Toyota Motor Sales was founded in the U.S. in 1957, and in the 50 years since Toyota has grown from a small Japanese car company to one of the largest auto manufacturers in the world. The history of Toyota is the quintessential rags-to-riches story, and a big part of that story is the growth of Toyota trucks. Toyota's 50th anniversary seems like a good time to tell the history of Toyota trucks in the U.S.
The first Toyota truck brought to the US was the 1963 Toyota LandCruiser truck. Available in small numbers for only four years in the U.S. market (1963-67), these are highly sought-after collector's items. In addition to being imported to the US, these vehicles were produced by Toyota internationally for many years after 1967 and can be found overseas.
Next, we have the Toyota Stout. Available in 1964, this was the obvious predecessor to 1969's Toyota HiLux. The Stout, like the HiLux, was available in only one configuration - a regular cab and a four cylinder engine. The Stout's last year was 1968, after which the Toyota Hilux Pickup truck was officially born.
The "HiLux" was the first Toyota truck to achieve notable sales and commercial success. The "HiLux" name, as hip as it is, was dropped from the Toyota Trucks nameplate in 1975. From that point forward, all small Toyota trucks were known as "Toyota Pickups". The HiLux/Toyota Pickup developed rather quickly. The SR5 package was first made available in 1975. In 1979, Toyota offered a four-wheel-drive option. In 1983, to great critical acclaim, Toyota offered the "Xtra Cab" Toyota Pickup. The popularity of Toyota's value and quality helped Toyota trucks come into their own in the 80's, even helping them reach top cultural status. After all, Who could forget the Toyota truck in the movie Back To The Future?
In 1993, Toyota introduced their first attempt at a true full-size pickup, called the T100. Many people disliked the T100 -- it was supremely lacking in terms of power for a full-sized truck -- a V8 engine was not available. The truck did have some fine points, however, and there are some very loyal T100 owners who argue the T100 was one of best trucks Toyota ever made. Regardless, the T100 was a sales flop.
The "Toyota Pickup" finally got a proper name in 1995. Officially branded the Tacoma, the "Taco" is revered by off-road enthusiasts everywhere. In fact, the Tacoma is easily Toyota's largest commercial success in the U.S. truck market. The 1995 Tacoma offered an excellent combination of performance, power, and off-road ability, while still being a very inexpensive vehicle in it's basic form.
Toyota made another attempt at a making a full-size truck in 1999, releasing the new 2000 Tundra a year early. The new full-size Tundra featured a reasonably powerful 4.7L V8, a larger frame, bigger interior, and greater hauling and towing capabilities than the truck it replaced (the T100). When the Tundra debuted it was a decent seller and a critical hit. The new Tundra was named Motor Trend's "Truck of The Year" in 1999, and sales topped 126k units in 2004.
Toyota released a completely re-designed Tacoma in 2004. This new, larger, "Taco" rivaled the 2004 full-size Tundra in terms of size and power, yet still honored Toyota's compact pickup roots in terms of economy and off-road performance. The new Tacoma, while nearly as expensive as many competitor's full-size trucks, has been nothing short of a complete success. The Tacoma is currently the best-selling compact truck on the market.
Finally, in 2007, Toyota released the 2nd generation Tundra. This truck silenced all the critics that said Toyota's full-size trucks were really only 7/8th size, as well as offering the most powerful engine in the marketplace. The new Tundra has been extremely popular, setting sales records for Toyota in the full-size market. A lot of the new Tundra's success is because of it's class-leading 10,800 lb tow rating, made possible by the powerful 5.7L V8 and 6 speed automatic transmission.
What will Toyota do over the next 50 years? The short-term future is fairly clear -- Toyota will probably bring out a hybrid truck, as well as the first diesel engine offered by Toyota in the US. Looking back at Toyota's roots, there is even talk of Toyota selling a small, simple, and very inexpensive truck under the Scion brand. Toyota's next 50 years should be just as interesting as the last 50 - that's for sure.
Article Source: http://www.orbitaloc.com/
Author Jason Lancaster has been working in the auto business and with the Toyota Tundra for the better part of a decade. Get more Tundra Reviews at his website, www.tundraheadquarters.com.
Please Rate The Above Article From The Trucks Category
Article Title: Toyota 50th Anniversary: A Brief History of Toyota Trucks
Not yet Rated
Syndicate Trucks Related Articles Via RSS!
Subject to Orbitaloc.com's Publisher Terms of Service, you may reprint this
article on your own website, blog, and ezine. (English only) You may also syndicate
the article via Really Simple Syndication (RSS). It is free of charge.
Free Articles on Trucks and Other FREE Content Article Topics
The preceeding is an informative article from the Trucks category.
