Imagine if Toyota came out tomorrow and said, "We're going to make a better Corvette than Chevy, and we're going to build it just outside Bowling Green, Kentucky." That would take some huevos. But that's essentially what Toyota did when it announced plans to build a full-size truck plant outside San Antonio, Texas -- right in the heart of full-size truck country. Drive around some Texas big cities, and you'd think one in every two vehicles on the road is a full-size pickup. Get into the smaller towns outside the "big cities," and it's even more than that.
Unless you've been living under a rock for the last several years, you're aware the new Toyota Tundra is about as large a risk as Toyota has ever taken. Long known for its conservative, don't-want-to-attract-attention strategy of automotive manufacturing, Toyota has taken everything it's been about for the last 50 years, thrown it right out the window, and decided to play this new model introduction like the big boys. And if you want to be a big boy, there's no bigger league than the full-size pickup truck market. This has been one of the strongest and most "American" vehicle segments since it started over 100 years ago. And here comes Toyota with the all-new, completely redesigned Tundra. It wasn't that long ago Toyota first stuck a toe into the water with the V-6-only T100 and then stayed in the shallow end with the first-gen 7/8th-scaleTundra; now this new Tundra is like dropping a fat-kid cannonball from the high dive into the deep end, completely soaking Ford, GM, and Dodge. And from the look of it, Toyota seems to be doing all the right things.
The new Tundra offers three different powertrains (one V-6 and two V-8s), with the 5.7-liter V-8 a high-tech wonder and torque monster -- this is the most powerful engine offered in any half-ton configuration. Toyota's platform has the entire segment covered with three different bed sizes, three separate wheelbases with five different cab and bed configurations, combined with three different trim packages (Tundra Grade, SR5, and Limited) in 4x4 and 4x2 drivetrains -- 44 different truck flavors from work truck to luxury touring. Offering that kind of variety right out of the gate is impressive and ambitious; in fact, some might say too ambitious.
The recent launch of the new Tundra hasn't been without a few "hiccups." Several months ago, an early run of camshafts in the 5.7-liter V-8 were failing. Toyota tells us it tracked down all the affected parts to a specific batch and has since made the corrections to the design. No failures have been reported since. More recently, there've been reports of shudder in the transmission under certain low-speed conditions, which dealers have traced to an issue with the torque converter. Toyota says these reports were isolated and have also been resolved. Then, the new Tundra took a bit of a hit when Consumer Reports identified some issues with the 4x4 models that kept them from getting their highest ranking. Toyota is working with CR and still investigating the sources but it may be due to something as small as a sticky actuator. Finally, there's been chatter on the Web about some tailgate reports that Toyota is in the process of tracking down. Many such stories are bound to spread like wildfire, given the lightning-rod effect this new truck is having with truck enthusiasts, and the speed with which an Internet item can travel.
What does all this mean to the new-truck buyer? Probably not a whole lot, but it does speak volumes to how difficult it is mapping out an ambitious plan of attack on a new market, especially when considering this is the biggest segment in the U.S. auto industry -- and has been for more than 30 years. No question there's a lot riding on this and whether Toyota fully succeeds (and some argue that just getting to this point is a huge success for the manufacturer) or completely flops; this single vehicle launch will send ripples in the auto industry for many years to come.
We can only guess what it'll mean for the next-generation Dodge Ram, Chevy Silverado, or Ford F-150, but we'll find out soon enough. As to our judging panel of experts at this year's Truck of the Year competition, we've had plenty of heated debates about the various strengths and weaknesses of the new Tundra. Is it a perfect truck? That all depends on what you need, but the fact that Toyota is offering so many flavors speaks well for its future. It wasn't so long ago that the last-generation Ford F-150 and all-new Nissan Titan went head to head (2004), and the Ford came out the victor largely because it offered a new engine and a full line of cabs, wheelbases, bed lengths, and trim levels. The Nissan just had a Crew Cab and Extended Cab model, both on the same wheelbase. Look for a close race between the various heavy duties in this year's competition and the all-new Tundra.
Click here to see an exclusive 2008 TOTY photo gallery of the Toyota Tundra 4x2 DoubleCab & Toyota Tundra 4x4 CrewMax Limited!