Marketing Or Paradigm Shift? Toyota Tells Engineers To Design Exciting Cars

paradigm shift...Toyota tells engineers to design cars that accelerate only when the driver hits the gas pedal.

Deutschland wrote "paradigm shift...Toyota tells engineers to design cars that accelerate only when the driver hits the gas pedal."

Toyota, like Audi of the post, is still trying to clear their name while someone, anyone including NASA, tries to prove that what the media an Joe Average believes is actually happening.

Yes, a bunch o' people claim their Toyota ran away on them. Ditto with Audis. So far, noby has proven that this is true with Toyota, as with Audi.

I'm waiting for the dust to settle, and for the facts to come out before I step into the frenzied crowds demanding Totoya's head because of what they *believe* to be true.

(Sorry for all the freakin' typos)

lol

"Marketing Or Paradigm Shift? Toyota Tells Engineers To Design Exciting Cars"

How about essential.

FINALLY!!!!!

Oh come on, surely it's exciting anticipating if today is the day it will finally accelerate out of control and crash into a wall. Or if the frame is going to rust. Or if the brakes, steering and/or stability control is going to work properly...

Very interesting that a company like Toyota demanding in 2010 to theirs engineers to desing an exciting cars. I hope they consider safety as a priority too. This 2010 when the competitions is hard and Korean cars fight to gain over japaneses.

Personally, I think it's humorous and misguided asking ENGINEERS to design "exciting" cars. Talk with the designers. Remember the '64 Mustang? It was an affordable car that looked great, but wasn't a hot performer. It became a wild success, and automotive an icon.

Create something goreous that's moderately priced and with reasonably few defects, and you'll have a winner.

IMNSHO, gorgeous is sadly rare in the affordable range.

When you people say Toyota make boring cars, are you talking about design or performance? If it's performance then you could have a case. Although while on vacation I had exchanged a rental Versa with a Corolla and I'm telling you the difference between the two when it comes to comfort and "performance" is like night and day, not to mention the fit and finish is not even close.

When you're talking about design...exactly what model's design do you think is boring and how do you think it compares design-wise to its competition - and I'm not talking about how it compares to one particular car within its segment, I'm talking about the segment overall.

Toyota make's boring cars because that is all they make. The statement doesn't mean to imply that a Ford Focus or VW jetta isn't boring. But what is being said is they have no fun cars that people would actually be happy/excited to own. Their "funnest" car at the moment is the Camry...

Exciting or not, just come up w/ a Z rival!

Or even better, Cayman rival!

Ummm That's like me telling Dodge engineers to make a Cushier more user friendly Dodge Viper SEDAN with a 4 cylinder motor and a 4 speed automatic with a backup camera, lane departure warning system, stability control, All season tires, 8 airbags and a trunk large enough for 4 golf bags and a full sized spare tire.

you can't TELL people to design exciting cars. you HIRE talented designers and engineers. that's where toyota should start.

enthusiastx11 has right. Toyota/problem central has engineers designing cars? Now wonder one get's drowsy approaching one and once in it REM quickly advances on the driver! They are just figuring this out now? Hire a damn designer, you know someone that can put a nice rendering on paper and then CAD. With some passion, because it is lacking!!!!!!

It's good/essential that Toyota is telling their engineers to design differently but it's harder than one would think. The boring but dependable is ingrained into Toyota's corporate culture and it permeates all depts AND suppliers of Toyota. And even if the engineers sign up and buy in, they need "playground" for their creations but didn't Toyota withdrew from Formula 1 and Nascar? I know they're not in WRC. Like the German engineers said when they heard about Lexus' performance aspiration "We go to work driving our cars on the Autobahn at over 200km per hour, they (Japanese) go to work sitting on a train reading the Asahi Shimbun". On-hand experience goes a long way in making these things we call cars you know. Having said all that, I would not put it pass Toyota to improve the fun-factor and performance of their cars but it's a good 7-10 years away, an awful long time for other cars to improve on their own cars. Just my two cents.

The Supra is a great looking car!

How about increasing the quality of metal so they don't rust and improving quality issues first, Then make them economical and perform,then make it pretty.