Famous 1.6 Million-Mile Tacoma is Still Going Strong!

By Brett Foote - August 30, 2023

Sadly, the owner of the 1.6 Million-Mile Tacoma recently passed away, but his truck will live on at the place where it all began.

By now, most automotive fans are well aware of the existence of what is perhaps the most famous 1.6 Million-Mile Tacoma, a 2008 model owned by a fellow named Mike Neal. Neal purchased his pickup brand new back in late 2007 from Fred Anderson Toyota in Raleigh, North Carolina, and proceeded to drive it – a lot. In fact, Neal managed to rack up over 1.6 million miles in a fairly short amount of time, thanks to his job, which required him to deliver nuclear medicine to cancer patients all along the east coast. It’s been a while since we’ve had an update on this incredibly high-mile Toyota Tacoma, but recently, Jeff Teague of the Toyota Jeff Reviews YouTube channel provided us with precisely that.

Teague is more qualified than arguably anyone to tell the story of this high-mile Tacoma, as he was the person that actually sold the truck to Neal brand new back in 2007, when he was working as a salesperson at Fred Anderson Toyota. He’s also made a couple of videos in the past documenting this same pickup as it continued to rack up an incredible number of miles at a rapid clip – more than 100,000 per year, in fact.

Unfortunately, Neal didn’t get to see his truck make it to the highly-anticipated two million-mile mark, as he recently passed away from cancer himself. After that, his wife Cindy contacted Teague – per her husband’s instructions – and noted that he would know precisely what to do with the truck. Turns out, he did – Teague quickly realized that this famous Toyota Tacoma needed to be on display for everyone to see, where it could also help spread Neal’s incredible story as well.

Thus, the team at Fred Anderson is cleaning up the well-worn truck and parking it right smack in the showroom, where anyone can go see what is perhaps the most famous Tacoma of all-time up close and personal. Neal was a passionate guy who clearly took great pride in his work, spending many days and nights rushing medicine to cancer patients who were nervously anticipating their test results to see if their condition was improving, and he dedicated a good portion of his life to doing precisely that. Now, his legacy – along with his truck’s – can live on in a fitting. manner, as the Tacoma itself is back where it all began.