A Cultural Sci-con

Rather than build a community like Ford did for their yet-to-be-released Fiesta (See my post on Ford’s Fiesta Movement), Toyota decided to take advantage of an existing community. Toyota, producer of the new Scion market, took a different approach than Ford.  Toyota developed Scion to be marketed toward the “Generation-Y” or “Generation Next” consumers. Scion even developed their cars using Generation-Y testers. These cars, known for their funky and customizable nature, are a hot commodity among Generation-Y’s. To narrow in on Scions demographic, most young Scion customers are “car-people” (opposed to Ford’s everyday “Agents“) who not only use their car for transportation, but more-so as a hobby. These Scion “car-people” make up a community of Scion fans, which is exactly what Toyota and Scion aim to take advantage of.

On Scion’s website, Scion offers a list of  “Scion Enthusiast Sites.” This list includes both a list and map view. The map view allows you to find Scion enthusiasts in your area, while the list view allows you to view online communities that are solely dedicated to Scion users.  However, Scion still takes this a step further. Rather than organize large number of small groups around the nation, Scion developed a master of all Scion enthusiast sites with their “Scion Speak.“

Scion Speak is a social networking site that allows fellow Scion owners to communicate in the cyber world, and meet in the real world. The idea of Scion Speak, according to marketing developer Scott Good of StrawberryFrog, the idea of Scion Speak was to create pride in the Scion community and allow this passionate community to spread the word. Their goal was for the passion within the Scion community to drive itself.

As seen in the video below, Scionspeak allows users to be a part of a community, yet express their own individually, which is a strong part of the Scion culture. Users are able to express themselves with customizable design symbols, which are similar to a coat of arms. Only a few of the unlimited possibilities are seen in the video. These symbols elaborate on more than the users style. Certain symbols aspects can represent favorite music, geographical demographics, relationship status, alternative hobbies and more.  I know Yahoo! allows customizable icons as well, so what makes these symbols different from everyday avatars? Well, many users can link their icon to other social networking sites. Similar to Ford’s “Fiesta Movement,” this integrates Scion into cyber areas that their target consumers already are. To further the use of ScionSpeak, many users paint or stick their “coat of arms” directly on their Scion to embrace their community as well as express individuality.

Not only is it effective – it’s fun. Check out Scionspeak to either “make” your own crest, or “look” to view thousands of users crests. With multiple options and customizable combinations, the possibilities are virtually endless. I went ahead and made my own crest for your amusement:
(Unfortunately, I don’t think that this would look as cool on my Nissan SUV.)

Scions approach to its target market (which, according to the project creator is young, creative customizers) seems to fit perfectly. So does Scionspeak work? According to USA Today Article, “Outside-the-Box Scion Scores with Young Drivers,” ScionSpeak.com attracts 170,000 visitors a day. Not only does such a community environment spread the word on Scion, it builds brand-loyalty, which could go a long way when targeting such a specific audience.

Tommy Kaira and ASI Prius

Really Japan? Has this what it has come to? All tuning news and innovation coming out of Japan seems to be either R35 GT-R or Prius/Insight. The rest of the tuning scene has very little news coming out. Can we get a little variety please? I’m already holding back on some GT-R blog posts because we have so many as it is, thats the big news these days.

Although you’ll find me being a huge supporter and fan of the R35 GT-R tuning scene, the Prius tuning scene is a bit different for me.

Dont get me wrong, I really respect the Prius (and Insight) for what they are (nature saving, efficient and affordable daily drivers). In fact I wouldnt be opposed to getting a Prius for a daily driver and if I did I’d probably be looking at one of these two companies for modifications (and Top Secret as a great third option for more simple lip kits). There is absolutely nothing wrong with the Prius and absoultely nothing wrong with making it look cool and perhaps even improving aerodynamics for better performance and economy (although these two probably worsen rather than improve Cd).

Continue reading after the jump!

So what’s my beef? I like the Prius, I’d rock these kits…why the negativity? I’ll tell you why. Because this year for Tokyo Auto Salon I’m bringing my whole crew with me, as I usually do. This year we’re rolling 8 deep to Tokyo to see what is new at TAS. And you know what, when I ask my industry insider friends in Japan they all are telling me that TAS wont be the same and it’ll be dominated by “green” cars and eco cars with much less sports car tuning.

I understand the Japanese consumers demand eco tuning and styling, thats cool…but it is so overboard at this point that it feels like the Japanese government must have made a mandate that all tuners ARE REQUIRED to offer a tuning package for either the Prius or the Insight. I mean, who isnt doing parts for these cars right now? Enough already! (and it’s just begun) I’m telling you, if I see a JUN stroker kit come out for a damn Prius I’m throwing in the towel!

So now on top of having a Top Secret Prius demo car (picture that along side the monstrous Nardo Supra) we now have ASI’s demo Prius (picture that alongside their monsterous Tetsu widebody Bentley GTR or their slick Ferrari F430) AND we now have Tommy Kaira’s Prius demo car (picture that alongside their intense looking R35 GT-R car in development).

See what I’m getting at? Where’s the hardcore? Where’s the sports car tuning? Lets enjoy the Prius for what it is (a great eco car) but for my sanity’s sake, PLEASE DO NOT REPLACE OUR SPORTS CAR TUNING FUTURE WITH THIS. I understand Eco is the future for the masses, but can we keep our sports cars too? I thought the point was to have a sports car for the weekends and a Prius to daily drive. Lets keep it that way, keep the R&D coming on sports car tuning parts too please! I really dont want this blog to be required to feature hybrid news 3 days a week because there is nothing else fresh coming out.

Know what I’m saying?

Let me hear what you have to say on this please…

Ending rant, nobody can argue that this rear end of the Prius (below) by Tommy Kaira (under new management in Japan) is the most amazing thing we’ve ever seen on a hybrid. This is as good as it gets design wise for the Prius. If I was an aero parts manufacturer, I wouldnt even bother making a rear under spoiler for the Prius after seeing this by Tommy Kaira. Game over.

Toyota prevê aumento de 3% nas vendas

Terra Carros

A Toyota, maior fabricante do mundo, espera contabilizar um aumento de 3% em suas vendas globais até o fim do ano fiscal 2009-2010, que, no caso da fabricante, será encerrado em março. A produção também poderá retomar a expectativa de alta e atingir um crescimento de 8%.

A previsão de 6,7 milhões de automóveis comercializados poderá ser atingida, em grande parte, devido aos diversos programas de incentivo oferecidos por diversos governos ao redor do mundo. No caso dos EUA, por exemplo, os carros da marca japonesa foram muito procurados devido ao baixo índice de emissões. Naquele país, o interessado poderia obter um subsídio de até US$ 2.800, cerca de R$ 5.000.

Fonte : Terra Carros/César Tizo |www.carroonline.terra.com.br

More evidence of a Toyota departure

Toyota's previous second place was in 2005

Second at the Singapore Grand Prix was a great result for the Cologne based team, and equals their best result since they entered F1 in 2002.

It is known that the team do not have their budget signed off for 2010 and therefore the fact that they have effectively released both their drivers (Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock) for 2010 could be seen as a clear sign that they will pull out after the Abu Dhabi grand prix. Of course it is also a sign of a team who cannot yet commit to 2010 until the budget is agreed. It is probably for similar reasons that engine customer Williams are actively seeking a change in supply for 2010. TMC are forecasting revenues of 7.8 billion yen for April – September 2009, a 36% drop from 2008. If the figure is well below this then it is likely that drastic action will need to be taken and a high profile casualty will be the F1 Team. Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.

Mythbusters Blows Up a Camry, No One Mourns

Mythbuster’s compares Hollywood explosions to Mafia-style executions.  In the first blast, there are just a few gallons a gasoline and a small amount of explosives to ignite the flammables.  But in the second explosion, they used hundreds of pounds of explosives in the hood, trunk and cabin to turn the well-built import into a few hunks of twisted metal. Loose the Monday blues by enjoying carnage and destruction that only Mythbuster’s can deliver.

GP Cingapura 2009, corrida completa e compacta

2009 FORMULA 1 SINGTEL SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX Pos No Driver Team Laps Time/Retired Grid Pts 1 1 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 61 1:56:06.337 1 10 2 10 Timo Glock Toyota 61 +9.6 secs 6 8 3 7 Fernando Alonso Renault 61 +16.6 secs 5 6 4 15 Sebastian Vettel RBR-Renault 61 +20.2 secs 2 5 5 22 Jenson Button Brawn-Mercedes 61 +30.0 secs 11 4 6 23 Rubens Barrichello Brawn-Mercedes 61 +31.8 secs 9 3 7 2 Heikki Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 61 +36.1 secs 8 2 8 5 Robert Kubica BMW Sauber 61 +55.0 secs 7 1 9 17 Kazuki Nakajima Williams-Toyota 61 +56.0 secs 10   10 4 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 61 +58.8 secs 12   11 16 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota 61 +59.7 secs 3   12 9 Jarno Trulli Toyota 61 +73.0 secs 14   13 3 Giancarlo Fisichella Ferrari 61 +79.8 secs 17   14 21 Vitantonio Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes 61 +93.5 secs 19   Ret 11 Jaime Alguersuari STR-Ferrari 47 Brakes 16   Ret 12 Sebastien Buemi STR-Ferrari 47 Gearbox 13   Ret 14 Mark Webber RBR-Renault 45 Brakes 4   Ret 20 Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 23 Accident damage 15   Ret 6 Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber 19 Accident 20   Ret 8 Romain Grosjean Renault 3 Brakes 18 Compacto da corrida (dur. 19′38″):

Corrida completa na íntegra (dur. 02:14′09″):

Ofertas para o Dia das Crianças no Submarino:
     

State Fair of Texas Tundra Display

 This year’s state fair is especially important for the world’s largest automaker as it readies to double down on its truck-building investment in the Lone Star State. A dual-line in Toyota’s San Antonio plant will start building Tacomas alongside Tundras next year. Toyota hopes consolidating truck production in Texas — the largest market for pickups in the country — will help bolster its status with consumers in the biggest pickup market.And the state fair is a perfect place to try and snag attention from competitors. Organizers tout the auto show at the state fair as one of the largest in the country. It’s also viewed as one of the best venues for automakers to show of their latest trucks.

This year, Dodge, Ford, GMC, Chevrolet and Toyota are displaying their latest pickups in a roughly 130,000-square-foot pavilion at the fair, which is expected to draw about 3 million visitors during its three-week run.

The opportunity to tap into a Texas crowd wasn’t missed by one of Toyota’s top North American executives. Bob Carter, group vice president and general manager of the automakers selling arm in the United States, reminded a crowd Thursday that “Toyota is the only manufacturer that builds pickup trucks in Texas.”

And with the arrival of the Tacoma, Toyota now will be building about 80 percent of its entire pickup fleet in San Antonio.