Test Drive: Toyota Tundra seriously better for 2014 - USA TODAY
The progenitor, called T100, was too small and had no V-8. It lasted from 1993 to 1998. The bigger first-generation Tundra, with optional V-8, was still considered a bit undersized for "real" truck buyers. It lasted from 2000 to 2006. Then the real Tundra — big, beefy-looking and a super-size V-8. What could go wrong. That Tundra was launched as a 2007 model, welcomed by a recession that viciously destroyed, among other things, truck sales. Tundra sales bottomed out at 79,385 in 2009, Autodata figures show. After all that, here comes the 2014 Tundra, a significant update that Toyota says is sufficiently different to anoint it the third-generation Tundra. Of course, Toyota called the 2012 Camry "all-new" even though it was, at most, an update. The 2014 Tundra models have the same wheelbases and cargo-bed dimensions as the 2013. Exterior measurements don't vary by more than about an inch. Interior room is an inch less here, an inch more there. Payload ratings have declined, ranging from 1,255 pounds to 2,040 pounds, depending on configuration, down from the 2013's 1,450 to 2,090 pounds. The new Tundra goes into production at Toyota's San Antonio plant this month and should be at dealers later in August. The economy's edging back, and there's a sales boom among full-size pickups, so Tundra's got. Source: www.usatoday.com
