'If it's not fun to drive, it's not a car'

'If it's not fun to drive, it's not a car'

Toyota chief Toyoda reveals 'fun to drive' fight-back plan

Dressed in a racing suit, Akio Toyoda, 55, comes across as a man of the people.

And not only of the people who work in the industry that his company dominates.

His frequent appearances behind the wheel of fast cars at race tracks, both in Japan and elsewhere in the world, seem designed to appeal to Toyota's customers as well.

"I have travelled repeatedly to the Nurburgring to understand European auto culture," grins the president and chief executive the world's largest carmaker by volume. "We have a lot to learn."

Mr Toyoda's new public persona marks a notable departure from his past, when many viewed him as a bean-counting businessman dressed in a grey suit.

These days, he comes across as passionate, yet humble - the perfect embodiment of the "car guy" that Toyota clearly needs at the helm as it gets ready to fight back against competitors such as General Motors and Volkswagen Group.

Both are snapping at their Japanese rival's heels, exploiting its weakness in the wake of a string of crippling crisis.

'Better cars'

The saying "it never rains, but it pours" seems apt as the Fuji Speedway circuit test track is drenched by the early winter rain.

"Since becoming president of Toyota," Mr Toyoda recalls, "we have been through a lot."

First there was the fallout from the collapse of Lehman Brothers, which sent Japan spiralling into recession.

Then there were the mass recalls of cars a couple of years back, that were followed by cringemaking testimonies to the US Congress by Mr Toyoda and other Toyota executives.

This year's 11 March earthquake, tsunami and nuclear energy crisis disrupted component supplies to carmakers and knocked Japan off its feet yet again.

Further pain was caused by recent floods in Thailand, which again disrupted parts supplies.

And to top it all, the current historically strong yen makes it almost impossible to make money from exporting cars from Japan, especially as sales volumes have plunged.

But Mr Toyoda - a descendant of Sakichi Toyoda who established Toyoda Automatic Loom Works, which later became Toyota Motors - remains defiant.

"Under all these hardships, one thing remained unchanged," he insists. "We continued to strive to make better cars."

'Fun to drive again'

One of them is the just-launched GT86, a relatively affordable sportscar that was penned, in partnership with Subaru's owner Fuji Heavy Industries, to help revive the battered Toyota brand.

Driving the car on the rain-soaked track, at the base of cloud-covered Mount Fuji, is a treacherous affair, in spite of its light weight and low centre of gravity.

When driven hard around the Formula 1 track's tight bends, the rear-wheel powered car delivers more than enough kick to make it a precarious experience.

It is also exhilarating, and it is this feeling of excitement rather than the GT86's overall performance that sets out the path for all Toyota's future models to follow.

The GT86 - or simply 86 or "Hachi-roku" as it is known here in Japan - is there to hint at how the carmaker aims to make Toyota's "fun to drive again".

"Even cars that are not sportscars bring acceleration and excitement to the people," Mr Toyoda says.

"If it's not fun to drive, it's not a car."

'If it's not fun to drive, it's not a car'