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Toyota applies for Supra trademark

punjabiplaya

punjabiplaya

Diamond Member
http://blog.caranddriver.com/you-asked-for-it-you-got-it-toyota-secures-new-trademark-on-supra-name/

Toyota has applied to trademark the iconic Supra name, according to documents it filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on July 16. The company’s previous trademark on the model name expired in 2006, and for the past four years Toyota didn’t bother to renew it.

This may be more than just business as usual. Only four days earlier, Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda told journalists in Japan that he wants “to see the next Supra tested in the near future”, although he qualified that by adding “even if one president [Toyoda himself] says that we want to have a Supra again, the whole company is not going to be responding to that request.”

We spoke with Toyota’s vice president of external communications, Mike Michels, this afternoon for more info. Toyota, like many other carmakers, categorically won’t comment on future product plans except when, you know, they will. This was a case when they wouldn’t—Michels told us that Toyota likely just registered the name “provisionally” to “make sure we have a lot of latitude to use names in the future.” This is true, and it happens often. But the trademark system is really designed around use (or honest plans to use the trademark for a product), and, generally speaking, a company would have three years to use the name until it’s considered abandoned.

Of course, Toyota hasn’t revealed what it will be calling the on-again, off-again production version of the FT86 concept, which is a joint project with Subaru. Could it be called Supra? There’s also the possibility that the Supra name could be attached to a second, completely different model, leaving the FT86 to adopt the Celica badge. In any event, Toyota filing a trademark for the Supra name—especially when taken with Mr. Toyoda’s comments—is telling, but it’s still too early to bet the mortgage money on any one scenario. Until Toyota finally rolls out a new Supra and puts the speculation to rest—and gives enthusiasts a reason to look at the company again—you can at least enjoy a vintage one.
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Never going to happen. Those are some BIG shoes to fill and the new Toyota's conservative bland ways of mass market appeal and the current economic and political climate doesn't help to fill them. I kinda hope they never make another Supra, it just makes the MkIV that much more iconic and mystical, and surely any new Supra would be some practical and green compromise that wouldn't do the name justice.

They truly do not build them like they used to. Cars like the Supra are over the top one shot skunkworks projects that are likely never to be repeated.
 
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I agree...sadly, I'm not convinced that Toyota still has the ability to make a car truly worthy of the name. 🙁
 
jlee said:
I agree...sadly, I'm not convinced that Toyota still has the ability to make a car truly worthy of the name. 🙁
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While I agree for the most part, the LFA is pretty impressive...and to be honest...even though I hate the look of it, the motor and performance of the IS-F isn't bad either. If Toyota could take something like the FT-86 prototype and pute a sweet ass motor in it...well maybe they'd have something. I wish they still had an inline 6 to put in one of those cars. I've become addicted to inline-6 motors.
 
With Toyota's experience in acceleration recently I think this Supra could be the fastest yet, whether you want it to be or not.
 
exdeath said:
Never going to happen. Those are some BIG shoes to fill and the new Toyota's conservative bland ways of mass market appeal and the current economic and political climate doesn't help to fill them. I kinda hope they never make another Supra, it just makes the MkIV that much more iconic and mystical, and surely any new Supra would be some practical and green compromise that wouldn't do the name justice.

They truly do not build them like they used to. Cars like the Supra are over the top one shot skunkworks projects that are likely never to be repeated.
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There currently isn't a single Toyota that I would buy and the last car of theirs that interested me was either the Supra or MR2.
 
To be a real Supra it'll have to be a DOHC I-6 with RWD, I just don't see Toyota going down that route in the near future.
 
It'll end up bring something like the new Honda CRX. Everyone will be really excited until they actually see what will be rolling off the production line.

Of course, the CRX wasn't a sports car, but I'd be willing to bet this will still hold true. Maybe Toyota will try to make it the semi-affordable sports car that still gets decent MPGs, and they'll go hybrid, lol.
 
CurseTheSky said:
It'll end up bring something like the new Honda CRX. Everyone will be really excited until they actually see what will be rolling off the production line.

Of course, the CRX wasn't a sports car, but I'd be willing to bet this will still hold true. Maybe Toyota will try to make it the semi-affordable sports car that still gets decent MPGs, and they'll go hybrid, lol.
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That is just rude. What has Toyota done to you that you'd levy such a dastardly insult on them? I wouldn't even accuse Suzuki of building a CRX-type vehicle 🙂
 
PricklyPete said:
While I agree for the most part, the LFA is pretty impressive...and to be honest...even though I hate the look of it, the motor and performance of the IS-F isn't bad either. If Toyota could take something like the FT-86 prototype and pute a sweet ass motor in it...well maybe they'd have something. I wish they still had an inline 6 to put in one of those cars. I've become addicted to inline-6 motors.
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The LFA is $375,000....the Supra wasn't cheap, but c'mon. 😛
 
Completely unrelated, but I've seen a surprising number of Supras popping up around here (Connecticut). I used to see hundreds of Vettes, several GTRs or even the occasional exotic more often than I'd see a Supra, but lately I've seen at least 4-5 cruising around. One red, one silver, three black (one with slight body damage, one with decals, and one untouched), and perhaps a yellow one (only saw the tail end, thought it looked like a Supra). They must be getting cheap enough for people to play around with them lately.
 
lol. At the most, they'll take an LFA and put the Toyota badge on it and call it a Supra. Now, I wish some other automaker would've grabbed the name and patented it.
 
PricklyPete said:
I agree that it is unearthly expensive...I'm just saying they have the "know how". :awe:
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Maybe I worded it wrong - technologically they could, but I guess they just don't have the heart and soul to produce such an iconic car again.

Hopefully I'm wrong.
 
jlee said:
Maybe I worded it wrong - technologically they could, but I guess they just don't have the heart and soul to produce such an iconic car again.

Hopefully I'm wrong.
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I agree...they really have lost their step and only seem to be looking at the bottom line...but as you said...I'd love to be proven wrong as well and have them come out with something really special like the old Supra.
 
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