50 years of Toyota in the U.S.

As if planting a flag on top of the mountain it had ascended, Toyota introduced the redesigned Tundra truck this year, The new Tundra wasn't just big - this was a real full-sized pickup, every bit as brawny as the Ford F150, Chevrolet Silverado or Dodge Ram.

The Tundra has had its troubles. Undercutting Toyota's reputation for safety, it failed to get the top 5-star rating in front crash tests by the federal government - not that a four-star rating is so scary.

Also undercutting Toyota's reputation for quality, V8-powered four-wheel-drive versions of the Tundra lost Consumer Reports' recommendation due to reliability concerns.

Still, the Tundra finally found some traction in the U.S. market and looks to be on the way to becoming a viable competitor. In September, 2007, it actually outsold the GMC Sierra, according to data from Automotive News. Still, that places the Tundra well behind the Dodge Ram and much farther behind the Chevrolet Silverado and Ford F-150.

Meanwhile, with entries like the Ford Fusion and Focus and the redesigned Chevrolet Malibu, Ford and GM are aggressively looking to take back some of the car market they've ceded to Toyota over these years. They probably aren't going to succeed overnight either, but these products should make a mark.