Automotive News - May 7, 2007 http://www.autonews.com

..in the first three weeks of April, the percentage of Toyota trades
for the Tundra was up sharply from last year, according to Power
Information Network. Trade-ins from Detroit 3 brands were down a little.

Does that suggest Toyota is not winning the hearts and minds of owners
of full-sized domestic pickups?

Well, before Detroiters start celebrating, they need to look deeper
into the data.

Intrabrand trade-ins usually spike for a new model launch, says Power
number cruncher Tom Libby. The Power figures also show that the Tundra
is getting more trade-ins overall this year as opposed to buyers who
don't trade in anything. And, indeed, a higher percentage of large
domestic pickups are being brought in.

Libby says the Tundra's 62 percent trade-in rate April 1-22 was
conspicuously high. The average trade-in percentage for the entire full-
sized pickup segment in 2006 was 52 percent.

The percentage of traders who handed over a large Detroit 3 pickup grew
from 20.1 percent in April 2006 to 25.3 percent in the first three
weeks of April 2007.

What makes that especially scary for Detroit is that many Toyota
dealerships are just starting to see a full complement of Tundras on
their lots. Sales are falling short of the pace needed to reach the
targeted 200,000 units. But executives say that will change when the
pipeline fills with enough CrewMax versions http://doiop.com/Crew_Max 
and 5.7-liter V-8 engines to meet demand.