#ToyotaLandcruiser

Companies file trademark applications all the time to protect product names and other concepts, but the applications don’t always mean that something new is coming. That said, a recent Toyota trademark application in Japan spotted by Land Cruiser forum members has sparked heated conversation around what might be coming.

Toyota surprised everyone with the return of the Land Cruiser, and by all accounts, this new model is poised to become an instant classic. And while plenty of info was released about this iconic off-roader, we’re sure you have plenty of questions.

After a slow start, Toyota appears primed for action, with new EVs coming in the next few years. A recent trademark application surfaced on the bZ forums, suggesting one of them could be a boxy electric off-roader or sports car. 

The Toyota 4Runner may be a formidable off-roader with legendary capability and longevity, but the fifth-generation model introduced way back in 2009 is far from modern or refined. That won’t change for 2024, as Toyota is not giving the 4Runner a makeover like it did the Sequoia, Tacoma, and Tundra. 

It's Toyota madness this week, thanks to the 2024 Toyota Land Cruiser unveiling last night.

Toyota's Land Cruiser is back after three years. And it will have a base price in the mid-$50,000s.

The covers come off the next Toyota Land Cruiser later today.

Rumors don’t often end up coming true, but the recent whispers about a new Toyota Land Cruiser coming back to America have become a reality. The automaker recently announced that the SUV would return, ending a short period of intense speculation over the iconic off-road vehicle.

We reported yesterday that the Toyota Land Cruiser Prado might come to the United States.

So, naturally, the question is ... should it?

The Toyota Land Cruiser took a bow after the 2021 model year, ending a decades-long run of near-bulletproof off-road SUVs on the U.S. market. We got a new Lexus LX, but it’s even more expensive than the already-pricey Toyota. However, a new report from Automotive News suggests a new Land Cruiser variant is coming. 

Toyota killed the Land Cruiser for the United States after the 2021 model year, but the legendary off-roader has remained on sale elsewhere. The J300 Land Cruiser uses a twin-turbo V6 in place of its predecessor’s thirst V8 but remains a superbly capable SUV. Lexus still sells the related LX here, and we’re now hearing that Toyota may bring back the Land Cruiser, despite its slow sales numbers.

When Toyota announced that the Land Cruiser wouldn’t be coming back to the United States, off-road people shrugged and got back into their clapped-out 4Runners. Despite being incredibly capable wherever pavement is in short supply and having a pedigree that rivals Jeep’s Wrangler, the Land Cruiser is a prohibitively expensive vehicle. Toyota’s penchant for overbuilding vehicles merged with the model’s luxurious bent, resulting in a product that retailed at $87,030 before adding a single option, and sales volumes reflected this.

It was just too rich for most Americans and sales suffered as a result. But Lexus has confirmed the Cruiser-based LX will be returning and recently teased the new model’s next-generation online. While the manufacturer hasn’t confirmed that the 2022 Lexus LX 600 will be a rebadged version of Toyota’s off-road emperor, literally every generation of the LX series has been.

Leaked images have been circulating online of a new Toyota Land Cruiser that is obviously the upcoming 300 Series that will eventually supplant the now fourteen-year-old J200. Those with a penchant for boxy utility vehicles should be pleased, as Toyota’s longest-running model has not had its shape changed by much. There’s none of that fastback-inspired nonsense you’ll find on crossovers, the rear hatch appears to be at an almost 90-degree angle from the pavement and the front is almost as flat.

But it has received some overtly modern updates, giving a more contemporary style than the outgoing Land Cruiser despite its many facelifts. Unfortunately, we can only guess about its specifications or whether it will have a place on our market or leave the segment to the Lexus LX.

Every time I share photos of an old Toyota Land Cruiser I spotted in a junkyard, the anguished wails from readers commence. Nobody ever asks me where to find those doomed trucks so they can buy parts before The Crusher eats them, and only a few of the anguished wails come from Land Cruiser aficionados troubled by the demise of another old FJ. No, what upsets so many is the offense against reality on display, the demise of a truck worth 25 grand— no, 50 grand!— in any county, parish, or prefecture on the planet. Well, all I can say is that real-world values of vehicles often differ from what we think they should be, and today’s Junkyard Find proves this (again).

The Toyota Land Cruiser is dead. Long live the Toyota Land Cruiser?

The saga of the Land Cruiser is getting confusing. First, we picked up on reporting from Motor Authority that suggested the LC will soon be sent to the great junkyard in the sky, although the Lexus version will soldier on. Part of that report suggested that there is a new generation for the Land Cruiser on the way, but perhaps not to be sold here.