Toyota and SNUGTOP Form Partnership With New Truck Cap for All-New Tacoma Double Cab Pickup
2 November 2000
Toyota and SNUGTOP Form Partnership With New Truck Cap for All-New Tacoma Double Cab Pickup
TORRANCE, Calif., Nov. 2 Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), U.S.A.,
Inc., has formed a partnership with SNUGTOP, a leading manufacturer of
fiberglass automotive products for over four decades. The new partnership
marks the beginning of efforts to provide customers greater opportunity to
better customize their truck directly through Toyota.
SNUGTOP has developed an exclusive Super Sport Shell for the all-new
Tacoma four-door Double Cab compact pickup truck. Built at SNUGTOP's five
acre Long Beach, California facility, the customized fiberglass shell can be
seen on the Tacoma Double Cab for the first time at the annual SEMA Show being
held in Las Vegas this week.
The Super Sport Shell will be a Toyota port-installed option, establishing
the first nationwide distribution relationship between an OEM and aftermarket
truck cap manufacturer. As another industry-first, the SNUGTOP "Super Sport"
is prominently featured in the 2001 Tacoma brochure as well as on the Toyota
web site and will be available through Toyota's 1,200 dealers across the
country.
Effective December 1, 2000, Tacoma Double Cabs will be available from
dealerships already equipped with the Super Sport Shell installed at Toyota's
Fremont, California vehicle processing facility. Previous agreements between
OEM and shell manufacturers provided only post-purchase dealer ordering and
installation.
The Tacoma four-door Double Cab joins an already diverse Toyota compact
pickup lineup, meeting the expanding needs of today's compact buyer. The
versatile Double Cab delivers the cargo-hauling capability of a pickup truck,
the passenger roominess and comfort of an SUV and the rugged styling that
makes a strong "active lifestyle" statement.
Tacoma Double Cab sales are projected at 45,000 units annually with
approximately 3,200 projected sales of the SNUGTOP Super Sport Shell.