Wow, what an incredible performance
Good evening
and welcome to the beautiful island of Hawaii,
the big island.
Thanks so much for being here.
I know it's really hard to ask you all to come here,
all this way to this beautiful place.
But we are so glad you're here and so glad you can join us.
There is a reason we brought you all here.
The Toyota Tacoma has been the top selling
vehicle on the islands for the last 22 years.
So Tacoma is unofficially
the official vehicle of Hawaii
For us,
the Tacoma is the kingpin of our truck lineup.
And for the past 18 years, it has dominated
the midsize truck market in the United States.
While most other automakers backed out of the segment.
We saw the loyalty of our customers who drove their Tacoma's
400,000, 600,000,
and in some cases even a million miles.
Because of that strong customer loyalty,
we remain dedicated to the midsize truck market.
And we aren't just in the midsize truck segment.
We're all in on our entire rugged and capable truck lineup,
which is in the midst of an overhaul, starting
with the all new Tundra and Sequoia that launched last year.
And now we're excited to welcome
the third hybrid truck into the fold.
A true commitment to our global carbon reduction effort
that we call Beyond Zero.
We want to make electrification accessible to everyone.
Offering consumers more vehicle choices for reducing carbon
emissions than any other automaker.
For this new generation, the Tacoma will share the TNGA-F
body on frame platform that underpins our full sized trucks.
It features new, efficient
and powerful powertrain options.
The incredible four cylinder
turbo charged, i-FORCE MAX engine with 278
horsepower and 317 lb-ft of torque
and the i-FORCE MAX hybrid
has 326 horsepower
and a massive 465 lb-ft of torque.
Yes, you heard that right.
The i-FORCE MAX has nearly double
the torque of the current generation truck with the V6 engine
class leading torque from a body on frame
mid-size segment exclusive hybrid powertrain.
Not only is this new truck a powerhouse,
but we also made it a lot more comfortable.
Are awesome Engineering team in Michigan improved the comfort
and Off-Road capability with available Multi-link rear suspension.
Our US based CALTY design team significantly
improved the interior and the exterior,
and our Toyota Connected Technology
team improved the In-cabin experience.
With our audio multimedia system displayed on a 14 inch touch
screen, the largest in the class,
all designed and developed
right here in the US.
And don't even get me started on Tacoma's
legendary off road chops and go anywhere capabilities.
Off road enthusiasts have plenty of new toys
to play with, including a new front stabilizer bar
disconnect that makes this one hardcore truck on the trails.
We took Tacoma's
proven successful formula and elevated it.
Our lineup now consists of eight grades
and three configurations that offer either a five foot or a six foot bed
and we brought back extra cab as a new two door configuration
with a rear cabin cargo area, complete with clever lockable storage options
and a fold down passenger seat that doubles
as a convenient workspace.
As always.
SR5 and TRD models are the foundation of the Tacoma lineup
and the TRD Pre Runner returns for this fourth generation.
This affordable two wheel drive off roader is available
exclusively in the new extra cab configuration
with a lifted front suspension, rear
locking differential, and beefier tires.
Leaning in on further Tacoma's legendary road chops,
the new TRD Off-Road is available with 33 inch tires.
And yes, we're
still offering a manual transmission on gas grades.
How about that?
You can thank chief engineer and the biggest Tacoma
enthusiast himself, Sheldon Brown, for that one.
Thank you, Sheldon.
We're refining the limited grade with an exquisite new cabin and superior
ride comfort thanks to a new adaptive variable suspension system
that's always adjusting to the road conditions.
And don't forget the two Halo grades sitting right here in front of me,
both of which comes standard with the i-FORCE MAX hybrid.
The TRd Pro is lifted and three inches
wider, giving it an even more aggressive stance.
And it's equipped with Fox's new QS3 shocks
And finally, we are thrilled to show the world
and overlanding enthusiasts the all new Trailhunter.
It is a purpose built overlander that comes straight from the factory,
equipped with a heavy duty ARB rear bumper, with recovery points,
tons of underbody protection and a high clearance trail exhaust.
It also has rock sliders, an ARB
sport bar and Old Man Emu shocks,
and it can be further
customized through a laundry list of Toyota accessories.
The Trailhunter is purpose built from the ground up.
Can you tell I'm fired up about the all new Tacoma?
It's hard not to get a little carried away,
but I don't want to steal the thunder from two
very important people who know this truck better than anyone.
Please welcome to the stage Chief Engineer Sheldon Brown
and CALTY President Kevin Hunter.
Well, welcome, guys.
It's great to be here.
Thanks for coming.
Hey, thanks for having us. You too.
And your teams have spent an enormous amount of time building this great Tacoma.
So what have you been up to for the last decade?
Well, you know what, Dave?
It's nice that you ask because it turns out
we've been just a little bit busy.
In fact, you know what?
It's not that often
that you get a chance to redesign an iconic truck like the Tacoma.
In fact, many would tell you that it's a once in a career opportunity.
We had to nail this.
So what
inspired the development of the new Tacoma Sheldon?
Well, first, we wanted to zero in on the essence of Tacoma
We use descriptors like rugged, dependable, authentic, incredible.
Our development concept was ultimate overlander.
Go anywhere. Go everywhere.
Overlander would yield the new trail Hunter grade.
The latter, I think, speaks for itself.
A truck that has universal appeal, versatility both on and off road.
And our goal here was to continue to lead this segment.
All right, so what was the formula?
It all starts, you know, what, with the foundation of this truck,
and that's the new TNGA-F platform with this new Multilink suspension.
But we didn't stop there.
We developed a new leaf spring variant for our SR
grade to provide value conscious trucks to our customers.
We upgraded every aspect of the truck from the steering gear
to the drive shafts to the 17 inch disc brakes for off road enthusiasts.
We've also added 3D Multi-terrain monitors and an all new multi-terrain select
along with a near silent crawl control inside.
You'll find an all new cabin featuring a raised seating position
with vertical adjustability across all grades
and greater tilt and telescoping adjustability.
We'll tell you what.
I could go on for hours, but I'm going to sum it up with this.
We strove to provide an even greater separation between the grades.
Each grade uses hardware, spec
and performance based tuning to deliver that unique flavor.
It is truly impressive
how much went into making the new Tacoma perform better than ever.
But back to that concept of Tacoma-ness.
Kevin, your team's
built an absolutely amazing looking truck.
And how did they incorporate Tacoma-ness and this idea into the new design?
So when designing the Tacoma, our overall concept
was to create the ultimate adventure machine.
So we were inspired by the ultra rugged Toyota
Baja race trucks, and we looked at the trucks.
Ivan “Ironman” Stuart raced and thought, Why not try to capture
some of that extreme spirit into the new Tacoma?
And the Baja race truck had very pronounced fender flares
that protruded from the body to make room for the huge tires with crazy
high ground clearance.
So we designed it to be high lift,
lean body, big tires and an optimized cabin.
And this formula makes Tacoma stand out from the competition.
It stands out. All right.
But what are some of the distinct features of Tacoma?
Our design language for the Tacoma is interlocking shapes, and the interlock
design symbolizes unbreakable strength and the chiseled, undercut fender.
Forms are also part of our new truck DNA,
balanced with fluid forms that we call chiseled liquid.
And you can also see it in the front with a high mount, Slim headlamps
functional side air vents, and the hexagonal grille
motif that gives it a really strong, tough image.
The Upper Grille is rather slim, which is a throwback to the old Hilux days.
While the lower air intake and aggressive skid plate
take priority to express the extreme rugged nature of Tacoma.
so too
these Tacoma-ness elements move inside the cabin.
Yeah, they certainly do, Dave.
It has a rugged, chiseled vibe that does not compromise on utility.
And there are molly panels located on the front doors
and passenger side center console that also has a handy storage bin.
And we gave the interior a low horizontal axis
to give it that roominess while maintaining good outward visibility.
And for those extreme adventures, the center console grab
handle is available for your bouncing passengers to hang on to.
These two trucks certainly look the part.
Sheldon, can you make something clear for everybody?
What's the difference between Trailhunter and TRD Pro?
Glad you asked.
TRD Pro is the OG for Toyota Halo trucks.
It embodies the core identity of our adrenaline
fueled off road adventure machines.
It's about tearing through the desert but still behaving on the road
on the trip back home.
However, we did find that it was becoming a multipurpose tool
for all types of different off road adventures.
And as you can imagine, it became increasingly difficult
for us to make a truck that is built for speed and agility that is also,
well armored for tactical rock crawling and driving off road heavily laden.
So let me guess, that's where Trailhunter came in.
You got it? Exactly.
Take a quick glance at the Overland community
and you're going to see that Toyota trucks are the de facto choice.
The question for us was how do we bring value to our customers?
And the answer is simple Take care of the heavy lifting
and deliver a turnkey package suited to overlanding
that provides a platform for customization.
We reached out to a number of industry giants
who we knew had authentic and credible equipment
and developed integrated solutions for these real world needs.
Now, I'm not talking about just asking these guys, the companies,
to supply us parts to bolt on to our car.
This is a much, much, much deeper collaboration.
So, for example, we invited ARB to dispatch an engineer
to work directly onsite right at Toyota with our project development team.
The idea
here was to leverage ARB’s years of knowhow
with Toyota's exacting standards for QDR,
and that way we could deliver a seamlessly integrated product for overlanding
without compromising driver assist systems.
It's a win for Toyota, a win for ARB, and above all, a world
class product for our customers, straight from the factory.
And honestly, this is just one example.
It only gets better.
These ARB components among many more will be available
across the entire grade as we add accessories from Toyota.
So long story short Trailhunter.
It's all about going to far remote places and carrying all the gear that you need
for days, weeks, heck, even months on the trail.
On the other hand, TRD Pro takes its go fast
Baja inspired performance to the next level.
And the
big news is it debuts the segment first,
IsoDynamic Performance Seat IsoDynamic Performance
Seat that sounds so cool, but what is it?
I got to tell you what, exclusively available on the Tacoma TRD Pro.
This performance seat is designed with air over oil shocks
to isolate occupants from harsh off
road inputs and stabilize the torso and head
for better driver control and passenger comfort.
You can adjust the seat settings for the ultimate ride comfort on
and off road with adjustment knob on the back of the seat
Kevin
I got to tell you, man, this thing looks awesome with exposed shocks and gauges.
It's the ultimate in form and function.
I got to tell you, it's a bit tough to explain it, really.
It needs to be experienced.
And I can't wait for all of you folks
to get out in the trails and try it for yourself.
I tell you what, this thing is incredible.
Truly incredible. and I can't wait to try it for myself.
And all the other Tacoma features that are available.
I can't thank you both enough.
These two guys and their teams have literally spent years making Tacoma
Incredible. Thank you so much for being here.
Thanks so much for sharing the stories with us.
Let's give a round of applause to Sheldon and Kevin for the amazing work
on the 2024 Ford Tacoma.
Thanks so much.
With even more offroad
capability, the quality, dependability and reliability
our customers expect and a host of options for every owner,
we are confident that Tacoma will remain the top choice
for midsize pickup buyers when it arrives later this year.
And as only the full size hybrid in the midsize segment.
We are continuing to expand our electrified portfolio
toward our goal of carbon neutrality without compromising on performance.
With Tacoma, I-FORCE MAX.
That brings our total to over 22 hybrid models
across the Toyota and Lexus lineup
and 100% of our truck lineup
now offers an efficient and powerful hybrid option.
We are so excited to introduce Tacoma to the World
and to all the owners and enthusiasts who have made Tacoma
one of the best selling Toyotas of all time.
Production will start later
this year at Toyota Motor Manufacturing in Mexico.
But you get the first look and we can't wait for you to experience it.
And tell us what you think.
So please join us to check out the TRD Pro and the Trailhunter, as well
in the back, the TRD Sport and the Limited grades.
Thank you again for being here and let's have a great evening.
Thanks so much.