Early sign toyoyo never took their trucks seriously ?

[balthazar]

Strange, poorly done ad.

From 1994 Nat'l Geo- note the picture captions :

What's with "Truck" - couldn't remember the name ????

And wouldn't it help support "and everything in-between" if -say- the celica was on the left and the "Truck" was on the right ? Kinda a 'size range' thingie at least? Weird.

Edited March 1, 2010 by balthazar

[Robert Hall]

Strange, poorly done ad.

From 1994 Nat'l Geo- note the picture captions :

What's with "Truck" - couldn't remember the name ????

The facts are as such-- the Tacoma name didn't come out until '95, and they dropped the 'Hilux' name in US in '76, so in '94, 'Truck' was it's name...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Pickup

Edited March 1, 2010 by Cubical-aka-Moltar

[Intrepidation]

Perfer the name Hilux. Those are tough little trucks. We all saw what Top Gear has done with them.

[Robert Hall]

Interesting factoid--in some markets in the '90s, the Hilux was sold as the VW Taro! Never knew VW ever rebadged Toyotas..VW apparently built them in Germany for several years.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_Taro

Edited March 1, 2010 by Cubical-aka-Moltar

[Nick]

Perfer the name Hilux. Those are tough little trucks. We all saw what Top Gear has done with them.

As much as I dislike Toyota in general, an old 4-runner or hilux would make a cool offroading rig. There is a major aftermarket for those things, and they are pretty tough.

[Robert Hall]

As much as I dislike Toyota in general, an old 4-runner or hilux would make a cool offroading rig. There is a major aftermarket for those things, and they are pretty tough.

With the dry, salt-free climates, I still see older 4Runners and pickups running around in Arizona and Colorado. Still see the '70s Hilux campers occasionally.

[balthazar]

>>"Well, in 1994, it was still just the 'Truck' in the US. Tacoma name didn't come out until '95"<<

I'll accept this info, yet I have a '75 ad for a toyoyo truck and there it's captioned the "SR-5 Sport Truck".

That, at least, is a helluva lot easier to get excited about than...

"Truck".

-- -- -- -- --

What is it with auto marketers; 'Pontiac is Car', 'Toyota Truck', 'VW: the car' -- lame lame lame.

[Robert Hall]

>>"Well, in 1994, it was still just the 'Truck' in the US. Tacoma name didn't come out until '95"<<

I'll accept this info, yet I have a '75 ad for a toyoyo truck and there it's captioned the "SR-5 Sport Truck".

That, at least, is a helluva lot easier to get excited about than...

"Truck".

SR-5 was a trim level, they used that for a long time. IIRC, the Corolla and maybe the Celica also used SR-5 at different times.

Edited March 1, 2010 by Cubical-aka-Moltar

[Intrepidation]

I don't know why Toyota didn't just call it Helux liek in other markets.

[Robert Hall]

I don't know why Toyota didn't just call it Hilux like in other markets.

They did, until 1976. With the introduction of the Tacoma in '95, the Hilux and Tacoma diverged. Today's Tacoma is bigger than today's Hilux, which is still pretty compact. Here in AZ I see Mexico-plated Hiluxes occasionally.

Edited March 1, 2010 by Cubical-aka-Moltar

[balthazar]

Yea- I recall yoyo using SR-5 on nearly everything at one point or another.

But in the '75 ad, it's listed just like an official name.

Prolly didn't use "Hilux" in the US because there wasn't a single molecule of 'lux' involved.

Either that, or some of the convoluted thinking behind the whole nissan/datsun dance was involved.

[pow]

My grandpa had a green dually V6 Truck with a wooden crate bed, which was later replaced with a ginormous yellow ex-Ryder box. I recall going through the owners manual as a kid and thinking how odd it was that "Truck" was its name.

My uncle had an '80s Toyota "Van."

[SAmadei]

Compared to most of what Toyota has had since, the "Van" is kinda cool in retrospect.