‘We got an icon named after our city.’ 30 years on, here’s how Toyota Tacoma got its name

Tacoma’s namesake vehicle, the Toyota Tacoma pickup, is about to turn 30 years old.

Since its introduction in 1995, the Tacoma has become the country’s most popular midsize truck. Its spawned a legion of fans who go off-roading together, swap accessories and proudly show off their trucks on social media.

But why did Toyota pick Tacoma as the name for its new truck?

Why Tacoma?

The Tacoma was unveiled by then-Tacoma Mayor Harold Moss and then-Toyota vice president Bryan Bergsteinsson at a Portland auto show in 1995.

Until the Tacoma was introduced, Toyota had only given its trucks alphanumeric names.

At the show, Bergsteinsson tried to answer, “…. a question that has entered the minds of many. Why give the truck a name and why Tacoma?”

It was just marketing, he said.

“Too many numbers confuse potential truck buyers,” he told the assembled crowd. The new model needed a real name.

First, there are conventions to auto naming. The name has to be short enough to fit on the vehicles and catch eyes and ears in advertising. O’s, A’s, T’s, K’s and hard C’s are popular. Tacoma fitted the bill there.

The name was, of course, tested for its likeability.

“We selected Tacoma because research showed that it suggested the rugged outdoors, adventure and strength,” Bergsteinsson said.

“Countrywide, most people associated it with outdoors and ruggedness and water and all the good things that we are looking for,” said Toyota’s then-spokesperson Nancy Hubbell.

But not so much in the actual Pacific Northwest where Tacoma (or Tahoma) is the Coast Salish name for Mount Rainier.

“In the Northwest, it did test a little bit negative,” Hubbell said. It’s unknown if the resistance came from protective Tacomans or jealous Seattleites. It should be noted that no one has ever named a vehicle after Seattle.

As a gesture of goodwill to Tacoma, Toyota donated one of the first Tacomas to Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium.

Veteran salesman

Leroy Hupp is the new-car sales manager for Titus-Will Toyota in Tacoma. He’s been selling Toyotas off and on (mostly on) since 1983. He was working for a dealership in Auburn when the Tacoma was first rolled out. He called it a “game changer.”

“They just upgraded the creature comforts (from previous Toyota pickups),” Hupp recently told the News Tribune of those early Tacomas. Before then, trucks were meant to work and lacked amenities like air conditioning, power windows and cruise control. The Tacoma represented a shift away from that, and it has only continued through the years.

“They made it a little bit more passenger friendly, consumer friendly,” Hupp said. He estimates that only half of the people who drive a new Tacoma off his lot intend to actually use it as a truck – to haul equipment, dirt and other things that can scrape the paint off a truck bed.

“I think it appealed to more people,” Hupp said of the Tacoma. “The look of it. Then it just built on Toyota’s bulletproof reputation that they had back then. It just kind of took off.”

The truck grew over the years, dwarfing its earliest versions. The 2024 Tacoma grew wider by three inches compared to 2023, according to Toyota. It has gotten so large that Toyota is talking about making a smaller, less pricier truck. Called the Stout, it will compete with the Ford Maverick.

Selling to Tacomans

Hupp remembers a Tacoma man buying the first one delivered to the dealer’s lot because he was excited about the name. Over the years, Hupp has sold Tacomas to dozens of people from Tacoma who were lured to the truck by its name.

Hupp himself has owned several Tacomas through the years.

“I live in Tacoma. I grew up in Tacoma and all my life, I’ve lived here,” he said. “Selling Tacomas in Tacoma is actually pretty cool, you know?”

He says there’s no chance of Toyota discontinuing the model in any foreseeable near future.

“It’s ingrained,” he said.

For Hupp and his co-workers, the novelty has mostly worn off.

“It’s part of Toyota’s culture,” he said. “I couldn’t imagine them trying to change the name of the Tacoma. I don’t think that would go over well with the consumer, with the Toyota enthusiast.”

For its part, Toyota is clearly happy with the association. It recently filmed a long-form commercial in Tacoma, featuring the truck. The nostalgic video shows a young woman driving across the country and passing through Tacoma where she visits Bob’s Java Jive and Frisko Freeze before finally reaching her grandmother’s home for Christmas.

Growth

In 1995, the Toyota Tacoma represented a $1,500 to $2,000 increase from the Toyota trucks already on the market. Back then, Toyota trucks were selling between $15,000 and $17,000.

Today, new Tacomas cost at least twice as much.

In 1995, the Tacoma came with an extra-cab option, rack-and-pinion steering, a base towing rating of 3,500 pounds, new 2.4- and 2.7-liter four-cylinder engines and a new 3.4-liter V-6. Today, there are a variety of versions and trim options.

A 2025 Tacoma TRD Pro is the top of the line, and Hupp says he currently has 40 orders for them. The asking price is around $65,000.

In 1995 Toyota offered both automatic and manual transmissions. It’s still possible to get a manual Tacoma, but it’s difficult, Hupp said. The Tacoma does come in a hybrid version but not full electric.

Tacoma versus Tacoma

So, which is more famous: Tacoma the city or Tacoma the truck?

“I think the truck. I hate to say it,” Hupp said. “It’s worldwide.” In other parts of the world, Toyota sells a similar model called the Hilux, he said.

But should Tacomans be proud of their namesake truck even if it’s stolen some of the city’s brand?

Absolutely, Hupp said.

“I think anyone that lives in Tacoma that has a Tacoma should be proud that they are able to drive around with their city stamped on their back tailgate,” he said. “I think everybody should be proud … we got an icon named after our city.”