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BATON ROUGE, La. (Might 11, 2016) –Toyota shopper Victor Sheppard was so satisfied with his Toyota Tundra, even after he had properly pushed 1 million miles, he continued driving it. When Toyota noticed the effectively-held truck, they asked: What is a Toyota Tundra with more than a million miles truly worth?
For Toyota’s creation engineers and staff customers, the truck’s longevity features priceless perception for long run merchandise. For Sheppard, it was value a new truck.
Toyota Motor Product sales, U.S.A., Inc. swapped vehicles these days with Sheppard at Greg Leblanc Toyota in Mr. Sheppard’s hometown, Houma, La., in a brief ceremony.
The million-mile Tundra, a 2007 product year, was one of the 1st of its form assembled solely at Toyota Motor Producing, Texas, in San Antonio. Due to the fact buying the truck, Sheppard has been the sole operator and has put an typical of 125,000 miles a yr on the odometer, on a regular basis driving extensive-haul outings from his house to North Dakota, Wyoming, and Virginia for his task. The truck nonetheless has its first motor, transmission and paint position.
“Most persons can not feel how substantially on his truck is unique,” stated Ron Weimer, basic manager of Greg Leblanc Toyota. “Victor has been faithful to his maintenance and retained it up.”
Sheppard’s truck has drawn interest in the earlier, primary to it remaining showcased in Toyota’s outside truck exhibit in September 2012 at the Texas Point out Good in Dallas. The truck has also been on a regular basis featured on the Fb webpage for LeBlanc Toyota. The dealership even posted his odometer looking through when it strike 999,999 miles. In keeping his truck to the remarkable million-mile mark, Sheppard has logged 117 dealership support visits around nine decades, ranging from timing belt replacements, oil changes, and the manufacturer’s routinely scheduled check-ups.
“My truck appears to be like good, and, other than for a number of very little dents, it is almost like new,” explained Sheppard. “Even the seats search just as they had been when I acquired it. They are not as clean up, of course, but they’re not busted or worn out.”
Whilst superior-mileage automobiles support validate the top quality of the production processes the corporation employs, Toyota engineers are interested in how the motor and transmission as effectively as other components and components, such as the seats, have held up. And as a person of the to start with Tundra vehicles from the San Antonio plant, Toyota’s chief truck engineer from Toyota Specialized Centre, Mike Sweers, and his team want a chance to get a better look beneath the hood and in all places else to learn how the vehicle retains up soon after so numerous miles and rigorous use.
“Having a million-mile truck in as pristine affliction as this 1 with authentic sections is a truly unusual find,” reported Sweers. “Our crew programs to tear down the full truck, bumper-to-bumper, top-to-base to appraise how the excellent and basic safety we built, engineered and designed into the Tundra has held up to more than 1-million miles of real-planet driving and enable us go on furnishing ever-superior motor vehicles for our consumers.”
The disassembly approach is anticipated to just take months as engineers analyze every single part of the engine, chassis, body, and other elements. With the awareness obtained, the engineers will apply their results to long term vans.
As for Sheppard, his million-mile truck has been replaced by a new 2016 Tundra. Ironically, the 2016 Tundra is also his 16th Tundra.
“Mr. Sheppard states he is a believer in Toyota excellent and protection,” reported Weimer. “He believes in the model.”
“I thought [reaching a million miles] would not be a issue,” claimed Sheppard. “These vehicles are safe and sound and trusted. I feel, if you see a Toyota on the facet of the road, it may well be a fraud simply because they just do not split down really typically.”
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