Vx 540
Sounds like a Lexus Suburban 
04-13-02, 08:05 PM
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I heard about this on the May issue of Motor Trend Magazine. It was a small article on the one of the pages. Here's what it said:
Undaunted by the fact that it sold just 108,863 Tundras in the U.S. last year (versus 911,597 Ford F-Series), Toyota has major plans to expand its lineup of full-size trucks. First is the upcoming Lexus GX470 sport/utility vehicle that debuted at Detroit. The GX470 is not, as earlier believed, based on the Toyota Sequoia (which, in turn, is based of the Tundra pickup). Rather, it’s based on the Japanese-market Prado SUV, which is smaller than a Sequoia. The Prado is larger than the current Tacoma-based 4Runner and will serve also as the platform for the venerable sport/utility’s replacement due in the ’03 model year. The new 4Runner will be available with an optional V8, probably based on the same 4.7L engine used in the Tundra, Sequoia, and GX470. A Lexus based on the Sequoia comes in for a major redesign several years down the road. The Lexus version will be called VX540, which means it’ll be powered by a new 5.4L V8 from Toyota.
At Chicago, Toyota introduced the Tundra Sport Truck concept, which is an ’03 Tundra Stepside lightly disguised with TRD performance parts. Those parts include three-piece chrome alloy 20-in. HRE Performance wheels, a sport suspension package, and a TRD dual cat-back exhaust.
More important, the Sport Truck has the new production Stepside’s rather bulbous bed. The Stepside goes on sale this fall.
Toyota has even bigger plans for the ’04 Tundra; that’s when it adds a one-ton pickup to the line-up, a source says. The truck may have distinctive beefier sheetmetal to take advantage of the heavy-duty image and will be offered with the same 5.4 V8 engine slated for the next-generation Sequoia.
On the other hand, perhaps Toyota just needs a better marketing plan to sell more Tundras. The press kit for the Stepside referenced an otherwise overlooked Tundra trim package with this unfortunate name: Limited Access Cab.
Undaunted by the fact that it sold just 108,863 Tundras in the U.S. last year (versus 911,597 Ford F-Series), Toyota has major plans to expand its lineup of full-size trucks. First is the upcoming Lexus GX470 sport/utility vehicle that debuted at Detroit. The GX470 is not, as earlier believed, based on the Toyota Sequoia (which, in turn, is based of the Tundra pickup). Rather, it’s based on the Japanese-market Prado SUV, which is smaller than a Sequoia. The Prado is larger than the current Tacoma-based 4Runner and will serve also as the platform for the venerable sport/utility’s replacement due in the ’03 model year. The new 4Runner will be available with an optional V8, probably based on the same 4.7L engine used in the Tundra, Sequoia, and GX470. A Lexus based on the Sequoia comes in for a major redesign several years down the road. The Lexus version will be called VX540, which means it’ll be powered by a new 5.4L V8 from Toyota.
At Chicago, Toyota introduced the Tundra Sport Truck concept, which is an ’03 Tundra Stepside lightly disguised with TRD performance parts. Those parts include three-piece chrome alloy 20-in. HRE Performance wheels, a sport suspension package, and a TRD dual cat-back exhaust.
More important, the Sport Truck has the new production Stepside’s rather bulbous bed. The Stepside goes on sale this fall.
Toyota has even bigger plans for the ’04 Tundra; that’s when it adds a one-ton pickup to the line-up, a source says. The truck may have distinctive beefier sheetmetal to take advantage of the heavy-duty image and will be offered with the same 5.4 V8 engine slated for the next-generation Sequoia.
On the other hand, perhaps Toyota just needs a better marketing plan to sell more Tundras. The press kit for the Stepside referenced an otherwise overlooked Tundra trim package with this unfortunate name: Limited Access Cab.
That's hilarious
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