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IN their
joint statement in the ongoing 40th Tokyo Motor Show in
Makuhari Messe, a sprawling 210,000 square meters of
prime land in a Tokyo suburb, Fujio Cho and Katsuaki
Watanabe, chairman and president, respectively, of the
Toyota Motor Corp., said: “Since its founding,
Toyota
has been aiming to enrich society through the
manufacturing of automobiles. As we progress through
the 21st century, we will continue to aim for stable,
long-term growth and strive to achieve harmony with
people, society and the environment.
“From
this perspective,
Toyota
clarifies its corporate vision and new direction in the
Toyota Global Vision 2010 under the theme ‘Innovation
into the Future.’ With Toyota’s guiding principles, we
are determined to continue to make clean and safe
vehicles, and work to make the earth a better place to
live in, while conducting our business in an open and
fair manner.”
I’d like
to zero in on the “safe vehicles” angle mentioned by
Toyota’s one-two punch in the TMC hierarchy (Cho and
Watanabe) but then, that’s getting ahead of the story.
So, may
I begin by saying it is interesting to note that Toyota,
through Cho and Watanabe, has restressed its commitment
not only to make clean but also safe vehicles.
Delivering their joint message yet at the Tokyo Motor
Show, one of the five world majors in automobile display
(the others are Detroit, Geneva, Paris and Frankfurt),
Cho and Watanabe have reemphasized that the giant car
firm has not forgotten the vision of Sakichi Toyoda, the
Toyota patriarch who planted the seed in 1924 of what
would become the Toyota empire and now No. 1 automaker
in the world by putting first the interests of the
people, of society and environment more than
anything—let alone profits—in the establishment of any
business concern. Sakichi Toyoda (born in 1867) is
credited for inventing the Toyoda Model G automatic
loom, whose patent he sold to a British company in
1929. In 1930 Kiichiro Toyoda, Sakichi’s son, started
his research into the small gasoline-powered engine. In
1936 Sakichi’s AA Sedan was completed, becoming
officially as Toyota’s first automobile to roll off the
streets.
The
rest, as we love to say, is history.
By the
word “clean” as mentioned by Cho and Watanabe in their
joint message cited above, what the Toyota bigwigs mean,
of course, is a virtually zero-emission running vehicle
in the near future (by 2010 maybe?).
Toward
this end, Toyota has taken the lead by launching in
Japan the first mass-produced hybrid car, the Prius (a
vehicle run by a battery, an electric motor and a
petrol-powered engine), in 1997. In 2000 Toyota began
selling the Prius in North America, Europe and in over
40 countries and regions around the world.
In 2005
Toyota began overseas production of hybrid vehicles to
include minivans, SUVs, rear-wheel-drive sedans like the
popular Camry and Previa, and other vehicles in China in
2005 and in Kentucky, USA, in 2006.
On April
30 this year, Toyota’s sales of its hybrid vehicles
since 1997 have greatly contributed to reductions in CO2
(carbon-dioxide) emissions, which are largely considered
a cause of global warming, by producing approximately
3.5 million fewer tons of carbon dioxide compared with
the same class gasoline-powered vehicles of similar size
and driving performance.
The
trust rating of the
Toyota
hybrid is so stupendously high that, 10 years since the
Prius’s birth in 1997, the global cumulative sales of
Toyota hybrid vehicles have topped the one-million mark,
with approximately 1.047 million units sold worldwide as
of May 31.
If
that’s not reason enough for chest beating among
Toyota’s top guns, what is?
Okay,
after having said that, we go now to the meat of the
matter—my own experience of driving a hybrid, not just
one but six models.
Yes, I
drove the Prius, Estima (Previa in the Philippines),
Alphard, Harrier, Kluger (Highlander) and Camry; I was a
passenger in four of them—all done in a day. Two were
right-handed wheels, the rest left-handed. While I was
behind the wheel in each of the six, my distinguished
passengers were Toyota executives Danny “Sir John” Isla
and Atty. Rommel Gutierrez. They were as behaved as a
baby strapped to a stroller.
Driving
virtually the automobiles of the future, why, I was
almost speechless after each stint at the helm. Keyless
entry. Push-button ignition start. All-power. A
virtually noise-free ride. The works. Ah, what a
feeling!
The
test-drive was held at a place called Mobilitas, an area
of some
100,000 square meters
(equivalent to about 15 football fields) built by Toyota
inside the famed Fuji International Speedway complex in
Nagoya, with the marvelous, snow-capped Mount Fuji in
its full splendor in fall sitting by you.
The
accent of the drive was safety as Mobilitas, opened only
in April 2005, was basically designed to promote safe
driving not only among drivers but also among members of
the traffic society. As a special feature, there is a
curriculum of “drunk driving” simulations, wherein you
are seated behind a wheel of an improvised stationary
car-like machine that moves and “drives” through streets
while you are driving drunk.
The
weather was at its best. It was bright and sunny when I
joined what Toyota Motor Philippines’ Elijah Sue Marcial
called “Toyota’s elite batch of guests from the
Philippine motoring media” who were herded like
classroom kids to Mobilitas: Obedient, respectful,
well-mannered and behaved all the way.
Safety
driving has never been that utterly pronounced as at
Mobilitas. Pylons scattered all over for you to avoid.
A slanted, velodrome-like circuit to negotiate with
caution. Braking properly while in full speed.
Accelerating and decelerating at the most appropriate
time. These—and more, like a hybrid car that
practically parks by itself through the IPA (Intelligent
Parking Assist)—are what you learn, no, master, at
Mobilitas. We had them all for free. (On a given day,
you need to pay the equivalent of P4,200 on a half-day
driving course; whole day P7,200. For racing drivers,
the fee is P16,000 a day; advanced course P24,000.)
There
has never been so enriching a trip as the one at
Toyota’s Mobilitas, where hybrid vehicles were a feast
not only to the eyes but also to the hands and feet for
the sheer wonder of driving the automobile of the
future.
After
driving not just one but six models of a hybrid, who
needs a Formula One car? |
