12.17.10
Posted in Uncategorized at 12:56 am by dhempe
Dec 11th and 12th of 2010 saw the dawn of a new auto revolution in Chennai thanks to the product showcase of Toyota Etios Sedan at Express Avenue mall there. Lot of interested folks like Mr. Muthuswamy from Adyar came down to check the latest offering from the Toyota stable which is expected to be the best car in the highly competitive B segment car market in India. He was very much impressed by the Q Class Style and the bold simplicity which took the design of the Etios to a higher level!
Though it was a Saturday which was a working day for most people in Chennai, December 11th saw a huge number of people coming to check out the Toyota Etios Sedan and everybody wanted to have a closer look at one of the most affordable and reliable Toyota cars ever. They were very impressed by the crisp crease lines on the bonnet and the distinctive character lines that run along the side of the car to accent its form. They had to agree that balancing form and function, the Toyota Etios was a perfect style statement in motion!
As Toyota Etios Sedan is a family car, entire families together checked out the car right from the engine to the interiors and even the boot space! It seemed as if the entire family’s approval was required for a decision to be taken! Mr. Ranga Raju’s family from Tambaram opened the bonnet of the car to check out the 1500 cc Toyota petrol-powered engine, and were seen commenting that their main reason to invest in the Etios would be the Toyota engine itself which they would believe in, even with their eyes closed! The huge boot space of 595 litres was also a major advantage for families to like this car as it can accommodate a lot of their luggage during long drives and after shopping binges!
Interested customers were enthusiastically checking out the ergonomically designed interiors which made the Etios extremely spacious and comfortable. Even tall people like Mr. Alagappan from T Nagar felt that he had ample headroom and legroom not just in the driver’s seat but also in the back seat. He also checked out the AC with clean-air filters and was not able to stop praising the ergonomically designed sporty steering wheel which had integrated audio controls in it! The clinching point in favor of Etios for many including Mr. Alagappan, were the many thoughtful storage spaces that made room for everything they need – like bottle holders next to each seat and a spacious 13 litre cooled glove box!
Rajesh here tries to get a picture of his friend Vivek with the background of the Toyota Etios hoarding along with its brand ambassdor AR Rahman’s picture too. Though Toyota till now has been very expensive for Indian market, the Etios with its very competitive on-road pricing of Rs. 5.59 lakhs to Rs. 7.76 lakhs (for 4 different variants) in Chennai, is a dream well within everybody’s reach! Though the price is less than what most people expected it to be, Toyota has not compromised on any safety features and has installed SRS airbags, Anti-lock braking system and Centre meter design which helps the driver in having a safe drive on the unpredictable and accident prone Indian roads!
The day was not just only serious discussions about the car but also included a lot of fun activities like quiz contests where the winners got the songs CD of AR Rahman’s song ‘Pehli Baar’ which has been specially composed for the launch of Toyota Etios. There was also a dance competition between youngsters who danced to the theme song and walked away with some amazing prizes like collector’s edition replica of Etios, Etios key chains and ‘Pehli Baar’ CDs. There was a tattoo artist who was drawing some wonderful designs inspired by the car on the fans’ faces and arms. Chennai Live 104 FM station took sound bytes from most of the Etios fans present at the occasion and Moodler.in analyzed the mood of the people who attended the event and discovered that most of them were very impressed by the Toyota Etios Sedan!
More pictures of the Toyota Etios Sedan product showcase in Chennai can be seen in the Facebook album!
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12.08.10
Posted in Uncategorized at 1:37 am by dhempe
After the spectacular launch of Toyota Etios Sedan and Toyota Etios Hatchback Liva happened on the afternoon of 1st of December 2010, evening was reserved for the amazing performance of music maestro AR Rahman who is also the brand ambassador of Toyota Etios. The venue couldn’t have been grander than the Bangalore Palace which was lit up like a jewel in the sky to match the grandeur of the occasion.
The Oscar winning music genius AR Rahman was bought to the stage on a throne shaped palanquin with renowned drummer Sivamani leading the procession from the front gate of the palace till the stage making way through thousands of Rahman fans who were showered with rose petals by a bevy of beautifully clad girls. The performance started with the song ‘Azeem oh shaan shahensha’ from ‘Jodhaa Akbar’ and then Rahman went on to sing his first and most popular hit ‘Dil hain chota saa’ from ‘Roja’ in both Hindi and Tamil. There were other popular singers like Shaan, Alka Yagnik and Shreya Ghoshal who also lent voices to amazing hits by Rahman which were performed at the concert. Rahman sat on a piano and performed the Toyota Etios anthem song ‘Pehli Baar’ to which there was a beautiful dance sequence choreographed by Shaimak Davar’s group of dancers. Rahman ended his concert on a euphoric note by singing his Oscar winning hit ‘Jai Ho’ and paid rich tributes to the nation by singing ‘Vande Mataram’ which had the entire audience on their feet saluting the spirit of India which was evident in the creation of Toyota Etios, truly living up to its slogan of ‘World First, India First, My First!’ 
If you have missed the concert, don’t worry! You can download the Pehli Baar song on the Toyota Etios website or download the Pehli Baar ringtone for your phone from the Toyota Etios website too!
You can also see the official TVC featuring A R Rahman being the brand ambassdor for Toyota Etios on Toyota India YouTube channel
So what are you waiting for? Go ahead and book a test drive of the Toyota Etios from January 1st 2011 anywhere in India and test out the Etios for yourself! It is World First, India First, will it be your ‘My First’ too?
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12.07.10
Posted in Uncategorized at 2:59 pm by dhempe
I was privileged to be a part of the Toyota Etios Q class world-wide launch in Bangalore at Bangalore Palace on 1st of December 2010. Toyota Kirloskar Motor launched the Etios Sedan on that day, marking the company’s entry into the highly competitive B segment in India. The special attraction of this launch was the fact that this car has been developed in India specifically for Indian customers, true to it’s motto ‘World First, India First, My First’!
Mr. Akio Toyoda, President and Representative Director, Toyota Motor Corporation; was personally present in Bangalore to launch the Toyota Etios Sedan. He started his speech narrating the lesser known fact that his great-grandfather Mr. Sakichi Toyoda had invented weaving machines (that incorporated important advances in automation) in the 1920′s which were imported into India. He related this tale to the fact that now more than eighty years later, we are celebrating the new arrival of Toyota technology in India. He emphasized on the fact that India has always been a part of Toyota since establishing Toyota Kirloskar Motor in 1997, Toyota Kirloskar Auto Parts in 2002 and the Toyota Technical Training Institute in Bangalore in 2007. The graduates of the Toyota Technical Training Institute, first batch which passed out in July 2010, are going to help produce the Etios in Bidadi, a suburb of Bangalore.
Mr. Akio Toyoda also mentioned that at Toyota they believe in the motto “the road makes the car”. Hence Etios is the product of real world testing on roads throughout India – Etios has been driven across more than 200,000 KMs of Indian roads from the Himalayan foothills in the north to the southern tip of the Indian peninsula and from Kolkata in the east to Mumbai in the west!
Mr. Toyoda then invited Mr. Yoshinori Noritake, the chief engineer of the development project, to talk about the 5 year long effort of developing the Etios which included a lot of knowledge transfer between Toyota offices in Japan and India.
After Mr. Noritake was done talking about the development of Etios in India, everyone was eagerly waiting for Mr. Sandeep Singh, the deputy managing director for marketing at Toyota Kirloskar Motor, to announce the much awaited information about the price of the Toyota Etios Sedan and the date for the launch of the Toyota Etios hatchback named as Toyota Etios Liva.
Mr. Sandeep Singh announced to thunderous applause that the Toyota Etios Sedan is priced under Rs.5 lakhs! He elaborated on this fact by saying that Etios Sedan will be available in 4 variants, J, G, V and VX which are competitively priced between Rs.4,96,000 and Rs.6,86,500 (ex-showroom Delhi). He emphasized on the product highlights which include innovation styling, best-in-class cabin and luggage space, superior comfort and impressive fuel efficiency. He mentioned that booking for Toyota Etios Sedan starts from Dec 1st onwards across India and customers can book it by paying booking amount of just Rs.50,000 and deliveries will start from Jan 2011 onwards. He also mentioned that the Hatchback version ‘Toyota Etios Liva’ will go on sale from April 2011!
I’m thankful to Mr. Jiveshdeep Singh Sandhu, Deputy Manager – Marketing Division, for giving me this wonderful opportunity to be a part of the Toyota Etios launch and his team, who did wonderful arrangements at the venue which was required for a world-class event!
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