Ford Beware: Toyota’s Press Touts Tundra "DNA"
By: Greg Levine | Features Editor
Will the Tundra freeze out Amercia's big three automakers? The Tundra is Toyota Motor’s entry in the pickup segment – and Toyota North America President Jim Press says the giant truck is a true original with “guts.”
Speaking to CNBC’s Phil LeBeau at the 2007 North American International Auto Show, Press said the Tundra’s engineering was “based on the Toyota DNA.” He explained that his company did not seek inspiration in trucks made by General Motors, Chrysler or Ford Motor – despite the latter’s decades of U.S. pickup sales dominance – preferring Toyota’s own design manifesto.
As to Ford’s supposed hometown advantage, Press noted that Toyota has been operating in the U.S. for “50 years now” – and underscored that the Tundra’s “engineering was done here” in America. He points out that Toyota vehicles are manufactured in Alabama, Indiana and Texas. And the North America chief says the massive pickup is being marketed to households where “there’s already a Camry in the garage – and they want to stay in the Toyota family.”
If you’re convinced of the Tundra’s quality and power but curious about the price point, you’ll have to wait: Press coyly told the “Power Lunch” crew that “ we haven’t done the prices yet.”
