Tundra

In physical geography, tundra is type of biome where the tree growth is hindered by low temperatures and short growing seasons. The term tundra comes through Russian тундра (tûndra) from the Kildin Sami word tūndâr "uplands", "treeless mountain tract". There are three types of tundra: arctic tundra,alpine tundra, and Antarctic tundra. In tundra, the vegetation is composed of dwarf shrubs, sedges and grasses, mosses, and lichens. Scattered trees grow in some tundra regions. The ecotone (or ecological boundary region) between the tundra and the forest is known as the tree line or timberline.

Arctic

Arctic tundra occurs in the far Northern Hemisphere, north of the taiga belt. The word "tundra" usually refers only to the areas where the subsoil is permafrost, or permanently frozen soil. (It may also refer to the treeless plain in general, so that northern Sápmi would be included.) Permafrost tundra includes vast areas of northern Russia and Canada. The polar tundra is home to several peoples who are mostly nomadic reindeer herders, such as the Nganasan and Nenets in the permafrost area (and the Sami in Sápmi).

Toyota Tundra

The Toyota Tundra is a pickup truck manufactured in the U.S. by the Japanese manufacturer Toyota since May 1999. The Tundra was the first North American full-size pickup to be built by a Japanese manufacturer. The Tundra was nominated for the North American Truck of the Year award and was Motor Trend magazine's Truck of the Year in 2000 and 2008. Initially built in a new Toyota plant in Princeton, Indiana, production was consolidated in 2008 to Toyota's San Antonio, Texas, factory and is the only full-size pickup truck manufactured in Texas.

The first generation Tundra had many similarities with the older Toyota T100 and the compact Toyota Tacoma. These included the shared use of a 3.4-liter V6 engine which was the top of the line engine in both the Tacoma and T100. The V6 engine would serve as the base engine for the Tundra, while a second engine was added, a 4.7-liter V8, the first V8 for a Toyota truck.

First generation (2000–2006)

Publicly introduced in May 1999 as a 2000 model, the Tundra prototypes and "show trucks" were initially known as T150s. However, Ford and automotive journalists described the name was too close to the market-leader Ford F-150, and following a lawsuit by Ford, the production truck was renamed the Tundra.

Chevrolet Silverado

The Chevrolet Silverado, and its mechanically identical cousin, the GMC Sierra, are a series of full-size and heavy-duty pickup trucks manufactured by General Motors and introduced in 1999 as the successor to the long-running Chevrolet C/K line. The Silverado name was taken from a trim level previously used on its predecessor, the Chevrolet C/K pickup truck from 1975 through 1998. General Motors continues to offer a GMC-badged variant of the Chevrolet full-size pickup under the GMC Sierra name, first used in 1988 for its variant of the GMT400 platform trucks.

History

Although General Motors introduced its first pickup truck in 1930, the term "Silverado" was a designation used only to detail the trim for the Chevrolet C/K pickup trucks, Suburbans, and Tahoes from 1975 through 1999. GMC used a few variations of the "Sierra" name (Sierra, High Sierra). However Chevrolet still uses the CK and the CC in their current model codes.

The Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra trucks have been essentially the same for their entire history. The Silverado today is generally advertised as the "standard" version and is more aimed for use in agriculture, while the Sierra is aimed for industrial workers but can be ordered as a well equipped luxury truck. There are some trim and option variations as well. Early models included variations in the engine and equipment, but the present differences are slight. The 1999 redesign included different grilles and interior trim, and certain features (e.g. Quadrasteer) were included at different times on the two trucks. Chevrolet did not create a Denali equivalent for the Silverado. However, the GMC Sierra has a Denali model.