Toyota claims its Not Boring

We’re too sexy for this blog.

There are many adjectives you could use to describe Toyota - "sensible" or "dependable" both spring to mind. But boring should no longer be used to describe the cars manufactured by the second largest manufacturer in the world; well, that is according to Akio Toyoda, the CEO of Toyota. Even though Toyota could not be described as at the vanguard of motoring excitement, the world "boring" should be dropped when describing their products. Toyoda will admit that historically there were times when Toyota's products were lacking in imagination and certainly short on character, but would ask people to look at the level of design and drivability of their more recent offerings.

We're not sure we're with him. Let’s face it - the Camry is something your wife tells you to buy and the Avanza should be taken out back and shot. Toyoda’s comments came on the day that the Japanese car manufacturer was announcing its profits for the year ending March 31st, and it wasn’t a good report. Profits have dropped by 20.8%, revenue by 2.8% and the company is forecasting further falls and all this in the year when they also lost the world’s top manufacturer crown to the VW Group.

A lot of its problems came from the slow-down in the USA, where the ever-increasing competition and lowered fuel prices rekindled America’s love of large SUV’s, a segment in which Toyota does not fare so well.

Toyoda tried to put a brave face despite the lacklustre results and would prefer to talk about the results being more of a reflection on the long-term planning for an electric future, rather than a result of having a boring line-up of vehicles. For now, Toyota will have to rely on its current stable, such as the redesigned Camry, which Toyoda described as sexy at the January Detroit Auto Show...probably not the adjective we would have used.