The 2016 Toyota Tacoma
The Chronicles of Jillian Rebekah
There it stood…the pristine glow of fresh paint, the sweet fragrance of new interior and the shine of freshly dressed tires. The truck that would carve 1,028 miles of adventure that would forever alter my definition of “road trip” was officially mine.
Prologue:
What would later become known as “The Hunt” began in October 2015. After visiting three California Toyota dealerships, here’s how the script went:
Me: I’d like a TRD off-road Quicksand. . .with a six speed manual. . .and no tech-package
Dealer: *scratches head*(did she say spaceship?) How about an automatic Tacoma Sport. . .in white. . .with a moonroof
Me: Can you special order the Quicksand, 6MT?
Dealer: Kind of…..
I soon learned that getting the vehicle exactly the way I wanted was going to be a challenge. After multiple failed “preference” attempts (Toyota’s closest thing to a ‘custom’ order), I gave up on the local dealerships and took matters into my own hands.
Several weeks of scouring Internet inventories and finally a hit! A quick phone call to an out of state Dealership (pulse quickening), a disappointing “its been sold” (despair!), followed by a return call 30 minutes later informing me “the other buyer backed out (Elation, pure ELATION!), it’s yours if you put down a deposit”. Decision time.
A deposit led to a one-way plane ticket and two days later the Chronicle begins. . . .
To Be Continued...
