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Toyota Tacoma takes on more off-road swagger, luxury


DETROIT -- Toyota is giving its Tacoma more off-road swagger and nodding to young buyers in a bid to keep the compact pickup atop a segment that just got a lot more competitive.
The automaker calls the redesigned 2016 model unveiled today at the Detroit auto show the "most powerful and fuel efficient Tacoma ever" and the "ultimate lifestyle vehicle" for active customers.
Nearly two out of every three compact pickups sold in the U.S. last year was a Tacoma -- quite a feat for a truck that hasn’t been overhauled in a decade.
But the new Tacoma that goes on sale this fall will be doing battle against tougher competition. General Motors re-entered the segment late last year with the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon. The duo captured more than 5,500 U.S. sales in December, while the Tacoma claimed more than 14,000 and the Nissan Frontier 6,060.


An updated Tacoma is “very needed given GM's aggressive move into the segment,” said David Whiston, an analyst with Morningstar. “I don't see GM being OK anymore with Toyota having over 60 percent share, so it will be a fun ‘war’ to watch in 2015.”
The new Tacoma will carry a 2.7-liter four-cylinder engine or a 3.5-liter V-6, a new powerplant for the segment. Both engines are paired to a six-speed automatic transmission. The V-6 is also available with a six-speed manual.
Toyota said the new Tacoma will come with more premium features. They include engaging crawl control, which takes over acceleration and braking so the driver can focus on steering.
“It’ll be first in the segment to have such a feature,” Tacoma chief engineer Mike Sweers said at an event last week in Ann Arbor, Mich.
The truck also has a multiterrain system that adjusts throttle and brakes to let the driver choose modes for driving over loose rocks, mud or sand.
The addition of a sound-absorbing headliner and floor silencer pad make the Tacoma cabin’s quieter than its predecessor, Toyota says.
In a nod to the automaker’s bid to attract younger, active drivers and the culture of social media, every Tacoma will come with a GoPro camera mount near the rearview mirror.
“We have the youngest customer, the most active customer in the segment, and they really use this truck as a tool, like their bikes, their snowmobiles, their ATVs,” Sweers said.
The pickup was developed primarily at the Toyota Technical Center in Ann Arbor. It will be assembled in Baja California, Mexico, and San Antonio.
To keep up with demand, Toyota will add a third shift at Baja California beginning in April to increase annual capacity to 84,000 at the plant.
The competition is expected to further intensify when Honda revives its Ridgeline truck next year and Nissan introduces a new version of its Frontier.
For now, analysts say that the new Tacoma will boost Toyota’s reputation for trucks and could lift sales for Toyota’s larger Tundra, which has struggled against the Ford F-150, Chevrolet Silverado and Dodge Ram, with only 5 percent of the market for full-size pickups.

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