Toyota Tundra

There were more than a few arched eyebrows and knowing smiles back in 1993 when Toyota had the audacity to take on Detroit’s Big Three in the full size pickup skirmishes with the T100. The first foray was assembled in Tokyo by Hino, and came in the form of a regular cab long-bed with 3.0 liter V-6 power. The initial T100 sold to the Toyota faithful, but ran smack into the indisputable fact that North American truck buyers traditionally like their pickups to have plenty of power and cabin room. Size, it would seem, really does matter no these shores. So Toyota responded in 1995 with a large 3.4 liter V-6 and an extended cab, gathering accolades for T100 build quality along the way, if not the sales it was looking for.

Through this initial assault met with limited success, Toyota learned valuable lessons, and regrouped for 2000 with the new Tundra in both regular cab and 4-door Access Cab versions, now built in Princeton, Indiana. The result was the best Toyota product sales first appearance ever, with more than 8000 Tundra going out the door in the first month. For 2002, Toyota hones the Tundra with minor wheel option revisions and, more significant, the availability of a limited-slip differential on V-8 models.