TOKYO — Toyota is secretly planning a big diesel pickup truck for the U.S. market and will add a hybrid as well, according to a report in Tokyo.

In a move to counter soaring energy prices and stifle accusations of building gas guzzlers, Toyota is going eco-friendly with the next Tundra. Sort of.

In the works is a new big-block diesel V8, an engine Toyota plans to drop into the new Tundra and build at the rate of 70,000 units per year out of its new greenfield TMMTX plant in San Antonio, Texas, that opens this year. However, the diesel is apparently still three years away.

To ramp up the pickup's eco image, a new high-efficiency V8 and a gas-electric hybrid are also reportedly in the works. The diesel will be Toyota's first such unit in the United States and comes at a time when Nissan is also actively looking at building a diesel Titan.

What this means to you: Toyota's golden these days in the United States, thanks to the sophisticated super-green image of the Prius. Can it work now the same kind of magic with the Tundra? Give it marks for trying, anyway.