TOYOTA'S 'SEXY DIAMOND' ?

The Chief Engineer of Toyota's just-announced C-HR Crossover, Hiroki Koba says: "I think it looks sexy, like a sexy diamond. But, I admit, if you love it, you love. If not?"

What? This is Toyota-Talk? Yep. The hugely conservative Japanese behemoth says it can produce 'exciting' cars - sporty, completely different to boring. Why now?

Sure it has the monumentally-successful Toyota 86 coupe, but apparently it wants to produce mainstream cars with sex appeal.


Okay, but I'm not sure who this is aimed at.

Young people will seek out a brand with a true, sporty, sexy image; and the oldies will stick to their Camrys. This is an interesting take on trying to force attitude change, and let's face it, with a cash bank balance of USD$30 billion plus; Toyota can afford any flight of fancy it desires to follow.

Apparently, President Akio Toyoda is on board, which I guess is good for Koba-san. And the C-HR is aimed at Toyota's global markets, powered by a turbocharged, 85kW 1.2L engine, mated to a CVT with either FWD or AWD.



Well, let's see how the market likes it, or not!