everyone doing a demo and walk around of the new 4R you see a big one piece solid plastic door panels similar to what the 2000-2005 tacoma had. Everything is hard plastic, no soft touch, one big stamped out piece of plastic. The Tacoma is the same way, they are stepping into the same category as Ford and Chevy on "lets see how cheap we can make it in order to maximize profits". Sure the Platinum and Limited trim have soft touch elbow pads on the door panels and a more "trimmed" out interior but the price of them is likely going to be out of this world.