Atkins Kroll unveils customized Tacoma

The 2017 Toyota Tacoma TRD Off-Road customized by Taga Customs and Tribe Mariana was unveiled last Saturday at the jam-packed Atkins Kroll Saipan showroom in San Jose. (Mark Rabago)

Atkins Kroll Saipan did its big reveal last Saturday when it pulled the covers off a customized 2017 Toyota Tacoma TRD Off-Road designed by Tribe Marianas and built by Taga Customs.

More than 100 people attended the unveiling at the AK showroom last Saturday.

Part of its Tacoma Spirit Sales Event, the unveiling was meant to show Tacoma lovers the customization possibilities of the truck, according to Atkins Kroll Saipan general manager Doug Brennan.

“It’s a tribute to the Tacoma truck, which is the most popular truck on the island. We want to highlight it and show people what they can do with it. We want to recognize the people who customize their trucks,” he said.

Taga Customs’ J.J. Cabrera said it took him two days to customize the truck. In all, Cabrera said the amount of customization he did costs as much as $7,000 and included a lift kit and souping it up with new tires, wheels, sidesteps, bulbar, and roof rack.

“Tacoma is one of the most popular trucks to customize because of the accessibility of after-market parts,” he said

Cabrera said the customized Tacoma doesn’t just represent the CNMI but the entire Marianas, including Guam. It’s also inclusive of all races who call the Marianas home.

Tribe Marianas co-owner/creative director Rob Travilla said their inspiration is the new pattern his T-shirt company designed in 2016, which is Marianas camouflage.

“So within the camouflage you can find all the 15 islands of the Marianas imbedded inside. I wanted to make it rugged because Toyota wanted to push that Saipan Tacoma territory slogan. Something that can take you anywhere like to the beach or to the mountains.”

For his part, Tribe Marianas co-owner and general manager T.J. DLC Manglona said it was truly an honor to work with Atkins Kroll on the customized 2017 Tacoma.

“We’re really glad and honored to do this. Starting out we had a list of companies we wanted to collaborate with and Toyota/Atkins Kroll was on the top of that list,” he said.

Brennan also extended his gratitude to Taga Customs and Tribe Marianas for doing such an excellent job.

“Taga Customs did a good job in building and Tribe Marianas did a good job in the design,” he said.

One of the attendees of the event was American Red Cross-NMI Chapter executive director John Hirsh. He wished he could’ve $52,000 just lying around so he can drive home the customized 2017 Toyota Tacoma TRD Off-Road.