Toyota Tundra

The Toyota Tundra is a pickup truck manufactured and sold by Toyota. It was introduced to replace the T100. The Toyota was Motor Trend magazine's Truck of the Year in 2000 and was also nominated for the North American Truck of the Year award. The first generation Tundra was launched in 1999 and was called the T150. However many people felt the name was similar to that of the Ford F-150. Ford filed a lawsuit against Toyota and the name was changed to Tundra. Though the Tundra was larger than the T-100 it was still considered smaller than the other domestic pickup trucks around at that time. There were two models available the, 3.4 L V6 and the 4.7 L V8. The second generation of Tundra trucks had updated exteriors and was launched in 2004. Models with new engines were launched in 2005. The two new models introduced were the 4.0 L V6 and the 4.7 L V8 with VVT-i; they also have newly designed handles that resembled those of the Toyota Sequoia. A much bigger version of the Tundra was introduced at the Chicago Auto Show and is to be launched in 2007. It is expected to compete with all the major domestic pickup trucks in the market. There are three models to be launched, a 4.0 L V6, a 4.7 L V8 and a brand new 5.7 LV8. These trucks are said to have towing capacities of approximately 10,000 lb. The Tundra is manufactured for North America in San Antonio, Texas and in Gibson County, Indiana. The Tundra sold more than double the amount of the T-100, with nearly 100,000 Tundra's sold each year. Although this was great with respect to company sales, the overall market share didn't pick up quickly. The latest range of Tundra trucks is Toyota's best bet for securing a significant share in the pick-ups segment.