Toyota Trucks Steal the Spotlight on SoCal Beaches
Tacomas, Tundras and Sequoias outfitted with $200,000 in safety equipment for emergency responses rule the beach.
We were hanging out at the beach in Venice, California, over the holiday break and were stoked to spot this awesome Toyota Tacoma parked on the sand. The badass pickup is ready to speed into action should the L.A. County Lifeguards, which is a division of the L.A. County Fire Department, need to rescue the day. Of course, the enviable truck immediately brought to mind the famous Toyotas used on Baywatch back in the day, proving that in Hollywood, life sometimes imitates art (not that Baywatch is “art,” but we digress…)
In 2016, Toyota partnered with the Los Angeles County Fire Department’s Lifeguard Division on a mission to help save lives by providing access to the best equipment possible, like this fully-equipped, undeniably reliable Toyota Tacoma, along with 64 additional Toyota vehicles!
Under a two-year sponsorship agreement, Toyota provided the Lifeguard Division with 45 Tacoma pickups, 18 Tundra trucks and two Sequoia SUVs—outfitted with $200,000 in safety equipment for beach patrol and emergency responses.
“With 71 miles of coastline and 32 miles of beach, it’s a very large area to cover,” said chief lifeguard Steve Moseley at the launch. “The fleet of 65 Toyota trucks makes sure that we get to every emergency quickly, safely and with all the equipment we need to render a positive outcome.”
‘The fleet of 65 Toyota trucks makes sure that we get to every emergency quickly, safely and with all the equipment we need to render a positive outcome.’
Although the trucks were officially unveiled in 2016, the Toyota Tacomas and Tundras have actually been in use on the beaches of SoCal since 2015, when they replaced Ford and Nissan as the first responders’ vehicles of choice. Likewise, on the classic show, a variety of brands, including GMC and Ford, were used in various seasons, but the Toyotas remain the most famous trucks from the Baywatch fleet.
Toyota’s tough, reliable trucks apparently give these real-life beach heroes the necessary speed and dependability necessary for effectively safeguarding 31 miles of beach and 72 miles of coastline, from San Pedro in the south, to Malibu in the north.
Ready for Hollywood
Toyota’s outreach extends beyond L.A. County’s famous beaches, and these life-saving TRD Pros can also be seen kicking up sand at Orange County’s Huntington Beach, too. In fact, these Toyota Tacomas have become almost as famous as their fictitious Baywatch counterparts and were recently seen on exhibit at the L.A. Auto Show, where the newest models stole the spotlight last month (above).
And at Playa Del Rey’s Dockweiler Beach, located in L.A. County, the shiny red pickup trucks are so popular that last month one fool even tried to steal one! However, local police quickly recovered the 2015 Toyota Tacoma and arrested a 39-year-old beachcomber on suspicion of felony grand theft auto.
Local reports stated that “a motive for the theft of the local law enforcement vehicle was not immediately disclosed.” Motive? The motive is obvious: It’s a badass truck that’s hard to resist!
Now, should we ever find ourselves in trouble in the Pacific Ocean, we wouldn’t complain if Pamela Anderson came to our rescue in that famous little red swimsuit of hers. But if we had a choice, we definitely would prefer to see this shiny red Toyota truck show up instead!
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