Toyota Stout name could be revived for sub-Tacoma pickup

Compact pickups are coming back. Former compact trucks have gotten so large that there’s now room at the low end of the market for smaller offerings. The catch is that this new crop of vehicles like the Ford Maverick and Hyundai Santa Cruz are unibody, not body-on-frame. As the undisputed king of mid-sizers, Toyota is well-positioned to offer a rival that slots below the Tacoma. Rumor has it they’re reviving a name from the past and calling it the Stout.

The second-generation Toyota Stout was sold in the US from 1964-67. According to Popular Mechanics, Toyota sold only four units during its first year on the market. Prior to the Corona’s launch in 1965, the company was still struggling to make a name for itself in the US. Originally they were marketed under the Toyopet brand.

The Japanese market got variants like a double cab and panel van. Americans got the facelifted quad-headlight version with a 1.9-liter OHV inline-four that made 85 horsepower. Of course, these pre-Hilux pickups employed a ladder frame construction. The second-gen Stout was produced until 1978 with a third-generation  which was never sold here taking over from 1979-2000.

Multiple outlets have reported that the Stout name is due for a comeback. It would likely share a platform with the Toyota RAV4, in the same way a Ford Maverick shares the Escape platform and the Honda Ridgeline shares the Pilot platform. This means there would likely be a hybrid or plug-in hybrid version.

The RAV4 Prime is a pretty speedy machine, but we’re not quite sure the name Stout Prime rings that great. Plus, it would go against the naming convention of “T” words that gave us Tacoma and Tundra. It’s not a name that registers with most of the public other than long-time Toyota loyalists. That’s why we have some doubts about the rumors, but it would be great to see that nod to the past.