Toyota DISASTER...

[nmwisima]

I just remembered an incident, I d like to share with you...

Few months ago, I went on Barcelona for the presentation of the new
Corolla FaceLift (for those who don't know, i work as a journalist in a car magazine).

So as always on this trips, we left athens and arrived at barca where the cars were waiting... Later we went to the hotel, went to the press conference and finally for diner.

At the diner table, i was sitting with two japanese guys.
The one next to me was Chief of Development for the Corolla (sorry I cant remember his name). The other was the translator.
After a few words about the new -borring- Corolla, I asked him how many years he was responsible for the Corolla?
He said he was in charge for the latest model, but he was @ Toyota for about 20 years.
Then I threw THE question in his face:
Then you must know of the Corolla GT...
-No.
-The AE86?
-No.
-The HachiRoku?
-Oh, yaeh, I remember, he said...
I continued pressing, asking why Toyota dont make cars like that anymore, cheap and sporty and what about the MR2 and the Supra, which made Toyota name what it is right now...
I even remind him that once -years of glory- toyota had in her range an AE86, a Celica, an MR2 and a Supra, all Rear Wheel Drive...

He mumbled some things about safety for most of the drivers etc.
Then I told him that the buyer of the current MR2 for example, practictlly isn't an average driver, he buys this car cause its RWD, so why put 15'' wheels front and 16'' wheels at the rear? So why put a f***ng ESP, TCS, without a simple button, giving the driver the chance to disable the systems?
He said, "you'll see good thing at the future",
but then again, that's what they all say.

[robokill]

There is a company which is going to rebuild one of the old toyota's but not the AE86 i hope they take it back in production i would but my life savings up for a new one :-)

[rikard]

nmwisima Wrote:I just remembered an incident, I d like to share with you...

Few months ago, I went on Barcelona for the presentation of the new
Corolla FaceLift (for those who don't know, i work as a journalist in a car magazine).

So as always on this trips, we left athens and arrived at barca where the cars were waiting... Later we went to the hotel, went to the press conference and finally for diner.

At the diner table, i was sitting with two japanese guys.
The one next to me was Chief of Development for the Corolla (sorry I cant remember his name). The other was the translator.
After a few words about the new -borring- Corolla, I asked him how many years he was responsible for the Corolla?
He said he was in charge for the latest model, but he was @ Toyota for about 20 years.
Then I threw THE question in his face:
Then you must know of the Corolla GT...
-No.
-The AE86?
-No.
-The HachiRoku?
-Oh, yaeh, I remember, he said...
I continued pressing, asking why Toyota dont make cars like that anymore, cheap and sporty and what about the MR2 and the Supra, which made Toyota name what it is right now...
I even remind him that once -years of glory- toyota had in her range an AE86, a Celica, an MR2 and a Supra, all Rear Wheel Drive...

He mumbled some things about safety for most of the drivers etc.
Then I told him that the buyer of the current MR2 for example, practictlly isn't an average driver, he buys this car cause its RWD, so why put 15'' wheels front and 16'' wheels at the rear? So why put a f***ng ESP, TCS, without a simple button, giving the driver the chance to disable the systems?
He said, "you'll see good thing at the future",
but then again, that's what they all say.

I actually met the chief engineer for the corolla a few years ago before the launch of the current corolla. I think it was back in Sept 2001. He isn't into the sporty side of Toyota at all, more intrested in safety, comfort, passenger hip line (best way of getting in and out of the car) etc.
Yes, I do work for Toyota, used to be in charge of the field quality of the corolla and avensis. Now I handel sports conversions and we should have some exiting things comming out in the next year or so Not as exiting as the AE86 but still exiting