Toyota and Lucchese Partner to Create the Ultimate Texas Truck-Yahoo!

HOUSTON--Jan. 4, 2005--Texans expect quality, comfort and style when it comes to their trucks and their boots. For more than 120 years, Lucchese Boot Company has been crafting the highest quality leather boots for those who appreciate the finer things in life. Now, Lucchese brings that same luxurious leather to the Toyota Tundra. Gulf States Toyota (GST), in partnership with Lucchese, will introduce this month a true Texas treasure - a special edition of the Toyota Tundra Double Cab with Lucchese leather to cushion the ride.

Beginning this month, the Lucchese leather package will be available in the Tundra Double-Cab Limited model in Toyota dealerships throughout the Gulf States region of Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Mississippi. GST will be installing the leather package in approximately 500 trucks.

The special package features sandstone brown leather with ostrich leather accents, Lucchese embossed headrests and special Lucchese exterior badging. It will be offered in black, white and salsa red exterior paint. In addition, the seats will offer Liquicell Comfort Technology, which is designed to relieve driver and passenger discomfort and fatigue by utilizing a thin, liquid-filled padding between the leather seat coverage and the seat cushion. The special package will retail for $2,999 and will be offered for a limited time.

"Lucchese is world renowned for making top-of-the-line boots in San Antonio, and Toyota will soon join them in making a best-in-class product in San Antonio when the Tundra manufacturing plant opens in 2006," said Toby Hynes, president of Gulf States Toyota. "We think the combination of the Tundra Double Cab and Lucchese leather will be a showcase of Texas's best."

Lucchese will display the new vehicle at the Denver Western Wear Show on January 14-18, said Paul LaVoie, president of Arena Brands Inc., which owns Lucchese Boot Company. "We're very excited about our association with Toyota," said LaVoie.

Toyota introduced the all-new Tundra Double Cab in 2004 as an addition to the Tundra full-size truck line-up. For 2005, the Tundra receives Variable Valve Timing boosting horsepower to 282. The Tundra D-Cab boasts many features not found on the competition - lowest MSRP, lightest overall weight, most front headroom and a first-in-class fully retractable rear window. The Tundra D-Cab Limited features 17-inch alloy wheels, fog lamps, steering wheel audio controls, JBL 3-in-1 AM/FM/Cassette/CD with eight speakers and remote keyless entry.

Based in Houston, GST is the independent distributor serving 145 dealers in Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Mississippi.