Toyota Pulls The Diesel And Sends The A-BAT To Bat

Toyota is apparently going to shelve plans to build a light-duty diesel Tundra and will instead send the A-BAT concept small truck to the plate. The Advanced Breakthrough Aero Truck (A-BAT) was introduced at the 2008 North American International Auto Show and runs on Toyota's Hybrid Synergy Drive - the same train that powers the Prius. Toyota will hedge its bet on the A-BAT by producing a gasoline-only version as well.

The A-BAT would join the Ranger - the last-man-standing in the compact truck segment. Ford has already said informally that it plans to axe the Ranger, but the program received a slight reprieve earlier this year and will continue into 2011. Interest in more fuel-efficient vehicles may lead the Blue Oval to re-evaluate the Ranger's terminal status, though the Truck-That-Time-Forgot is seriously overdue for a redesign, last having visited the design studio in 1998.

The A-BAT will presumably run on the old-style NiMH batteries, which may strain Toyota's already strained battery production capacity. Toyota hasn't fully committed to producing the A-BAT, either. The company is evaluating the production costs and says it will terminate the program if the truck proves to be too costly.