It’s been more than 50 years since men first walked on the moon, but the whole exercise, in all its horizon-stretching technological brilliance and focused sense of national purpose, still excites me a half-century-plus since then. And if you’re one of those who insists the whole thing was faked by the government and the moon walk actually took place in a TV studio, too bad. It’s fascinating enough in my own case that the outwardly insignificant news of a new automotive paint scheme suddenly becomes, well, newsworthy when there’s an Apollo connection. That brings us to the disclosure that Toyota has a new 2021 color in its palette for its TRD Pro lineup of off-roaders, which encompasses specialized versions of the 4Runner and Sequoia SUVs and the Tundra and Tacoma pickups. The new color, a light monochromatic gray, is called Lunar Rock. It will supplant Army Green in the TRD Pro selection of hues.
If you spend any time in front of the TV looking at the home-improvement networks, you most likely realize that the light-gray theme (often with white trim) is currently the red-hot choice of color for interior decor, so it’s probably logical that the theme was going to make its way to the automotive world at some point. Hey, look at the most expensive motorcycle Harley-Davidson sells, the CVO Limited tourer, base price $44,039, has a pale gray known as Sand Dune among its color offerings. Order a TRD Pro vehicle, and you’ll get specific alloy wheels shows with Nitto Terra Grappler tires, plus Fox shock absorbers and tuned coil springs. So no more bad jokes about how gray is all about getting old, because it’s not.
Jim Donnelly On Wheels 