The polished, curvaceous styling of Toyota’s FJ Cruiser belies its competence as an off-road machine with ample clearance and agility in the rough. Its popularity on the American highways is arguably due to its styling, power and interior quality. But many buyers, especially younger car shoppers, may be unaware of Toyota’s reputation for building, even breaking wide open, the adventure-ute segment, a segment that could best be described as hardy off-road vehicles in medium-size packages.
Toyota introduced the world to its own version of the Range Rover with its Land Cruiser, an adventure ute that can be found everywhere from the South American Pampas to the Beverly Hills suburbs. And the 4Runner was one of the hottest burning coals in what became the SUV inferno of the 90’s.
Between May 10-June 8, fans of Toyota’s rugged machines spent a combined $446,462 on parts and accessories for the FJ Cruiser, 4Runner and Land Cruiser via online auction, according to data from Terapeak, a developer of market-focused research software that monitors online sales and auctions. Newest among those vehicles, the FJ accounted for a little less than 20% of the total, while the bulk of sales went toward the 4Runner, a vehicle in production since 1984. The remainder—approximately $77,000—went to Land Cruiser enthusiasts.
Exterior parts, led by bumpers, mirrors and grilles, proved the most profitable category for 4Runners, accounting for $46,500 of the $284,400 grand total in sales (amounts rounded to the nearest $100). Interior parts—dash, floor mats and trim pieces—followed, with tail-, corner- and headlights, and other lighting accessories comprising $24,000 worth of transactions. The Land Cruiser follows almost identical patterns to the 4Runner.
The FJ Cruiser, on the other hand, accounted for $85,000 in sales, with exterior parts forming the bulk of that category—specifically grilles, towing and hauling products, and moldings/trim. Wheel and tire packages followed in sales amount ($17,200), with interior parts—trim pieces, floor mats and cargo nets, trays and liners—the third most profitable category.
Terapeak's Motors P&A Research provides sellers with access to comprehensive research on the past year of online auction data and allows users to get in-depth research reports on the competition and themselves. More at www.terapeak.com/motors.