Whenever you watch old television shows or movies, take note of how colorful the cars in the background happen to be. While some of the vintage hues may have negatively impacted resale value, it’s clear that modern paint options are decidedly bland in comparison to what was once available. Well, Toyota has decided to do the world a solid by offering an all-new color for its vehicles. But it has tragically (and shrewdly) locked the paint scheme behind one of the priciest trims.
Toyota’s new “Wave Maker” paint is somewhere between robin-egg blue and aqua. However, the automaker has confirmed that it will be exclusive to TRD Pro versions of 4Runner, Tacoma, Tundra and Sequoia models — so don’t expect to be seeing it everywhere.
“We had a few years of warm natural hues inspired by traditional landscapes like Terra and Mudbath as signature colors. With Wave Maker, we were inspired by unexplored areas of adventure including extreme territory and even beyond earth,” stated Benjamin Jimenez, general manager at CALTY Design Research in Ann Arbor. “Wave Maker expresses an elemental spirit that evokes images of glacial depths and the thrill of new frontiers.”
My better half sent me an excited string of texts after I showed her the new color, claiming this and seafoam green were the two hues she most wanted to see automakers put back into rotation. However, when I informed her that the cheapest way to obtain the color from Toyota would be to purchase a $67,000 4Runner TRD Pro, she sent me back a word that I probably shouldn’t repeat here. Toyota’s Heritage Blue (available on lower trimmed models) was likewise deemed an unacceptable substitute.
It’s more than a little tragic that the automaker decided to lock the color behind one of its most expensive (albeit likewise desirable) trims. But Toyota knows exactly what it’s doing here, as there are plenty of shoppers that are willing to cling less tightly to their purses or simply possess deeper pockets.
For those interested, Wave Maker will be an option on the aforementioned 2026 model year TRD Pro vehicles. Availability should start late in 2025. Meanwhile, those unwilling to splurge on the expensive off-road variants just to obtain the light blue will have to wait to see if Wave Maker migrates to other Toyota products or shell out a few grand to have their current ride wrapped/repainted in a similar color.
[Images: Toyota]
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