Tundra: Ready to Rumble in the American Truck War

With a brand new factory in Texas, Toyota Motor Corp., a Japanese automaker takes aim at Ford and Chevy. In the American truck war, Toyota's gamble will be its 2007 Tundra much larger Tundra.

2007 Tundra, which was launched at the Chicago Auto Show, is made larger than Chevrolet Silverado, Ford F-Series, Nissan Titan and Dodge Ram its mighty rivals in the truck segment. The latest model boasts that the enhanced Toyota Tundra parts paved way for greater towing capacity and truck performance. There are 3 available engine choices - 4.0 L V6, 4.7 L V8, and new 5.7 L V8.

The upcoming arrival of Tundra sends quiver to other auto giants. In fact, General Motors has hired John Mellencamp, Indiana-born rock star, to record a patriotic song entitled "Our Country" for a television ad for its Chevy Silverado. The ad says: This is our country; this is our truck. Said ad is designed to capture customers in the heart of America and to save its slipping sales in said territory.

Chevy Silverado pickup parts include powerful V-8 engine that make the truck efficient and high-performance. This year, Silverado is the second-best selling vehicle in the United States. So far, the best-selling vehicle around the globe is F-150. Said variant came from Ford's F-Series, which is composed of full-size pickup trucks. Ford F-150 pickup parts are designed to handle tough labor. Not only that, said model promises 250,000 miles and counting. Its reign in the truck war scene is attributed to its tough built and goodwill. Hitherto, Ford F-Series is deemed the bread-and-butter of the automaker.

Toyota wants to convince American truck drivers to trade their trucks for Tundra. This is the reason why the automaker added an American twist to its pickup. Another expected move is the moving of Tundra's production to the Texas plant. According to statistics, Texas is America's biggest pickup market. Statistics further divulged that out of every 4 vehicles sold is a pickup.

"Toyota has been expanding by building more plants in North America they put them in areas where they want to increase their business," said George Magliano, director of automotive industry research at Global Insight. "The idea is truck buyers become more loyal to a manufacturer that brings jobs and money into their state."

"One strength Toyota has is its ability to stick with a strategy," Magliano added. "They got into the truck market about 10 years ago, and they didn't have much success right away, but they just kept working at it. They keep on improving a product, and they eventually crack the market and that is how they are gaining market share in the United States."