Autoblog

Sluggish market conditions in the United States are the reason Toyota Motor Corp. is slowing down the launch of its new Highlander crossover plant in Tupelo, Mississippi. Originally scheduled to open in late 2009 with production at 150,000 vehicles per year, Toyota will instead begin production in May 2010 with an expected reduced annual output of 120,000 units a year. Of course, that number will increase if U.S. market conditions improve.

While the slowing economy is a leading reason for the delay, Toyota officials also confirmed that they are facing difficulty hiring skilled labor for the Tupelo project. They are now recruiting from around the country to fill positions in maintenance, along with tool and die engineers. Toyota expects to employ 2,000 workers at Tupelo. This isn't the first time Toyota has faced recruiting issues. When they opened San Antonio in 2004 and 2005, they found themselves challenged to staff the Tundra pickup plant. The Texas plant recently made headlines when Toyota slowed production of the Tundra. For the fiscal year, Toyota is forecasting operating profits to decline by 29-percent.

[Source: Automotive News, subs. req'd]

Although Toyota has recently claimed the title of the World's Largest Automaker in terms of global sales, the Japanese-giant is finding out that life at the top isn't all it's cracked-up to be. While the Camry, Corolla, Yaris and Prius sedans are reportedly brisk movers, the same thing cannot be said about Toyota's line of trucks and sport utility vehicles. Toyota has cut Tundra and Sequoia production already, but dealers are still declining to purchase them, pushing the number of unclaimed units to an all-time high. Automotive News quotes an unnamed Toyota dealer as saying, "Last month, Southeast Toyota had 9,700 vehicles that had been turned down twice by dealers and are either sitting at the port or at sea. That's a significant number." Right now, Toyota/Scion has a high 58-day supply of available inventory on hand.

Some dealers, though, see the high number of available units as a blessing-in-disguise. "We've been asking for more inventory for two years and now we finally got it. This is a great opportunity. You have to take it when you can get it," says Steve Cain, general manager of Lewis Toyota-Scion in Topeka, Kansas. Regardless of your viewpoint, we expect that Toyota will align itself with market realities in order to bring production in line with actual sales sooner rather than later. In other words, if you've been in the market for a Toyota truck, chances are good you'll get a decent deal.

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]

High horsepower trucks have come and gone. The SVT Lightning and Ram SRT10 are but two examples, but we miss the GMC Syclone something fierce, as well. Toyota is readying its TRD supercharger for the Tundra, which should help sate those who hunger for extra horsepower in their truck. An employee of Toyota of El Monte, California and member of TundraSolutions.com revealed on his forum that TRD reps brought a Sequoia to his dealership equipped with the TRD supercharger mounted on the large SUV's 5.7-liter V8 – the same V8 in the Tundra. Not only did he say that TRD claimed a rating of 504 horsepower, an increase of 123 over the stock engine, but he also got the opportunity to ride shotgun while one of his fellow employees took it for a road test. He even brought back the above picture as proof. Visit the Tundra Solutions forum to see the details of the kit and read about the test drive.

[Source: Tundra Solutions via PickupTruck.com]

Click above for high-res gallery of the 2007 Toyota Tundra Limited

As of today, production of the Tundra full-size pickup is split between Toyota's facility in Princeton, Indiana, and the automaker's brand new San Antonio plant in Texas. According to a Wall Street Journal report, Toyota is considering moving all production of the Tundra to just the Texas plant. Just over two weeks ago, Toyota announced it was slowing production on the Tundra (and Sequoia) due to lagging sales. The move to consolidate all Tundra manufacturing in one location may be seen as a sign Toyota only expects to sell 200,000 full-size units or less this year, as that number represents the production capacity of the Texas facility. You may remember that Toyota boldly claimed it would sell 200,000 units of the Tundra in 2007, the newly redesigned truck's first year of sales. It missed that target, but not by much with 196,555 units sold. Toyota hasn't officially commented on the rumor yet, but we'll let you know when it breaks the silence.

UPDATE: Toyota has issued a statement saying it is not moving all Tundra production to San Antonio.

[Source: PickupTruck.com]

Click above for high-res gallery of our time with the 2008 Toyota Sequoia

Gigantor. The 2008 Toyota Sequoia arrives humongously revised from the already beefy first-generation. The Timberland Mica (Metallic Green) example that Toyota lent us for a week definitely deserves whatever size-related superlatives you can dream up. It's big, it's powerful, it doesn't sip fuel. There is a need and a market for this type of vehicle, however. If Sequoia buyers don't actually utilize its considerable capabilities, that's not Toyota's fault. This year marks the migration of Toyota's full size Sport Utility to the same mechanicals that underpin the new Tundra, ladling on capability to an already fairly competent and refined vehicle.


All photos ©2008 Dan Roth / Weblogs, Inc.

Of course, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and we can all admit that this Toyota Tundra "Warrior" prototype has a sinister presence in its shiniest, blackest finery. That silly fake intake is still there in the grille surround, but the rest of the look is successful. It's too bad Toyota didn't pay attention to the TRD Off Road concept's schnoz; thankfully that 2007 show-goer was free of faux scoopery. The Warrior appeared at the Chicago Auto Show to gauge public reaction to the SR5-based upgrade package. We like it. In fact, we think it's the best looking Tundra we've seen. The "none more black" exterior is complemented by various touches of brushed metal on the side mirrors, door handles, and fuel door, the latter of which you'll be seeing a lot of if Toyota builds a 5.7-liter 4x4 version. There's also tinted taillight lenses and handsomely contrasting 17-inch TRD wheels, and can we get a "hell yeah" for the revised lower fascia out front?

We haven't seen any interior shots, but it reportedly banishes some of the Gladware feel of the cabin we experienced when the Tundra visted the Autoblog garage. Mirroring the outside's carbonite treatment, the interior is also decked out in inky hues with brushed metal brightwork. If and when the Warrior hits showrooms, it could be available as an upgrade on 4x2 and 4x4 models with the 4.7- and 5.7-liter V8s, so no V6 Warrior for you.

[Source: PickupTruck.com, photo: PickupTruck.com]

The never-ending saga of Toyota's struggle to gain acceptance for its Tundra pickup in the U.S. market was made more difficult today with a new recall affecting some 15,600 trucks. Apparently the rear propeller shaft on some four-wheel-drive Tundras could separate at a joint because Toyota's supplier improperly heat treated it. Automotive News reports that Toyota discovered the problem when a single owner complained about noises coming from that area of his truck. Only one case of the shaft actually separating from the joint has been reported according to Toyota, and it did not result in an accident.

Credit Toyota for investigating the issue and determining which trucks are affected, then actually issuing this recall despite knowing it will hurt in the court of consumer opinion. In addition to today's recall, Toyota has also had to deal with Tundra owners complaining of "rumble strip" noises coming from the transmission, camshaft failures on a small number of trucks, and weak tailgates that have failed.

Toyota still hopes to sell 200,000 Tundras this year, and through the end of November has actually sold 177,336 units. It will require a BIG sales month in December to move nearly 25,000 Tundras, especially considering that the pickup's best selling month this year was July when 23,150 Tundra were sold.

[Source: Automotive News, Toyota]

Toyota is selling a heap more Tundra trucks this year than it did last year. It's simply not selling enough -- maybe -- to reach its goal of selling 200,000 units this year, the first year the all-new bigger and badder Tundra has been on sale. As of the end of November, the big T had rolled 177,336 Tundras off dealer lots (no mention of whether or not any of those included the old model), which represents a 58.3-percent jump in sales over last year's numbers.

But the segment overall has taken an 8-percent plunge in the tide of recent economic developments, and November Tundra sales were down almost 17-percent from October: 14,988, compared to October's 17,868. For Toyota to reach its goal, it has to move more than 22,000 Tundras in December. This means it has to post a sales increase of more than 50% in a market looking more and more like... a barren tundra. If it's really serious about making that goal, some of you out there should be licking your chops: there's money on the hoods.

Bob Carter, Toyota Division general manager said, "We use incentives tactically to offer reasons to buy Toyotas at certain times of the month." You know the reason, and this is the month. Current model year 2007 Tundras get interest-free financing for five years, while 2008 models will get interest-free financing for three. Come 'n' git it.

[Source: Auto News]

The 2008 Toyota Sequoia is bigger, badder, and pricier for the 2008 model year. The fully-redone SUV now starts at $34,150 for the base model, and shoots all the way to $55,800 for the top-end Platinum edition. The outgoing model started $1,000 cheaper at $33,160, and the higher end Limited will now run you about $3,000 more, up to $45,225. The main reason for the Limited model's jump in price is that same 381 hp 5.7L V8 and six speed auto that powers the Tundra is found under hood.

Unfortunately, Toyota also felt the need to use the same hideous interior as its largest truck, which is a full-size bummer. Overall, though, the Sequoia's added size, the new optional 5.7L V8, and 13% jump in fuel economy combine to be much more impressive than the outgoing model's offerings, making the 3% price jump a decent deal overall. Toyota's full press release is available after the jump.



[Source: Toyota]

click above image to view more pics of the Toyota Tundra Diesel Dually

With a strong OEM presence at SEMA, automakers are forced to bring The Badass to the masses. Toyota has apparently been overrun with requests from customers for some form of diesel motivation in its Tundra pickup and the automaker has responded... sort of... with the Tundra Dually Diesel. Toyota utilized two Tundra CrewMax pickups that were joined at the hip to lengthen the frame and add an additional foot to the bed. Although the majority of the Tundra Dually Diesel is bespoke show material, the drivetrain has been pulled straight from a Hino medium duty truck, with the only exception being a custom split driveshaft.

The crown jewel of the Dually is a JO8E 8.0-liter inline six turbodiesel, making around 300 HP and 600 lb.-ft. of torque. Shoehorning that kind of mill into the tight confines of the Tundra proved to be a challenge. The body had to be lifted off the frame by three inches and after some hacking and chopping of the firewall, they were finally able to fit the 1,500 pound engine into the bay. Between fitting the oil burner into the snout and mating it to a five-speed Allison tranny, the interior accoutrements have suffered – the HVAC controls are nonfunctional and the massive stick is there to provide additional leverage when shifting gears.

Mike Levine has a great write up covering all the details of the Tundra Dually Diesel, which is worth a read. And even though this mutha' runs, don't expect a production version to make it to dealers any time soon.

We've added Toyota's press release after the jump.