Recently, Toyota subsidiaries on both sides of the pond put out a call to enthusiasts and owners, assembled them at a race track, and filmed the experience. In the US, it was to promote the new Supra at Auto Club Speedway in California. In the UK, it was an autocross session at Silverstone Circuit in Northhamptionshire. Both videos were released at the same time, but Toyota is so big that it’s unlikely this was a coordinated effort. Who did it better?
Despite holding a smaller market share in a smaller country, Toyota UK was able to wrangle some truly impressive cars. The diverse showing included a first-gen Celica, Celica GT-Four, AE86, TE27, MR2, Soarer, Supras of all generations, and a newly restored kujira Crown Wagon. As we’ve seen, owners in the UK can be fanatical and are capable of tremendous restorations of even the most obscure cars.
In the Toyota USA version, the focus was all on the Supra, understandably, specifically the iconic A80 generation. Although, some familiar faces can be seen in a daruma Celica and Corona Hardtop also in the background. The speedway setting was perhaps appropriate, since the most prominent racing series that the Supra will take place in stateside is in NASCAR.
California has a reputation for being the epicenter of car culture, and it’s easy to get spoiled. We take for granted our year-round good weather and dry, car-preserving climate. In this case, though, we have to give the win to the UK. It not only had the better turnout of cars, but also the far superior video production. Sorry, California, maybe next time.
The UK video was more enjoyable to watch and you can tell some effort went into it. The USA video at a mere 1:35 play time was a sad effort and a missed mark to showcase the enthusiasm of Toyota owners and their cars.. Oh wait I know i recognized something the Video was similar to the missed mark of the 5th gen Supra…
“Northhamptionshire”
Close, but no cigar Ben 😉 It’s “Northamptonshire”.
The US video missed the drag race with Macho Man Corona Hardtop, MKV Supra and the Daruma Celica….with a surprise winner !! ?
Well, don’t keep us in suspense!
Not really a contest. UK video encompasses much more of the Toyota brand spirit. US video is short yet overdone, generic and has annoying music. The UK video was longer, but by the end, I still wanted to watch more. The US video on the other hand I was basically waiting for it to end by the 1 minute mark.
Though as mentioned, I doubt it was a planned thing, so hopefully coincidental and not necessarily videos that were produced toward the same goal.
Also, Silverstone > NASCAR/Speedways.
I felt the UK TOYOTA video was a better representation of Toyota drivers, with the diversity of cars and people. The US one, didn’t.