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Show The 1999 Ford te Contour is isp, 5 The Salt Lake Tribune both practical EcTlo, and fun to drive, see story on Page E-2. 2 FRIDAY aa sAeee TRGeka sahe Hesse AGESET CTI ® CLASSIFIEDS, E-2 Toyota takes anotherrun atfull- ize truck with Tundra By MATT NAUMAN Saber! KNIGHT RIDDER NewsParers. PUAKO, Hawaii — Toyota, an incredibly wealthy, incredibly successful company, has had few failuresin its history Its first attempt to sell cars to Americansis one. Morerecently, the y estricted along Interstate 15 through the Sait Lake Valley due to reconstruction sion for Toyota MotorSales, U.S.A. inc. tly more forthcoming is May 28— June 3 senior vicepresident for Toyota’s automotive operations: “The T100 was aninterimstep for us. At the time the T100 was done, we couldn't have done this truck.” This truck is the 2000 Toyota Tun- T100 pickuptruck sticks out like a dra. Workers at Toyota’s new $1.2 sore thumb, billion factory in Indiana began Perhaps. no other vehicle defines assembling the full-size pickup in America perfectly as a full-size February. It arrived at dealerships. pickup.It’s big, almost brutish. In its most primitive form, it has an this month just before its official Toyota brought the Japanese-built 2. It wasn’t asbig as was evidence of Toyotatrying not to rockthe boat too hard. or the Chevrolet C- This time around, Toyota isn’t release in June. enclosed cab to carry three adults and The T100arrived just as the United then a big open bed for carrying States and Japan were engagingin a almost anything else. Under the war of words about tariffs. To some, hood, there’s a big V8 engine that that the T100 wasless than what the provides tons of torque for towing. full-size pickup market demanded The 2000 Tundra comes faba with a V8 engine that can carry a maximum payload of 2, 000 oui: sold by Ford, Chevy and Dodge. In braking tests of vehicles equipped with antilock braking systems and and box style and being bashful. Let the boat rocking carrying a 1,200-poundpayload, the size, it was available in far fewer begin. varieties. And, most damning, it Compared with the T100, the Tun- Tundra stopped more quickly Toyota has said it can build about camewithout a V8 engine. dra is bigger, cheaper and, at last, The results were predictable. comes equipped with a V8. That 100,000 Tundras annually once full Inafull-size pickup market that has grown to 2 million sales a year, the T100 was barely a blip. In its best year, Toyota dealers sold 38,000 T100s. By 1998, that number had fallen to 8,000. Whydid the T100fail? “Tt was an export vehicle and the should makeit more appealing totra~ ditional truck buyers. The Tundra will compete in the half-ton segment that rules the fullsize market. Although the 190-horsepower, 3.4-liter V6 is listed as the speed in October. Stewa dealers. Even Esmond calls that conservative.” even though standard engine, about 9) percent of itll representthe mostfirst-year sales buyers will select the new 245-horsepower, 4.7-liter i-Force V8. Thanks ofany new Toyotavehicle soldin the Stewart,the editorial director of the truck group ofPetersen magazines, which includes Four Wheeler and to its 315 pounds-feet of torque, the Initial buyers will be Toyota loyal- V8 will have a maximum payloadof 2,000 pounds and maximum towing ists cominginto the full-size pickup markets. That includes those who Forits part, Toyota won't call the T100afailure. It sold a T100 as a mid-size truck, but since the automaker already sold a smaller Stewart calls it “a great V8." Tundrawill comein two- andfourwheel-drive variants; as a two-door 400,000 people who comeinto the full-size pickup market each year pickup — nowcalled the Tacoma — comparisonswith the Big Boys were inevitable. “We have leamed a lot about the full-size pickup truck market since we launched the T100,” said Don capacity of7,200 pounds. regular cab with aneight-foot bed or as a four-door Access Cab with a 6 1/2-foot bed; and with either a four- general managerof the Toyota Divi- States. ‘The secondtarget groupwill be the from adifferent vehicle. “We'll do better with those people initially,” said Kevin Higgins, Toyota's market planning manager for pickuptrucks. Athird target group of buyers are In independent tests conducted by those whopresently own a domestic five-speed manual (V6only). AMCI butpaid for by Toyota, the mphfaster than the base V8 models as, full-size truck and animport vehicle of some type. Full-size pickup owners tend to be RIVERTON 5 is ri The Tundra’s cab features plenty of room for driver and passengers. incrediblyloyal, butit’s certainly true the 25 percenttariffattachedto every that they’ve had only three choices T100 it shipped here from Japan. — resently drive T100s. speed automatic transmission or a Esmond, group vice president and Tundra accelerated fromzero to 60. Ford, Dodge or GM (Chevy or GMC) — in thepast. Price could be a motivating factor. A standard-cab V6-equipped Tundra with astick shift will cost $14,995 plus $420 destination charge — that’s the lowest suggestedprice for a regular cab, eight-foot-box full-size pickup, Toyota says. A two-wheel- Stewart said he’s talked to buyers whopaid $26,000 for a T100 a few years bit toget They're chompingat the into a newer,bigger, better Tundra with a V8 for $21,000 or $22,000. “You have to have a V8 and they've got one,” Stewart said. “You have to have capacity to seat four. drive Tundra SRS with Access Cab They've gotthat. You haveto have a will cost $22,250 plus destination competitive price andthey've got that. charge. Since it builds the truck in a U.S. plant. Toyota won't have to pay Schedule subject to change The Salt Lake Tribune “I like the truck andtheprice.” me, y ay A 4 Ao $ | YOU KEEP THE REBATE START AT 22,634 #41,734" 43,7: i Pe E ROPERCENT Back 99 SILVERADO 4X4 PICKUP 4X4, V8, 5 SPD, MORE! *20,495| Sim| Tove? ERADO-EX 8 AUTO, TOWPR a POWER sf 28 195 K 0 DOWN 0 SECURITY DEPOSIT O ist MONTHS PAYMENT 1999 OLDS ALERO GX 0 DOWN 0 SECURITY DEPOSIT 0 ist MONTHS PAYMENT soi re 99 TAHO 4 AUTO, V8, LOADED $32.5 - sonre | 1999 OLDS INTRIGUE GX ‘= © en AS LOW AS Or: 7 FINANCING CRT, PERCENT on Selected Models pew ZER amml w” we GOD =) 2. ~ sebctobededh | iy be an easy goal for Toy price was very high,” said John Sport Truck. i, ne ~ production is reached whenthe Indi- ana plant's second-shift is up to 99 OLDS CUTLASS GL STARTING °16,995 9aiae pe 1999 OLDS SILHOUETTE MSRP $29,370 25,995 |
