Toyota's new logo.

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Layzie

Layzie

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What do you think of it?

toyotaicon2.jpg


Edit:
Source: The Detroit News / Toyota Motor Co.

Toyota is reforging its longtime T logo to resemble a bolt. It hopes to increase sales in growing product segments, such as pickups.

Toyota Motor Co., already on a roll in the United States, hopes to connect with a wider swath of consumers with a new ad campaign that begins today.

The Japanese automaker's 3-year-old catchphrase "Get the Feeling" has been replaced with "Moving Forward." And to beef up its truck marketing, it's reforging its longtime T logo to resemble a bolt.

Toyota hopes to grab 15 percent of the global auto market by 2010, up from 10 percent now.

To reach the goal, it needs to boost sales 50 percent and improve customer satisfaction with dealers in the United States, its biggest market.

The new ad campaign also will target ethnic groups with commercials broadcast in Spanish and Chinese in several markets. Other commercials will be aimed at African-American consumers.

For the Hispanic market, the ads will incorporate "Avanza Confiado," which means "Moving forward with confidence." The Chinese ads will use a phrase that translates to "Moving forward and pursuing your dreams."

Jim Lentz, group vice president for Toyota's marketing arm, said the change comes on orders from Toyota President Fujio Cho, who said last month in Traverse City that the automaker must continually re-invent itself to stay competitive.

"The best way we know to achieve that is to look at what our customers need and make changes that meet their goals," Lentz said.

The change in advertising comes as Toyota strives to attract younger consumers and increase sales in growing product segments, such as sport utility vehicles and pickups.

The new commercials make their debut tonight during network television programming.

Toyota sales are up 8.8 percent this year.

"There's no question there are a lot more folks they can tap," said Mike Wall, analyst with CSM Worldwide in Farmington Hills.

Lentz refused to say how much the company is spending on the new campaign.

Past slogans have included "Oh, What a Feeling!" which debuted in 1980, and "I love what you do for me," which was used in the 1990s.
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:rolleyes: As though there was a problem with the old logo. Here's some news, Toyota: logos don't sell cars, engineering does. When was the last time you saw BMW change their badge?
 
Funny, I was just thinking about its new logo during dinner (saw it on a commercial, and it's in a Tacoma ad in the latest C/D).

I dunno… it doesn't mean much to me (except for the lousy bevel on the bottom that makes it look like the right half has an invisible layer being peeled away). My guess is that they are trying to mimic the Ford "Built Tough" thingie a little bit to gain some credibility – I think there was somewhat of a stigma that the previous-gen Tacoma was a girlie truck (and indeed, I can't think of any guys at my school who drive Tacomas, although I might be driving an '05 soonish), and with the introduction of the 2005 Tacoma and a new, burlier Tundra somewhere down the line, Toyota wants to give a rougher, tougher image to its trucks. Most truck makers have gone this direction—Nissan's Titan and changing the Frontier from a useless also-ran several years ago to a handsome little truck; Ford's aerodynamic-concious previous generation F-150 to the new, squarer and bigger model; Dodge's more muscular (and bigger-grilled) Ram and Dakota—so it's only natural that Toyota does it too.
 
It looks pretty cheap and bland(maybe a little generic). I never noticed the old logo anyway, so maybe crappy logos get more sales.
 
i hope they keep the old one for the cars.

but yeah....it would be best to just put the name or names of the cars in the grille.
 
I thought manufacturers were done changing logos. Cadillac did it a couple years ago but none of you noticed; before that Mazda changed - several times - in the mid-90s. A few companies clearly NEED to change logos, like Acura, whose logo was quite obviously conceived in the mid-1980s, and Volvo, whose logo, while distinctive, is considerably politically-incorrect, which is strange given Volvo's customer base.
 
M5Power
Cadillac did it a couple years ago but none of you noticed;
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I did! I even remember reading an in-depth article about it while on an airplane to Thailand (in-depth meaning it went through the history of Cadillac's logos, what the "meanings" of the old and new ones were, how the new one was supposed to appeal to younger people, etc.). I can't believe I remember that.

Is this Toyota-logo-change just for their trucks, or is it across the board?
 
M5Power
I thought manufacturers were done changing logos. Cadillac did it a couple years ago but none of you noticed; before that Mazda changed - several times - in the mid-90s. A few companies clearly NEED to change logos, like Acura, whose logo was quite obviously conceived in the mid-1980s, and Volvo, whose logo, while distinctive, is considerably politically-incorrect, which is strange given Volvo's customer base.
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I like Acura's logo a lot. It's very simple. It's second to only Audi's logo.
 
i remember mazda's other logo....the one with the little ring at the top of the circle.

good description, eh?
 
Here I come...

Mazda's "old" logo began in '92, the "Squared Key"(some call it "Flame"), which only lasted from mid to late '92 and only on 2 US models - the '92 MX-3 and 929, then Renault put up a fuss about it looking like thier corperate logo, so Mazda rather than scrapping the whole design just rounded it out. The "Round Key" lasted from '93-'97 on all Mazdas. Ofcourse the "mazda" text logo appears on all cars from '76 onwards. Just because I think the "squared key" is unique and more powerful than the rounded key, I replaced the rounded with the squared on the grill of my Protege and got a MX-3 steering wheel center which also features the logo. I have 3 or 4 of the emblems which fit most Mazdas that carry the round emblem, if anyone is interested...
 
I'm not sure if they are using that logo on their actual cars, since the 2005 Tundra which features that logo in the commercials, still has the classic Toyota badge on the grill.
 
Toyota's logo has gone from being bland and generic, yet innofensive (a perfect description of their cars...) to being plain crappy! Great job Toyota!
 
The359
I'm not sure if they are using that logo on their actual cars, since the 2005 Tundra which features that logo in the commercials, still has the classic Toyota badge on the grill.
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I don't think they are, but it could be an effictive marketing tool, just like "Built Ford Tough"
 
Victor Vance
But, do trucks, of all vehicles, really need marketing strategies?
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Are you kidding? For a Japanese company trying to enter a brand-loyal domestic-loving segment, their marketing strategy has to be perfect. Have you ever heard of the Toyota T100 before now?
 
I say keep building good cars. I'm afraid if the japanese will follow Ford, GM and Chrysler's misdirection on the car market if all they worry about trucks. The truck rage won't last forever, trust me. Just keep building good cars Toyota, and they'll keep coming :)
 
Victor Vance
I say keep building good cars. I'm afraid if the japanese will follow Ford, GM and Chrysler's misdirection on the car market if all they worry about trucks. The truck rage won't last forever, trust me.
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One thing: Are you out of your damn tree?

The most popular vehicles in the United States are the Ford F-series, Chevrolet Silverado, and Dodge Ram. Since the 1960s, a car has NEVER been the most popular vehicle. Trucks outsell cars four to one at DaimlerChrysler, three to one at Ford. IN ORDER TO BE A VOLUME SELLER IN THE UNITED STATES, YOU NEED A COMPETITIVE TRUCK, large and midsize. AND you need to be able to break it into a market that's completely saturated with domestic products. It's likely the hardest sell in any market.

I know in the city, excepting SUVs (which are considered trucks for the purposes of the above statistics), we see pickups one in every nine or so vehicles. In rural America, most vehicles are pickup trucks - truthfully. The market is considerably larger than you think.
 
M5Power
One thing: Are you out of your damn tree?

The most popular vehicles in the United States are the Ford F-series, Chevrolet Silverado, and Dodge Ram. Since the 1960s, a car has NEVER been the most popular vehicle. Trucks outsell cars four to one at DaimlerChrysler, three to one at Ford. IN ORDER TO BE A VOLUME SELLER IN THE UNITED STATES, YOU NEED A COMPETITIVE TRUCK, large and midsize. AND you need to be able to break it into a market that's completely saturated with domestic products. It's likely the hardest sell in any market.
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But you are including fleet sales, which isn't really fair. Take those out, and I dont think a truck has ever been the highest-selling vehicle in the US. Most fleet buyers would be unlikey to switch over to a foreign make anyway.
 
If Toyota wants to convince people to buy their trucks, they should show those Top Gear episodes where Clarkson takes a beat up 10 year old Toyota pickup and just goes nuts on it. For instance, he drowns it, rams a shack with it, sets it on fire, and puts it on the top of a large apartment building when it gets demolished, and after all that, with no new parts installed, it still runs! It would be interesting if they did a followup with an American pickup eventhough the episodes are about 1 year old now.
 

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