TOYOTA T100 — Specifications & VIN Lookup

About the TOYOTA T100

The Toyota T100 is a mid-size pickup truck manufactured and marketed by Toyota for model years 1993–1998 for the United States and Canada over a single generation — and intended and designed specifically for the North American market.

The Toyota T100 is a mid-size pickup truck manufactured and marketed by Toyota for model years 1993–1998 for the United States and Canada over a single generation — and intended and designed specifically for the North American market. Other than in the United States and Canada, the T100 truck was also sold in the Middle East as the Toyota Grandlux between 1993 and 1996.

History As Toyota established itself in the North American compact pickup truck market in the 1980s through 1990s, the company offered a truck that was larger than the compact as an alternative to the traditional North American full-size pickup truck market. North American Toyota dealers had long been requesting a full-sized Toyota truck, especially in light of the high percentage of Truck owners who moved on to domestic full-sized trucks. The T100 reflected a philosophy of designing products specifically for localized international markets, where traditional products sold and made in Japan would not sell well. This approach is also demonstrated with the introduction of the mid-size Camry (XV10) which was larger than the compact Camry (V30) in 1991, and again in 1997 when the Sienna replaced the slow selling Previa. Rumored for many years before, the 1993 Toyota T100 featured a full-size (8 ft) pickup bed, retaining the engine and suspension setup of its smaller and older sibling, the compact Truck. Although the T100 was a bit larger than the competitive mid-size Dodge Dakota, it was still markedly smaller than full-size American pickup trucks of the time, thus occupying a niche in the mid-size truck market. Before introducing the T100, the company reflected on its history of commercial truck manufacture and products they offered in the past. Past products started with the G1, the FA, the BX, the Stout, the ToyoAce, and the Dyna, and its market successes with their Hino Division. Though economical, reliable, and practical, the T100 was slow to be accepted by traditional buyers of full-size competitors, while it was larger than both the Truck followed by the Tacoma compact trucks. Wary of the market pushback of competing directly with the Big Three, Toyota chose this somewhat smaller size (and limited lineup) so as not to risk blowback and import quotas. Although sales were slow at the start, the T100 sales did reach into the mid 40,000 vehicles sold range (1996) in the United States. Sales of the Chevrolet C/K were roughly 700,000 per year, while sales of the Ford F-Series surged from 550,000 to nearly 850,000 and Dodge from 100,000 to 400,000 with the introduction of the new Dodge Ram in 1993. Sales of the T100 fell approximately 30 percent when the new Ram went on the market in October 1993, 11 months after the T100's launch in November 1992.