INSIDEout: Cars & Trucks Says February Introduction of 2014 Toyota Tundra Is Big News

AUSTIN, Texas, Jan. 24, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- It should be great news for central Texas that Toyota just announced the unveiling of the 2014 Tundra full-size pickup truck at the Chicago Auto Show early next month, according to Linda Water Nelson, of INSIDEout: Cars & Trucks and vehicle editor of Texas Fish & Game Magazine and an accompanying truck blog.

"While very little information has been made available from Toyota, I expect that the Tundra will continue to be built at the San Antonio truck plant that the company currently operates," Water Nelson said.  "It's a modern and agile plant (also home to the mid-size Tacoma) built for trucks and has a very stable, committed work force."

This is an extremely active time for the truck manufacturers across the board.  RAM-brand from Chrysler was the first to bring out an almost completely redesigned 1500 full-size pickup for the 2013 model year, and it has received virtually every truck award for which it became eligible, including Truck of Texas from the Texas Auto Writers Association.  GM was next with its December unveiling of long-awaited Silverado and GMC full-size trucks, which begin production in April of this year.  At the Detroit (NIAIS) Auto Show earlier this month showed its F-150 full-size truck.   All of these new introductions have features and options that make them more fuel efficient than Toyota's current Tundra. 

While Toyota has been able to keep the information about an actual release date fairly well concealed, there have been rumblings about a redesigned 2014 circulating for a long time, Nelson explained.  Among the Tundra community, bloggers have been guessing that engine and drive train will not be changed dramatically, but there will be steps made to increase fuel efficiency.  Light-weighting is a probability and perhaps some form of technology which decreases the number of cylinders in use when the truck is stopped in traffic.  Also expected is a major redo of the interior which has been refreshed but not redesigned for almost a decade.

"This is a well-timed move on Toyota's part. They need to be part of the marketplace with a truck that has the bells and whistles.  As with all truck owners, there is considerable loyalty, but if Toyota had waited much longer the horse could have been well out of the barn," Water Nelson added.

SOURCE INSIDEout: Cars & Trucks