Toyota Motor Corp. unveiled a bigger, faster Land Cruiser this week that will compete with other large sport utility vehicles like the Lincoln Navigator.
The 5,225-pound behemoth also marks the first time that Toyota, known for smaller vehicles like the Camry and Tercel, has put a brawny eight-cylinder engine in a vehicle."I guess it's an indication of us becoming more Americanized," said Dave Illingworth, senior vice president of Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. "We go where the consumer wants to go."
What the consumer apparently wants - and will get - with the new Land Cruiser is a longer, heavier and faster ute that accelerates more quickly. Toyota also boasts that the 1998 Cruiser has improved fuel efficiency to meet California's emission standards.
The new Cruiser will compete against the Lincoln Navigator and Land Rover Range Rover in what has been one of the hottest and most profitable segments for automakers - large, luxurious sport utes.
It will sell for about $46,000, a nearly 12 percent increase over last year's model. Toyota expects to sell about 11,000 vehicles a year, about the same as previous years, after the model reaches show rooms in March.
Toyota also previewed a concept version of the second vehicle that will have a V8 engine, the T150 pickup. The vehicle is a larger, more powerful version of the T100 pickup, which has had disappointing sales for Toyota.
The T150, which will be built at Toyota's new plant in Gibson County, Ind., will go on sale in the spring of 1999.
Also at the press preview:
- Mitsubishi Motors previewed its 1999 Galant, which is officially unveiled Saturday. The four-cylinder, mid-size sedan for the first time will also be available with a six-cylinder engine.
It will compete in a crowded segment that also includes titans like the Camry and Accord. Mitsubishi officials hope to sell about 60,000 Galants a year.
- Volkswagen AG board member Jens Neuman said the new Beetle should help propel the automaker's American sales from 138,000 last year to more than 180,000 this year. Sales in the United States and Canada combined should reach 200,000 in 1999, he said.