The Toyota Tacoma is a pickup truck manufactured by the Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota since 1995. The first-generation Tacoma (model years 1995 through 2004) was classified as a compact pickup. The second generation (model years 2005 through 2015) and third generation (in production since 2015) models are classified as mid-sized pickups. The Tacoma was Motor Trends Truck of the Year for 2005. As of 2015, the Tacoma was sold in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Bolivia, Bermuda, and the French overseas collectivity of New Caledonia. Most markets across the world receive the Toyota Hilux in lieu of the Tacoma. The name "Tacoma" was derived from the Coast Salish peoples' name for Mount Rainier in the U.S. state of Washington. First generation (N140/N150/N160/N170/N190; 1995) The Tacoma was introduced in the US in February 1995 (March 1995 market launch) as a replacement for the Toyota Pickup, the name used for the Hilux in the North American market. Compared with the Hilux, the Tacoma is engineered with a greater priority on ride quality, handling, comfort, and safety over ruggedness and payload capacity. The design is intended to better suit the needs of the US and Canadian market, where pickup trucks are often used as personal vehicles, and less exclusively for commercial, agricultural, and off-road use. Development Development began in 1989, following the launch of the fifth-generation Toyota Pickup in late 1988 and concluded in 1994. Design work was done at Calty Design Research in California from 1990 to 1992, when Kevin Hunter's exterior design proposal was chosen in the autumn of 1991 and in final form, frozen for production in 1992. Patents for the production design were filed in Japan in April 1993 and October 28, 1993, in the United States. Technical Three engines were available for the Tacoma: Notes Two-wheel drive (2WD) Tacomas (excluding PreRunner models) had five-stud wheel-lug patterns and either the 2.4-L or 3.4-L engine. Four-wheel drive (4WD) and PreRunner Tacomas had six-stud wheel-lug patterns and were available with either the 2.7-L or 3.4-L engine. Initially, the 2.4 L was limited to the 2WD models (both regular and Xtracab), while the 2.7 L was the standard engine for 4WD models, and the 3.4 L V6, shared with the larger T100 truck, was an option for the 2WD (Xtracab only) and 4WD (regular and Xtracab). The top-of-the-line SR5 trim was available for the 4WD Xtracab V6. From 1997 on,