General Motors Vice Chairman Bob Lutz didn’t try to hide his fondness for the new Toyota Tundra when talking with reporters at the Detroit auto show today. “I took a good look at it today,” Lutz said. “I think it’s a very, very, very well executed large truck. It’s got good styling, great interior. It’s a very nice truck.”
However, Lutz isn’t too worried about how it will affect GM sales. “My theory is there’s a lot of interaction within Japanese brands,” Lutz said. “My personal belief is that the other full-size Japanese pickup truck is going to get severely dented in this process.
“Tundra has always had 100,000 to 125,000 sales. So they’re going to get 75,000 extra,” Lutz continued. “Of that 75,000 extra, I think Nissan is going to be the major furnisher of numbers. That’s going to leave 30-40,000 to be split between Dodge, Ford and ourselves. To be honest, I don’t think we’ll feel it.”
