Toyota to Debut Next-generation Century at Tokyo Motor Show 2017

maiaramdan

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@Trexus
Honestly I disagree
Century is a Toyota even before they thought about the idea of luxury company and it should stay the same

Just start selling it outside Japan
 

Ian Schmidt

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@Trexus
Honestly I disagree
Century is a Toyota even before they thought about the idea of luxury company and it should stay the same

Just start selling it outside Japan

US buyers won't touch a high-end car with a low-end nameplate. The cratering of the VW Phaeton demonstrated that nicely (although the car itself shares some responsibility there).
 

maiaramdan

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@Ian Schmidt
Toyota started to be a low-end from late 90th actually, to give Lexus extra boast and that's by far the worst ever mistake
Toyota until the late to mid 90th had already
1)Corona a real 3 series competitor in Europe then changed it to Carina E then Avensis then changed the drive from front to rear

2)Cressida a real E class competitor and with the same price percentage gap between the E class and GS and they killed it with NO REASON WHAT SO EVER just for the sake of GS which ironically they will kill it

3)Supra which will finally returns it to the world but with BMW heart

4)Land Cruiser before the LX was the pinnacle and was head 2 head with Range Rover even more than the LX which have no heritage what so ever except it's a fancy Land Cruiser with less entry and departure angles

Those are just a simple examples that Toyota was already a luxury from day 1 and they killed that for Lexus which until now have no meaning if the same cars here is the same car there, same goes for Honda & Nissan by the way which I think if you deleted Acura tomorrow Honda will get much more better as the same models is here and there, same goes with Infiniti after turning it to FWD and honestly same can be in Lexus as all Lexus and Toyota are now TNGA related in both chassis and Engines
 

Levi

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US buyers won't touch a high-end car with a low-end nameplate. The cratering of the VW Phaeton demonstrated that nicely (although the car itself shares some responsibility there).

I wish there was a marketing strategy the kill the "nameplate" strategy. I wish products/services had more value than nameplates. With globalization and all that, we are past the nameplate and heritage thing, it has no more meaning in our cold society. Thus I wish every VIP car was a Toyota Century, every precision time piece a Casio and every hand held computing device a Nokia and every desk computing device a Thinkpad. Yep, no brand-emotional-relationship-travesty, just pure functional solid devices that help humanity to advance, rather than losing time on useless "perception games", real or virtual.
 

maiaramdan

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@Levi

Somehow I agree on your major points,
If Benz start doing FWD hatchbacks and Hyundai / Kia successfully selling RWD this is a major market change

The customer needs the better regardless of the brand name
 

ssun30

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The Century targets 50 units a month in Japan. I would say even if it couldn't sell well in other places, an extra 50 units in other markets is achievable. Also, LHD Century is a thing. No reason to not sell it in LHD countries.

They just need to stay away from the U.S. People will not understand this car. They will laugh at how old it looks, how 'cramped' the interior is, how 'slow' it accelerates in a straight line, and how it is an overpriced Lexus without a Lexus badge.
 

maiaramdan

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I mean as a business case
The first step after it's 60 years success is to sell it as is with its RHD in the RHD countries to start getting the momentum needed

Also another point the main market competitor to this vehicle is still also RHD "England"
 

Ian Schmidt

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They just need to stay away from the U.S. People will not understand this car. They will laugh at how old it looks, how 'cramped' the interior is, how 'slow' it accelerates in a straight line, and how it is an overpriced Lexus without a Lexus badge.

In fairness, some of those factors contributed to the demotion of Maybach from brand to trim level, so it's not always just Lexus that gets hit with this stuff.
 

isanatori

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I ve read about the Century and I believe we are commiting hubris (I did it too) by speaking about this car as a market oriented car.

It was created as a reverence paid to the creator Sakichi Toyoda.
It was named Century because it signified the 100th birthday of the founder of Toyota Industries.
It is handmade and it does not make a business case.

I realize, it is unfair to compare the Century to cars intended for profits.
 
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Joaquin Ruhi

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A cool read on the latest Toyota Century:

AR-180819970.jpg


Toyota Century: Lost in translation
August 12, 2018 - Hans Greimel - Automotive News

When luxuriating in the rear-seat hush of the just redesigned Toyota Century — Japan's answer to a Rolls-Royce — it's the little things that define the car as one part iconic ultrapremium status symbol, one part anachronism from a bygone era.

There is the wool moquette upholstery tailored to create a quiet, warm, cocoonlike cabin with all the nostalgia of Granddad's old business suit. There is the ceiling fabric, embroidered with a slanting lattice motif that evokes the understated gentility of Grandma's lace tablecloth.

Front and center stands a massive 11.6-inch audio screen with its fully functional television set, all controlled by a sophisticated touch panel at the passenger's fingertips in the center arm rest.

But then you notice the interesting choice of a DVD player add-on. At least it's Blu-ray. And there is also the clock — analog, of course.

And a shoehorn stand.

The latter is essential because the simple act of reclining in the back seat enjoins the well-heeled rider to immediately pop off the wingtips and throw up their weary trotters on the car's fold-down ottoman.

Rest assured, the Japanese would not be as gauche as to put shoes on the ottoman.

The whole experience explains why Toyota Motor Corp. keeps building this limousine. It perfectly encapsulates a frozen-in-time Japanese aesthetic of what luxury ought to be.

It is also one reason why export-minded Toyota has no plans to sell the Century overseas, despite finally giving the car its first redesign in 21 years. In an international limousine market dominated by Rolls, Bentley and Maybach, much of the Century just gets lost in translation.

A cut above

Demand for Toyota's limo is low, even in Japan. The redesigned cruiser went on sale here in June, and Toyota expects to sell only 50 a month.

Eye-watering pricing has something to do with that. The new Century starts at ¥19.6 million ($176,600), including tax. That's nearly $30,000 more than the top-grade Lexus LS sedan, the flagship of Toyota's premium brand and the more obvious executive option. Toyota bumped up the Century's price from $112,890 for the outgoing model partly to reinforce the Century's status as a cut above.

To be sure, the new generation gets some big updates, starting under the hood.

Toyota has dumped the silky smooth 5.0-liter V-12 engine of the outgoing model in favor of the brand's trademark hybrid technology. The next Century pairs a direct injection 5.0-liter V-8 with a two-stage electric motor and nickel metal hydride battery for power and fuel economy.

But other changes are mostly cosmetic, including the addition of LED headlamps, three-dimensional taillights and a more rear-slung posture. The rear door opening is also enlarged to ease access for the Century's traditional demographic — those in the over-50 set.

But much of the Century doesn't translate into the modern, international world of luxury.

Consider the Century's iconic phoenix emblem: To produce each golden badge, an insignia that resembles a crowing rooster, requires six weeks of meticulous hand carving by master craftsmen. That artistry is likely lost on the casual foreign observer, who might be excused for mistaking the emblem for some electroplated bric-a-brac hawked to tourists in front of one of Tokyo's temples.

But the car nonetheless resonates with many in Japan. There, the Century is revered with almost religious awe. It is the official car of the emperor, prime ministers and esteemed captains of industry — people who could afford and easily opt for European rivals but don't.

Makeover

Century Chief Engineer Masato Tanabe says the car fills an important niche.

"The Lexus LS is the top model among driver's cars, but the Century is the only dedicated chauffeur model," Tanabe said. "The Century is hand-crafted. That is the value of this model. You can't just change a little on the LS and get a Century."

Only 10 percent of Century buyers drive the car themselves, he added.

Indeed, at a launch event here last month, Toyota bucked convention by offering journalists a chauffeured test ride in the rear but no actual test drive from behind the wheel.

Unapologetic obsession with creating a fun-to-ride car may seem anathema to a company that has gone all out to reinvent itself as the purveyor of fun-to-drive cars.

President Akio Toyoda has been drilling the "fun to drive" mantra into the corporate consciousness for years.

The Toyota boss, an avid racing fan, may be among those wanting some compromise in the Century's zenlike retro aura. When he recently took delivery of his own new Century, it was a one-off customized job. But it wasn't to add premium accouterments befitting his CEO status. Akio's Century was pimped with a tuner kit from Toyota's GRMN performance line.

"At the line-off ceremony, President Toyoda said, 'For me, personally, I wasn't close to the Century,' " Tanabe recalled. " 'But now, I'm driving a GRMN vehicle, and it's closer now.' "

http://www.autonews.com/article/201...-luxury?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

I'm dying to see what Akio Toyota's GRMN Century looks like, and what precisely is in that "tuner kit"...
 

CIF

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A cool read on the latest Toyota Century:
AR-180819970.jpg

http://www.autonews.com/article/201...-luxury?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

I'm dying to see what Akio Toyota's GRMN Century looks like, and what precisely is in that "tuner kit"...

LS600h owners would probably like to see that tuner kit too.

Ask and you shall receive :cool:.

This is officially the rarest (and also one of the hottest) Toyotas on the planet. It is a 1 of 1 model.

This is Akio Toyoda's GRMN Century. :fist:

Dmd5w-RUcAEdwdW.jpg


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Supposedly, the word out from Toyota officials out of Japan is that this is "related to product development in the future, and they cannot comment". Also just a few days ago in Japan there was press conference related to the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association where Akio Toyoda spoke. This Century was caught parked outside.
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IMG_3588.jpg
 

maiaramdan

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No word can describe my feelings, in short hope at least the newest current crowns got one or more design element from this century
 
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