Lots of stuff, basically dont underestimate Toyota, they seem to have a knack for making their naysayers eat their words.
hmm, that's interesting, i never knew the history behind all that. i think most of that was based on prejudice though... i think my opinion of their cars is fairly objective. it just isn't cool looking 😛 who knows, maybe i'm wrong.
i also think this is too highly publicized. they're trying to hit the youth market with something that is "cool". the product must be perceived as unique, and unintentional for it to be "cool". when you have all this media talking about how toyota is aiming for the youth with this new line, the kiddies will hear some of it, and the whole thing is ruined. that is just my opinion. take sprite for example, their sales were falling so they had all those anti-ads... the "image is nothing" stuff. it was popular for a while, but then kids caught on to what was going on... they realized it was intentional manipulation, and then sales fell.
and toyota doesn't have the best track record for the youth market... maybe back in the 70's, but their most recent entry, the echo, completely missed it's target demographic, with the average age at 47.
basically, i agree with you, toyota has the potential to make this work... i'm not saying it's never going to happen (like a fanboy would)... i just don't think the cars they've shown so far are going to be able to pull it off.