According to Mr. Beatty, the plan is to "show Canadians that Toyota is as serious about trucks as they are. Fortunately, we're starting from a position of strength. We make excellent trucks, and most of the world knows it."
Around the world, Mr. Beatty noted, Toyota trucks are used in harsh environments, while Canadians have always appreciated them for their "amenities, comfort and styling."
But for Toyota to "boost its share of the Canadian truck market," Mr. Beatty said, "you're going to see new emphasis placed on the power, performance, versatility and ruggedness of our truck lineup. This not only includes new emphasis in the design of the trucks themselves, but also in how they're presented to Canadians."
In the months to come, it will be interesting to see if the marketing efforts surrounding Tacoma will be enough to start the tidal wave of new truck sales that Toyota Canada will need if it's to reach its sales goal.
New Kia Rio
coming in 2005
Working on the bigger and better theory, Kia will launch a new Rio compact sedan in 2005 as a 2006 model that has ''enhanced performance and class-leading interior volume.''
The new model will make its world debut at the North American International Auto show in early January, but Canadians won't get to see it in the sheetmetal until the Vancouver auto show in March.
At the moment, an exact on-sale date and prices are still to be determined by Kia Canada.
To do that, the Korean-built Rio was completely redesigned from the ground up, the all-new Rio will feature a longer wheelbase, wider track and more horsepower than its predecessor, all by way of ''providing better handling, a smoother ride and improved performance.''
The new Rio will also offer six standard airbags, including full-length side-curtain airbags.
According to Peter M. Butterfield, president and CEO of Kia Motors America, Rio has been an important part of the Kia lineup as ''a value leader in the entry-level segment,'' so the company is simply adding ''improved levels of style, performance and convenience to an already popular vehicle."
Like all of Kia's vehicles, the 2006 Rio will be covered by Kia Canada's exceptional warranty, which offers comprehensive bumper-to-bumper coverage for five years or 100,000 km, along with limited powertrain coverage and five years of roadside assistance.
North American finalists
for car and truck award
A group of independent automotive journalists from Canada and the United States have named the finalists for the North American Car and Truck of the Year Awards, which will be given out at the Detroit auto show in January.
For North American Car of The Year, the finalists are the 2005 Chevrolet Corvette, the Chrysler 300/300C and the Ford Mustang.
For North America Truck of The Year, the finalists are the Ford Escape Hybrid, the Ford Freestyle and the Land Rover LR3.
The winners will be announced Jan. 9 at the North American International Auto Show, which is not otherwise involved in the awards.
Each year since 1992, the jury of journalists representing newspapers, magazines and television honours a new car and a new truck that are benchmarks in their segments for performance in areas including innovation, value for the dollar, safety, ride and handling. (I am one of the jurors and am on the organizing committee for the awards.)
Last year's North American Car of the Year was the Toyota Prius, while the North American Truck of the Year was the Ford F-150.
This year, the 48 journalists voted on 17 cars and 12 trucks.
In early October, the jurors were asked to consider the dozens of new vehicles that came out this year and select the ones they thought were the most important. Those vehicles became the list from which the finalists were picked.
Before that happened, the nominated vehicles were brought together in Detroit for a jurors test session in late October.
For North American Car of the Year, the nominees were: Acura RL, Audi A6, BMW 6-Series, Buick Allure/LaCrosse, Cadillac STS, Chevrolet Corvette, Chrysler 300/300C, Dodge Magnum, Ford Five Hundred, Ford Mustang, Honda Accord Hybrid, Honda Odyssey, Pontiac G6, Porsche 911, Scion tC, Subaru Legacy, Volvo S40/V50,
For North American Truck of the Year, the nominees were: Chevrolet Equinox, Dodge Dakota, Ford Escape Hybrid, Ford Freestyle, Ford F-Series Super Duty, Hyundai Tucson, Infiniti QX56, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Land Rover LR3, Nissan Frontier, Nissan Pathfinder, Toyota Tacoma.
