4 Things You Didn’t Know About the Toyota Tundra’s History
The Tundra is Toyota’s full-size pickup truck. This pickup truck has a devoted fan base among off-road enthusiasts and Toyota lovers. But here are four things even the Tundra’s biggest fans may not know about their trucks.
The Tundra name came out of a Ford lawsuit
From 1992 through 1998, Toyota’s full-size pickup truck was the T100. When the automaker began redesigning the vehicle, it planned to rebrand it as the T150. That is, until Ford heard about the new name.
According to WideOpenRoads.com, Ford Motor Company actually sued Toyota over trademark infringement ahead of the T150’s release. This is even though other half-ton pickup trucks–such as Dodges–were known as 150s before most automakers bumped them up to the 1500 badge. Toyota backed off and renamed its full-size truck the Tundra. And the rest, as they say, is history.
The Toyota Tundra was the world’s fastest full-size truck–for 13 years
Yes, that’s not a typo. Toyota upgraded its Tundra with a 5.7-liter V8 for the 2007 model year. Toyota Racing Development immediately engineered a dealership-installed supercharger option. MotorTrend tested a regular cab/short bed 2008 Toyota Tundra TRD Supercharged’s 0-60 mph time at 4.4 seconds. It continued on through the 1/4-mile in 13 seconds.
With these times, the Tundra TRD was quick enough to beat the 2004 Dodge Ram SRT-10, making it the fastest full-size truck MotorTrend had ever tested. It held onto this title until it was dethroned by another supercharged truck: the 2021 Ram 1500 TRX.
Read more about the supercharged Tundra TRD.
The Toyota Tundra is proud of its American heritage
The Tundra pickup truck is assembled in Toyota’s San Antonio, Texas plant. Moreover, many suppliers of Tundra components are based in the same facility. The result is that one in every 200 Texas workers owes their job to the Toyota Tundra. Some industry analysts go as far as to call the Toyota Tundra the most American-made full-size pickup truck (Cars.com).
For its part, Toyota is very proud of the Tundra’s American heritage. One of the top trims of the Tundra–the Western-themed 1794 Edition–pays homage to this aspect of the truck. Toyota San Antonio is built on the grounds of an old cattle ranch that was founded in–you guessed it–1794.
You can learn what makes the Toyota Tundra the most American-made pickup truck.
The Toyota Tundra is bringing futuristic technology to the pickup truck segment
Toyota released the third generation of the Tundra for the 2022 model year. It was the first full-size pickup truck manufacturer to do away with its V8 engine option. Instead of the old V8, every new Tundra is powered by some version of a turbocharged 3.4-liter V6. The highest trim engine option is the i-FORCE MAX-a fully hybrid powertrain. So while the Tundra has a unique history full of interesting facts, this Toyota is also driving the future of the pickup truck.
Next, find out what the Tundra’s SR and SR5 trim levels stand for or see how much the Tundra has changed over the years in the video below:
