Just heard the CEO of Toyota Motors say that cars in the near future have to be "fun to drive" or people will not buy them, regardless of who manufactures these cars.
Do you really want a car that is "fun to drive", a "smartphone on wheels", of just a reliable, well built, economical car that will do what you want it to do -- get you from point A to point B?
Full disclosure, I own two Toyota products right now, a 7 year old Toyota Echo and a two year old Rav4. I am not pushing one manufacturer over another, just asking whether the cars of the near future need to be "fun" in order for you to buy them at some reasonable price?
Found a link about the Toyota Vii, one of these "fun cars".
Just heard the CEO of Toyota Motors say that cars in the near future have to be "fun to drive" or people will not buy them, regardless of who manufactures these cars.
Meh. 'fun to drive'? I'd rather have comfortable and stylish. For the moment, with my '94 Mexican Beetle, I'm accomplishing only the latter (and even that's a matter of opinion)
The technology we will increasingly employ will be ever-more personal, as in, not externalized into a huge hunk of metal and plastic.
Besides, what is "fun"? The ability to squeal your tires? Left that behind a quarter-century ago. Huge stereo? Ditto.
Good points, CM. My Toyota Echo looks like a big roller skate, but because it is high off the ground, it handles well in the drifing snow of St.John's. I put on about 5500-6000 per year, so it should last me a long time, since I care for it in terms of regular oil changes and the like.
Paz, mi amigo ........ and I don't mean Octavio Paz Lozano ... although, you are following in his footsteps.
Substitute the word 'easy' for 'fun'. The vast majority of people nowadays are lazy. 'Easy' = 'fun'.
For most people easy means a short, or even non-existant, learning curve.
Doesn't only apply to cars. It's pretty much a universal sales technique, however no marketer (including the CEO of Toyota) will ever use the word 'easy' because it implies the end user is either stupid or lazy. So they come up with words like 'intuitive' or 'fun'. But, boil it down to the basics, and it comes back to 'easy'.
That's not fun, that's just annoying distractions. You want fun? Take a ride with me in my 1949 Meteor with no power equipment of any kind and a shift lever on the steering column. Open the windows by cranking them down and let the breeze blow full in your face with the vent windows turned in. A whopping 100 HP V-8 will get you all the way up to 120 kph wide open!
I'm with you on that one, Don. I still have high hopes of returning to Canada, picking up an old classic (of something - a Beetle is my first choice, but we'll see what's available) and starting an EV conversion project. Something to tinker away with in the basement...
Wow!!!! Even more psychedelic man. Ford was ahead of their time if this was the original color ............ or did you have this paint job done yourself??? A hippie curmudgeon??? Paix, mon ami.
Heh, if you had interchanged 2 and 3, the initials would have spelt ARSE *Beavis-and-Butthead-like giggle here*
Anyway, looks like Toyota and Subaru have collaborated on a rear-wheel drive sporty coupe (with Scion, which is Toyota anyway) being the third. They each make the same car, looks exactly the same, but have their own marques.
If this thing does come out, this would be the first car Toyota has had which is aimed at a younger crowd and tries to bring fun back into driving. Toyota, ever since they abandoned the Celica, have become a Geezer-Cruiser. Very boring and non-existent design, did not even need to pay anyone to update cars since 2001 and yet continued to pay those designers for being idle.
Just heard the CEO of Toyota Motors say that cars in the near future have to be "fun to drive" or people will not buy them, regardless of who manufactures these cars.
Do you really want a car that is "fun to drive", a "smartphone on wheels", of just a reliable, well built, economical car that will do what you want it to do -- get you from point A to point B?
For me, "Fun to Drive" or at least "Interesting" is an important consideration.
New cars are an emotional purchase, even people who just want a basic transportation appliance - otherwise they could just buy a three year old Cobalt (or equivalent), and throw it away when they were finished with it.
Of course, "Fun to drive" isn't the only thing that might motivate someone to buy a new car - comfort, convenience, prestige, style, new features and technology are all considerations for some buyers as well.
For a long time, Toyota sold on the basis of quality and reliability. They still make a quality product - but the problem is, so do a lot of other makers, and quality alone isn't the differentiator it once was. Even the poor cars are actually pretty decent these days, and there isn't much meaningful difference between many high volume, mainstream models.
No doubt Mr. Toyoda sees this, and realizes that selling bland but reliable cars isn't enough any more. The upcoming FT-86 looks like a big step in the right direction. While I'm not likely to run out and get one, it's the first Toyota product introduced in the past 15 years that I find even mildly interesting. It's good for an automaker to have a few "halo" models to drum up interest in the brand - someone might read about or look at an FT-86, and end up buying a Matrix instead.
Although car enthusiasts are a minority, it probably makes sense for an automaker to try to appeal to them as many of them are probably "mavens" who advise their friends and neighbours on car purchases when asked.
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