Toyota is a motoring icon. From modest beginnings, it has become an automotive superpower.
As part of its global expansion, the brand first arrived on New Zealand soil in the late 1960s, and has grown to become an integral slice of Kiwi culture. The build quality and world-famous reliability and ruggedness of its vehicles has won over legions of loyal customers around the world (remember the Top Gear episode with the Hilux that refused to die?).
But at the heart of Toyota is a team of genuine car enthusiasts; people who truly have a passion for motoring, and motor cars. And this passion shines through in its history, and in the products it produces today. Furthermore, its commitment to motorsport has been extensive, and long standing. From pint-sized Kei cars in domestic touring car racing in the 1960s, through to its Formula 1 and World Rally Championship programmes and victories at Le Mans, Toyota has devoted itself to competition. Toyota’s commitment to New Zealand motorsport has followed an almost unbroken timeline from when it first arrived here. And the lessons learned in competition have trickled down through to its road cars.
Toyota in New Zealand boasts an army of enthusiastic owners, who proudly fly the flag. Their tastes are as diverse as the cars Toyota offers, and range from classics to moderns, original and restored to modified. But the brand is the thing that pulls them together. And this book provides just a small insight into the culture that exists within the Toyota fraternity.