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 Toyotaenthusiast - 4x4 InfoOriginsToyota Pickups in the United States
By the mid-1980s, the United States was licking its economic wounds from two Arab oil embargoes, the runaway stagflation of the 1970s, and a recession. The sames pressures which were merely squeezing the American economy were crushing Detroit and the Big 3 automakers Ford, Chrysler (now DaimlerChrysler), and GM. The Big 3 had an additional burden of being poorly positioned in their product marketing mix (very few economy cars) and faced skyrocketing labor costs. Chrysler's Lee Iacocca had just finished begging Congress for loan guarantees to bail out the failing Chrysler corporation. The Big 3 along with the United Auto Workers union lobbied Congress to slap an import tariff on all imported pickup trucks entering the United States. This move was a direct attack on Toyota and to a lesser extent on Datsun (now called Nissan). The Big 3 saw this as a way to eliminate a competitor which was doing a superior job of competing. The UAW saw this as a way to protect union jobs from cheaper foreign labor. The politicians saw this as a way to get votes from blue collar workers and to bolster the flagging economy at the same time. The only people hurt would be Toyota and the consumers who purchased their products. The net result was that the cost of importing a truck from Japan became so high that Toyota was no longer in a good position to compete. To address this concern, Toyota formed a joint venture with General Motors (GM) in 1984 to build Toyota products in the US, for sale to the US market, using unionized UAW labor. The venture was named New United Motors Manufacturing, Inc. or "NUMMI" (pronounced NUMI) for short. They first plant was built in Fremont, California just miles away from a recently closed Ford assembly plant in Milpitas, California. At the new plant, they built the US version of the Hi-Lux pickup, Geo (Chevrolet) products, and a US version of the Toyota Corolla. 4x4 Revolution4x4 RevolutionBy the mid 1970s, it was clear that the popularity of 4 wheel drive vehicles was more than just a passing fad. In 1978, Toyota began selling a 4x4 version of its popular Hi-Lux pickup truck in the US and Canada. Sales were swift. Trekker & 4RunnerTrekker & 4Runner Concurrent to the Trekker production run, Toyota was working with other vendors on similar prototypes called the Toyota Wolverine and Toyota Blazer. These very rare trucks are similar to the Trekker, but have subtle differences. In 1983, Toyota took over production of the Trekker and renamed it the 4Runner which first hit the streets in October 1983 for the 1984 model year. Toyota jettisoned the fiberglass body design in favor of steel, but they retained the removable fiberglass top. PickupPickupFrom 1984 to 1995, Toyota sold a mini truck which they referred to simply as a "Pickup". (In most Non-US countries, it retained the Hi-Lux name, however..) 2 wheel drive and 4 wheel drive were both available. The standard engine was the 22R/22RE 4-cylinder, but in 4X4 SR5 models, a 3VZ-E 3.0L V6 was optional. Minor body stylings like a third brake light and different mirrors constituted restylings in the early 1990s. Longbed models were available until the introduction of the T100 in 1993. The Pickup was sold until 1995 when it was restyled and given the designation Tacoma. TacomaTacoma 1. Toyota needed a compact truck which could dodge the import truck tariff. A truck made in the US such as the Tacoma fulfilled that purpose nicely. |