Do you say the y as though it were part of the the To (which I usually hear as TOY-ota) or as though it were part of the ota (which I usually hear as to-YODA)?
Idle curiosity.
well, actually, toy-OTA.
toy-O-ta
If you’re asking how I think it should be pronounced, I’d say toe-YO-ta, but what I think I really say most of the time is toy-O-ta.
For some reason some people, including my father, say tie-O-ta, and it took some effort for me to say it differently on a consistent basis.
Good catch. I’ve missed the edit window, but future posters, please be aware, this is what I meant to say.
Both. Or neither. I pronounce it the same as I would a little green Star Wars figurine. Toy Yoda.The official pronunciation seems to differ based on nationality. Mine seems to be the one used in the U.S. Your latter one is used in Japan. I’ve never heard your former one as distinct from the one I use.
(I tried YouTube to find an official pronunciation, but all I found was this really funny ad.)
ETA: I also remember a radio give-away which hinged on the ambiguity in my preferred pronunciation.
Just thinking about this the other day. Grrr, I hate this. Here it is: Tie-oh-da.
There was also this: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2002/05/09/toy-yoda.htm
Though the article implies that she was the foolish one, I remember news reports at the time making it pretty clear that the waitresses were deliberately being misled.
I say toy-O-ta.
Anybody remember those old “Oh, what a feeling to try! TOYota!” ads? With the people jumping up in the air? When I got my first Toyota, my dad made me jump up in the air next to it so he could take a picture of me. Oy.
Huh. It’s Japanese, right?
To - Yo - Ta.
Tie-OH-da.
But mine’s a GM family, so usually we just say “piece of crap.”
A long time ago, in a journalistic world, far, far away, Mr. Toyoda appeared on the MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour, or whatever they called it back then. The second “t” in Toyota has a bit of a “d” sound to it. Mr. Toyota, while quite old, spoke very good English.
Actually, the family name is Toyoda. It was changed to Toyota for the motor company. I’ve heard various different reasons given for the change.
Hoosier?
With two separate y sounds for some reason.
toy yota
Toy-yoda
This way.
Bobby Hebert, the Cajun quarterback for the Saints and later the Falcons, did a commercial for a local Toyota dealership years ago. He pronounced it “TIE-oh-da” about a dozen times and then the owner of the dealership came on camera and told him it’s pronounced “toy-OH-da”.
ETA after reading about Mr. Toyoda: The early Toyota imports into the U.S. were actually called Toyopets. They come up on eBay once in a while. There’s also a Japanese tire company called Toyo. Not sure if it’s related to Mr. Toyoda though.
No. Actually, I should clarify. That’s how an acquaintance pronounces it. Me, I pronounce it the way it’s supposed to be pronounced. 
Cheddarhead here.
I prefer to pronounce it in the Ernie Boch (Sr.) fashion:
TIE-YOH-ter
toy YO ta’