Sign this petition!!

[Lomeinhu]

As an effort to increase Toyota's awareness in the importance of supporting the Celica, David Draper of West Covina Toyota has contacted one of Toyota USA's development contractors. All Mr. Draper needs is a name and email from our fellow Celica enthusiasts to show Toyota that we are serious about our cars. Please take a second to look over the 3 statements and post a quick response with your full name and email. We have come very far in terms getting recognition for this wonderful car and the future of it can depend on some of the actions we take today. The details can be found at: <a href="http://www.newcelica.org/forums/showthread.php?threadid=26277&perpage=50&pagenumber=1">Celica Petition</a>

Thank you all very much for your support.

[EzRidA]

TTT

[Lomeinhu]

I wonder if this post is helping?

[GTS LAID]

people are reading it...

endorsement by GTS LAID.... two :thumbup: for the petition... no go sign it

[Lomeinhu]

good to hear that...cool, it's my first sticky!
Keep up the good work people!

[Oo DaRk StAr oO]

Looks like the turnout is good.

[bagodoosh]

i wonder if people who sign it understand what it means? how will toyota interpret the letter and what sort of action is expected from toyota in return?

what i understand is celica is praised "as-is" but then toyota is blamed for the aftermarkets failure to engineer products that enhance the performance.

so now toyota is asked that their future cars should be crappier such that the aftermarket scene has more of a chance for improvement? or for toyota to consider aftermarket as a factor in their designs? does ANY manufacturer do this? is it their responsibility to leave the car open ended for future enhancements? are cars considered upgradable by popular demand or just by a small community?
what percentage of consumer products are considered upgradable and are designed as such? of that, what portion of the purchases will actualy be upgraded?

there are trade offs. i'm sure if we knew all the facts and factors, we'd make the same decisions to design the car as is now.

[Lomeinhu]

Bagodoosh,

You bring up some good points. Although signatures are great, it's very important that you understand the points being made. If the purpose of DD's message is not quite clear, then one should at least interpret it in his/her own way, and perhaps add to DD's message. I think some have done that already. As for others, maybe it's just a general desire for Toyota to become more involved in the aftermarket field, which is becoming increasingly more important in marketing a car such as the Celica.

I don't believe that anyone's necessarily asking for poorer stock performance so that we can get good aftermarket potential. However, you should also realize that there are plenty of cars with great stock performance AS WELL AS huge aftermarket potential. You can look at the last generation Eclipses. The turboed GS-T and GS-X were probably the most modifiable compared to the GS and RS models, but neither did they skimp on stock performance. Sure, they might not have been the most reliable car out there, but their reliability wasn't much worse than other Mitsubishi cars, which means that MItsu made a tuneable car without sacrificing their own level of quality. Now that brings me to Toyota: now that Toyota has established its reliability, it can certainly start factoring in tuneability without losing build quality (Supra is a good example, even if it's much more expensive). I don't think we're asking for a mini-Supra, but rather a competitive alternative to the highly tuneable Hondas, Subarus, and Mitsubishis. Honda has even shown us that the car doesn't even need to be factory turboed for it to be highly tuneable. Just look at the Civics, Preludes, Integras, and now RSX's. Honda's taken a very active role in import shows, tuning industry, etc. because it knows that for the import sport compact world, aftermarket appeal is very important. And now Chrysler is jumping into the game, along with the return of Ford and Mazda, while Toyota seemingly tiptoed into the waters with the introduction of the MR2 and Celica and quickly pulled out. This scenario is not very different from the other markets; let me give you a few examples:

1. Mid-size sedans: Navi systems are possibly the least bang-for-the-buck option in a car. I've never had so much trouble finding a place that I can imagine spending $1k to $2k for a computer to show it to me. Yet, some ppl like it, and now the Camry offers it as an option. Is this something that consumers of mid-size sedans want? Yes, to a certain degree; at least they sure like having it as an option. Is this something that makes the sedan that much better? Probably not. But if you don't offer that luxury item to keep up, people will start looking somewhere else.

2. Luxury SUV's. The whole segment is born of ppl's desire to be pimpin'. NBA stars, rap stars, movie stars aren't gobbling up super-fast sports cars anymore. They want that Escalade, cover it in $20k ostrich skin (which was recently done at a local custom shop by my town), and go clubbing with 4 friends while watching dvd movies. The segment is unnecessary, strictly speaking. And that high-tech all-wheel drive? Who's dumb enough to drive an expensive car on a dirt road with rocks? But as the manufacturer, you better market that Escalade as the best platform for all-out customizing. You want 20-inch chrome wheels? You got it. You want 10 TV screens on 5 seats? You got it. Cadillac, of course, doesn't do all the customizing themselves, but you can see that they push the Escalade in audio shows, giving reputable companies a test truck as long as they market the Escalade.

These are just 2 examples, there are many others. In each case, we cannot really say that the Camry or the Escalade stink if they didn't have the navi system or the customizing potential. However, it's very important that for their respective audiences, they are the best choice. I hope I make sense, but I want to throw this little tidbit out for ya:

Although Honda Accord beat the previous gen Camry in sales by 20,000 vehicles in year 2001, the current redesigned Camry is ahead of the current Accord by 20,000 in sales as of MAY of 2002. The technical improvements in the new Camry are so minor that they probably wouldn't have attracted that many new customers on their own, so surely the improvements in interior and exterior designs really made a noticeable difference in its appeal. Altima has done the same. Having a fun, sexy look is a big trend in this market, and at least in this segment, Toyota is leading the pack.

[cruzerz545]

Toyota wont read it.

[SilverRide]

Originally posted by cruzerz545
Toyota wont read it.

They will read it....right before they have a good laugh and throw it away.

The issue of wether the petition presents a valid argument is irrelevant as Toyota (or any company) exists to make money, not to cater to a vocal minority.

[Griffin]

Originally posted by SilverRide


They will read it....right before they have a good laugh and throw it away.

The issue of wether the petition presents a valid argument is irrelevant as Toyota (or any company) exists to make money, not to cater to a vocal minority.

I doubt they would discount it totally... go to the Scion website (Scion is teh new Car line Toyota is launching) - one of their stated goals is to make teh vehicles easily modifiable...

follow this link and read the press articles...
http://www.scion.com/taste/taste_press.html

Its only slightly relevant but the Scion site and these articles have been up since long before this petition was started. Which means Toyota is NOT entirely stupid and they ARE thinking about what young buyers want and how to sell us cars... so don't discount the effectiveness of petitions like this - if enough people give them enough informatin I can pretty much gaurantee Toyota will do some market research and see if there is any profitability in what you ask... that company analyzes everything to death. I know a guy that works for the Gallop pole and you would not believe the kind of cash he says Toyota drops with them on hundreds of studies each year. TMS is a marketign and sales organization after all.

Now will anythign come of this exact petition? I dunno... I know David is gonna make sure it gets seen, and I have pointed it out to some people I know at Toyota as well but if we don't TRY then NOTHING can happen ya know....

Griffin

[SilverRide]

If an ovewhelming portion of the celica buyers sign the petition, yeah, they will take notice and take it seriously.

However I believe my comment about the minority is accurate.

[2kcarbonblue]

toyota wont do ****, lets just face it. it seems like every week there is a new petition to sign or something like this, and what has happened so far? not much.

[Baldhead_J]

Originally posted by 2kcarbonblue
toyota wont do ****, lets just face it. it seems like every week there is a new petition to sign or something like this, and what has happened so far? not much.
This is an excuse to stop trying? I think not.

[2kcarbonblue]

well, i have pretty much given up. 3 years have gone by, and tons of people have been complaining, and its gone no where. i think that if toyota gave a damn, things would have already changed.

[Lord Banshee]

well toyota really can not change out engine now. if this petition goes thou. it will make the 8th gen celica or the 3rd gen supra or the camey 2033, anyway those cars will benifit from actions like this. If u want to give then do so. but please don't get in the way of the people that still has the will to try, try, and try again.(NOT A FLAME)

[spaldam]

My biggest complaint is that the only stuff TRD has made for the Celica only enhanse areas the celica already excells in: Appearance and Handeling. They need to get some stuff out for the Engine performance.

[gts-j-town]

celicas are s hitty, worst 26,000 i ever spent in my life, damn i would kill for a wrx right now!!

[Mistrimeat]

Originally posted by gts-j-town
celicas are s hitty, worst 26,000 i ever spent in my life, damn i would kill for a wrx right now!!

Word up, sucka!

[ArchangelX]

I own a WRX.

I drive my Celi WAY more than I drive my WRX. WRX is a fast car...but as far as looks and handling go...there's no contest.

Keep dreaming...it's good for you....