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What did Toyota’s President; Akio Toyoda, say after sitting in the Nissan Z?

Dinesh · Feb 8, 2022 04:33 AM

What did Toyota’s President; Akio Toyoda, say after sitting in the Nissan Z? 01

That header might sound like the opening line to a petrolhead’s joke but unfortunately there’s no punchline here because Toyota’s Akio Toyoda is a proper petrolhead and in typical Japanese chivalry, had nothing but praise after taking a seat in the Nissan Z; a prime competitor to his very own Toyota GR86.

Also Read: 2022 Toyota GR86 / Subaru BRZ: Tuners display hot versions to whet enthusiasts' appetite

Heads of carmakers using motor shows to get a feel of the competitors’ products isn’t new. However, being one of the last of a rare breed of automaker scions; ones that are actual petrolheads, Toyoda’s comments would’ve made for some extremely interesting aural fodder.

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Also Read: First look under the bonnet of the Nissan Z Proto, 400 PS V6 engine confirmed?

With the 2022 Tokyo Auto Salon event just concluding in mid-January 2022, many automakers went the extra mile in presenting high-performance cars, concept cars and special editions as it was the country’s first motor show in two years.

Toyota went full throttle by bringing out a bunch of interesting vehicles and concepts; chief amongst which include the GR GT3 concept car, a high-performance version of the GRMN Yaris race car and a customised version of the electric bZ4X GR Sport SUV.

Also Read: Is the Toyota GR GT3 Concept about to steal the GR Supra’s job?

After launching Toyota’s booth, Toyoda made his way to the neighbouring Nissan booth to check out the competition. He was just in time to catch Nissan’s CEO; Makoto Yuchida’s promising statement that “The high-performance car market is very competitive and we will do our best and we will not give up,” during a press conference.

Also Read: Toyota transforms the GR Yaris from a hot hatch into a hyper hatch with the Toyota GRMN Yaris

Toyoda couldn’t help but praise the rival camp that it was doing the right thing in continuing to sell sports cars as well.

What did Toyota’s President; Akio Toyoda, say after sitting in the Nissan Z? 01

“I greatly admire Nissan for introducing a new generation of rear-wheel drive sports cars in this era because Nissan has a very valuable sports car like the Fairlady Z,” said Toyoda.

He then took the Z for a spin with Nissan Chief Engineer Hiroshi Tamura riding shotgun to explain the different features of what many proclaim to be one of the last, pure sports cars on sale today.

Also Read: Lexus aims to go where no Lexus has gone before with the NX PHEV Offroad Concept and ROV Concept

After the short spin, Toyoda had nothing but praise for the Z, “I’m not going to give up on the Nissan Z anyway,” he respectfully acknowledged.

What did Toyota’s President; Akio Toyoda, say after sitting in the Nissan Z? 02

Unlike the direct comparisons and flurry of salvos fired between continental or western carmakers at their competitors, the Japanese auto industry prefers to compete with close camaraderie in an atmosphere of “friendly competitors.”

It’s this mutual respect that has been the foundation of Japan’s auto industry, keeping it extremely stable and serving as a solid platform to continues progressing.

Dinesh

Writer

“Better late than never.” Some despise it, others begrudgingly agree with it but he swears by it… much to the chagrin of everyone around him. That unfortunately stems from all of his project cars not running most of the time, which in turn is testament to his questionable decision-making skills in life. A culmination of many wrongs fortunately making a right; much like his project cars on the rare occasions they run, he’s still trying to figure out if another project car is the way to go.

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