New Toyota Sports Car to Compete with Ferrari & Porsche, But Where's the Soul?!

Bloomberg reports:

Toyota Motor Corp., the world’s largest automaker by value, gained 90 yen, or 1.5 percent, to 5,980. The company will introduce a sports car in 2009 to compete against high-end Ferraris and Porsches, the Nihon Keizai reported.

Don’t get me wrong -- I love Toyota -- but this is just crazy talk.

Toyota’s a fantastic company. If they want to create a sports car, I’m sure they can do it and I’m sure it will be a huge commercial success. If they want to make a spaceship that goes to Jupiter, I’ll bet they could make one of those too.

I’m a little old-fashioned about this, but in my book I just can’t fathom walking onto a car dealer’s lot and driving away in a Toyota sports car instead of a Ferrari (or Porsche). Forget about the specs, forget about the money. Where’s the passion? Where’s the soul?

Put it another way: Would Miami Vice have been remotely the same if Sonny Crockett drove a Toyota?

Comments

[the_Bird:]

Have they announced that it will be a "Toyota"? They seem to be aware of the limitations of their branding, that's why they make the young, hip cars under the Scion brand. I would fully expect that they would do something similar for an uber-high end performance vehicle as well.

2006 Jul 12 09:09 AM