Toyota Rolled Out a New Land Cruiser SUV.
According to the chief engineer who developed the vehicle, emphasis was placed on providing a reliable four-wheel-drive vehicle.
The flagship sport utility vehicle will be marketed in 100 countries and regions around the globe....China and the United States included...with hopes of selling about 100,000 in 2008.
Excerpts from an interview with Hideki Watanabe:
Q: What factors did you attach great importance to during the remodeling process?
A: First, we gave overriding priority to attaining the vehicle's high reliability and high level of ability to withstand external shocks.
Q: You have adopted a new technology to boost the vehicle's running performance. Could you elaborate on that?
A: The remodeled Land Cruiser is equipped with a "crawl control" system as a standard feature, which controls both the engine and brakes to keep a certain speed required on rough roads, enabling the driver to concentrate on steering.
Q: Who are you targeting as your primary customers?
A: We stopped trying to make the Land Cruiser look like a passenger car and returned to the basics of creating a full-fledged four-wheel-drive vehicle. In overseas markets, Land Cruisers are bought by wealthy drivers as well as companies that use them at mining and oil drilling sites. In Japan, we aim to target loyal fans of previous versions and SUV lovers.
My experience - Most people...want to look like they can go off road but will never go there. It's kind of like wearing army fatigues but not wanting to serve.
How about you?
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