Toyota T100

August 2nd, 2007 by Shenron

The Toyota T100 is the predecessor to the Toyota Tundra, and was a full sized pickup truck manufactured between 1993 and 1998, and it comes in the standard layout of a front engine rear wheel or front engine all wheel drive with the choice of cabs being a normal or extended cab, along with various engines to choose from. However, the T100 was heavily criticized for its smaller stature and inability to haul as much as the larger competitors in the full size truck ring – namely the Ford F-Series, Dodge Ram, and Chevy S-10. Only about forty thousand were sold each ear of its production run, with other manufacturer out pacing it by a much wider and larger number, with Ford going from half a million to three quarters of a million, Dodge going form a hundred thousand to nearly half a million, and GMC/Chevy staying close to a quarter of a million without change. Although Toyota was the one to beat when it came to compact pickups, it was beaten down in its full size truck venture until it dropped the T100 in 1998 for the Tundra. Another interesting note about the T100 is the fact it was the very last truck built in Japan and shipped to the U.S. until Toyota finally opened up a plant in the U.S.A. closing the final chapter on Japanese imported trucks for the most part.

The T100 was not without its better areas though, as it was very reliable and pretty much able to survive anything, along with having a very good fuel economy, being lightweight, and could reach speeds faster than a normal behemoth Full Sized pickup truck. The T100 had two transmissions, a five speed automatic and a five speed manual, along with three engines to choose from. There was the 2.7L 150 horse 4 cylinder, the 3.0 V6 150 horse, and the 3.4 C6 190 horse, which could be modified using an after market kit that would allow it to be bumped up to nearly 240 horses with enough power to make it a very fast vehicle. An interesting note and popular opinion amongst owners of the T100 is that the ones manufactured in Japan are much more reliable and well built than the ones that were finally manufactured here – along with repair report statistics that showed the American built pickups were prone to mechanical failures more oft than the imports.

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