Japanese Nostalgic Car

Today, Shoichiro Toyoda spoke at the Woodrow Wilson Center International Center for Scholars in Washington DC. This is right in our backyard, so we made the haul down to Das Capital to see what the son of Toyota Motor Corporation founder Kiichiro Toyoda had to say.

Much of the speech centered on the Toyota Production System, the company’s US plants, and US-Japan relations. We’ll spare you the details. An interesting anecdote emerged, however. In 1957, Toyota debuted the Toyopet Crown in the US, where it completely failed to impress the car-buying public. Curious, Dr. Toyoda took two Crowns for a drive on American roads. The power-to-weight ratio was so horrid, he couldn’t even merge safely onto the highway if the on-ramp sloped uphill. The future Honorary Chairman of one of the biggest auto manufacturers on Earth was forced to drive around until he found a downhill ramp. True to the TPS, he returned to Japan with his research, and eventually gave us the modern ‘Yotas that can get up inclines with no problemo.

[Image courtesy of iccic.or.jp]

Last week we told you about Toyota USA’s very own blog. Well on that blog, as part of their countdown to the 50th anniversary celebration on October 31, a retrospective of significant Toyotas will be highlighted, the first of which is the 2000GT. We’ve cast many words into the electronic ether over this amazing automobile in the past, so we’ll let Open Road take the helm.

Of course, the one thing you will never hear us mention in any article about the 2000GT is its minor role in a laughably ridiculous series of movies about some British chap with a pistol. We understand that the unwashed may need the pop culture reference to orient themselves, but we think the car stands just fine on its own. Let’s just say that a current viewing of the film – which features both a bald, gray-suited, parody-ripe villain who builds a spaceship to usher in WWIII and a plastic surgery operation that turns Indiana Jones’s father into a Vulcan – proves it does not stand up to the test of time nearly as well as the machine itself.

[Source: Toyota Open Road Blog]

In Japan, blogs are a favorite feature of automakers during new product launches or for marking significant occasions. Daihatsu recently launched one to commemorate their 100th anniversary. Nissan has been operating one since the lead-up to the 50th anniversary of the Skyline. But now, Toyota USA has one of their very own. It’s called Toyota Open Road Blog, and it’s been live since June of this year (Yeah, we had no idea either).

Well, yesterday’s post just happened to be about the company’s US arm turning the big Five-O. The entry reflects upon Toyota’s humble beginnings at their rented Beverly Hills, CA office and 13-member staff, and just how different things were back then. Martin Luther King Jr. was just forming what would grow into the Civil Rights movement, the Soviets launched Sputnik, and the US conducted its first nuclear test.

Most importantly, however, this blog is part of Toyota’s new push to keep their finger on the pulse of us consumers and enthusiasts. They’ll be closely monitoring what the blogosphere has to say about their products, so if you have anything to praise them on or get off your chest, head on over there and comment away.

[Source: Toyota Open Road Blog and Brandweek via Autoblog]