If ever a vehicle was considered an ‘appliance’ it would be the Toyota Camry… in beige. It was the car for people who don’t like cars. And the Subaru Impreza was the cool kid with the hood scoop and big wing. Subaru had a World Rally Team and ‘street cred’ while Toyota was a grocery getter.
Looks like Toyota is upping their game by making cool cars and even releasing an anime series called ‘GRIP: A Toyota Story‘ to promote vehicles like their Toyota GR86 (twin of the Subaru BRZ).
The ‘GRIP‘ series is set in the not-too-distant future where big-tech company SynthCorp has virtually killed car culture. The roads are dominated fleets of cookie-cutter, self-driving cars that the public has been brainwashed into believing are ‘better’. The thrill of driving has been sacrificed at the altar of safety.
Inspired by classic anime like ‘Initial D’ the new Toyota series series has a heroic lead character named Joe Kang who, together with his diverse crew in their Toyotas, battle against boredom by racing around their futuristic metropolis trying to rescue the city from impending doom.
Clearly, the idea behind the series was to glamourize Toyota’s aggressive new models like the GR Corolla and top-dog Toyota Supra. It also gave Toyota a way to sneak in ‘Easter Eggs’ previewing upcoming models, and remind gearheads about classic JDM models like the Toyota AE86.
It’s the eternal battle of good versus evil, just modernized into ‘Automation VS Manual Control’. Of course, the self-driving cars are the bad guys; in the opening episode, protagonist Jae Kang calls them ‘stupid metal sheep’ as Synth cars nearly run him off the road. Good thing Jae’s such a good driver!
The other antagonist is evil Dr. Synth, whom some believe represents Elon Musk, considering how much his automaton-mobiles look like the Tesla Model 3. The philosophy seems to be that if the freedom to drive a car is taken away, it’s simply easier to control society. That’s deep, Toyota!
Episodes of ‘GRIP‘ are only a minute long (like a commercial) and so far, Toyota has released to seasons of 5 episodes each. Paraphrasing Toyota’s PR department, the series is a high-octane combination of heart-pounding action, adrenaline-fueled races, and a battle between the human spirit and computer control.
Subaru used to make a small hatchback with all-wheel-drive and turbocharged power. The WRX STi was iconic, but Subaru discontinued the car to focus on outdoorsy SUVs and electric vehicles. So, the smart people at Toyota used the basic blueprint to create the Toyota GR Corolla with 300 HP and a six-speed manual gearbox.
While Toyota has done something totally creative with ‘GRIP’ to show their vehicles in a heroic light, What has Subaru done? Pulled sponsorship of the Canadian Rally Championship and put their money into triathlons that better reflect the lifestyle of targeted consumers. Wow that sounds bad.
While Toyota is showing off their 3 sporty cars, you can’t even get the big wing on the Subaru WRX anymore!
They seem to go in cycles. But for the most part, I don’t like the looks of most Toyotas.
To me, buying a Toyota meant you’re not a gearhead. They were appliances. And that’s OK. Not everybody wants a turquoise car with the engine poking out the hood.
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But it seems Toyota is changing… rapidly.
Well you know me; I’m a Toyota girl. And while our boring camry isn’t beige, it *is* silver, like a million other camrys out there. But silver was all they had and Greg had to get a car right now as our daughter had totaled the Egg (Previa) on black ice in Indiana. It makes me smile though because it is a great car. Certainly not as cool as SOME people’s cars on this blog, but it gets the job done!
Hey, hey… I’m not criticizing Toyotas. They’re like Maytag washing machines… you know? They get the job done.
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I’m just shocked how Toyota is upping their game, and my beloved Subaru is distancing themselves from what made them great… cool, fast, cheap cars.
Oh also what an interesting post!! You’re so good at analyzing and sharing thoughts about visual media. There’s a new Toyota Supra that parks in the farthest corner of the parking lot at the gym. It’s a pretteh car.
Gosh the new Supra really is a looker (is that a word people still use?). It’s good looking, quick and probably dependable since it’s a Toyota.
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I think that the people at Toyota just hate the self driving garbage cars that are on the market. That’s why they still make vehicles for people who like to drive.
I do recognize that word. Not sure if the youth of today would use it. Its probably politically incorrect or something. And yes that supra is sharp. Didn’t I read that Akio toyoda wanted to make that anime because he wanted Toyotas to be exciting again?
Well, if that’s true then Mr. Toyoda succeeded!