On October 31st, 1957, Toyota Motor Sales was founded in the U.S. In the 50 years since, Toyota has grown from a small Japanese import auto manufacturer that no one took seriously to one of the largest auto manufacturers in the world. The history of Toyota is a story about success. Part of the story is the growth of Toyota trucks, and 50 years seems like a good time to review the history of Toyota trucks in the United States.

The first Toyota truck brought to the US was the 1963 Toyota LandCruiser truck. Available in small numbers for only four years in the U.S. market (1963-67), these are highly sought-after collector's items. In addition to being imported to the US, these vehicles were produced by Toyota internationally for many years after 1967 and can be found overseas.

Next, we have the Toyota Stout. Available in 1964, this was the obvious predecessor to 1969's Toyota HiLux. The Stout, like the HiLux, was available in only one configuration - a regular cab and a four cylinder engine. The Stout's last year was 1968, after which the Toyota Hilux Pickup truck was officially born.

The "HiLux" was the first Toyota truck to achieve notable sales and commercial success. The "HiLux" name, as hip as it is, was dropped from the Toyota Trucks nameplate in 1975. From that point forward, all small Toyota trucks were known as "Toyota Pickups". The HiLux/Toyota Pickup developed rather quickly. The SR5 package was first made available in 1975. In 1979, Toyota offered a four-wheel-drive option. In 1983, to great critical acclaim, Toyota offered the "Xtra Cab" Toyota Pickup. The popularity of Toyota's value and quality helped Toyota trucks come into their own in the 80's, even helping them reach top cultural status. After all, Who could forget the Toyota truck in the movie Back To The Future?

In 1993, Toyota introduced their first attempt at a true full-size pickup, called the T100. Many people disliked the T100 -- it was supremely lacking in terms of power for a full-sized truck -- a V8 engine was not available. The truck did have some fine points, however, and there are some very loyal T100 owners who argue the T100 was one of best trucks Toyota ever made. Regardless, the T100 was a sales flop.

The generically named "Toyota Pickup" got a real name in 1995, officially labeled the Tacoma. Abbreviated as the "Taco" by some, it is revered by off-road enthusiasts everywhere as an excellent combination of performance, power, and reliability. Not surprisingly, the Tacoma is easily Toyota's biggest sales success in the U.S. truck market. Toyota's Tacoma was also an excellent value in the work-truck configuration, being one of the most inexpensive trucks on the market.

In 1999, Toyota released their next attempt at a full-size, the 2000 Tundra. This new full-size truck featured a powerful 4.7L V8, as well as a larger frame, interior, and greater hauling and towing capabilities than the T100 it replaced. When this model debuted, it was declared Motor Trend's "Truck of The Year". Toyota experienced moderate success with this model, selling about 126k units in 2004.

Toyota released a completely re-designed Tacoma in 2004. This new, larger, "Taco" rivaled the 2004 full-size Tundra in terms of size and power, yet still honored Toyota's compact pickup roots in terms of economy and off-road performance. The new Tacoma, while nearly as expensive as many competitor's full-size trucks, has been nothing short of a complete success. The Tacoma is currently the best-selling compact truck on the market.

In 2007 Toyota released the 2nd generation Tundra. This new Tundra overcame all the criticism that Toyota's full-size trucks were really only 7/8th size. The new Tundra offers the most powerful engine in it's class, a 5.7L V8 with 381hp. The new Tundra has been extremely popular, setting full-size Toyota truck sales records. Much of the new Tundra's success is due to it's class-leading 10,800 lb tow rating, which is made possible by the powerful engine and advanced 6 speed automatic transmission.

What will Toyota do over the next 50 years? The short-term future is fairly clear -- Toyota will probably bring out a hybrid truck, as well as the first diesel engine offered by Toyota in the US. Looking back at Toyota's roots, there is even talk of Toyota selling a small, simple, and very inexpensive truck under the Scion brand. Toyota's next 50 years should be just as interesting as the last 50 - that's for sure.