TACOMA, Wash. — Every year, Toyota sells roughly 250,000 pickup trucks bearing the name of a midsized Pacific Northwest city on their doors. Thirty years after its debut, the Toyota Tacoma remains the best-selling midsize pickup in America and the story behind its name is a masterclass in automotive branding.
The Tacoma was unveiled in 1995 at the Portland Auto Show, where then-Tacoma Mayor Harold Moss marked the occasion with a playful jab at rival Seattle.
“Neener, neener, neener — we’ve got the Sonics and now we’ve got the truck,” Moss said at the launch event…