By Steven Symes 
For a long time, Toyota was portrayed as being a “boring” brand, but if CEO and President Koji Sato has his way, the auto giant will be making only insanely fun cars to drive. The man made his philosophy clear during a results briefing for fiscal year 2025, and he has people talking.
Toyota issues a huge recall for Tundras.
An attendee wanted to know what Sato thought of there being fewer cars out there that match his preference for fun driving. The CEO’s response is worthy of quoting and remembering: “A car is not a car if it’s not fun. That’s why we will never allow our cars to become commodities.”
That’s a mic-drop moment right there and something we hope permeates Toyota, then infects competitors. After all, there are many mushy, jellybean vehicles on the market these days, especially compact and midsize crossovers, which inspire nothing.
Sato went on to explain how “logical left-brain thinking” has ruined cars and he wants to bring emotion back into the industry. That, right there, is why it’s genuinely difficult to tell a new Subaru from a Ford or a Hyundai or a Honda.
We’re all being subjected to a new form of automotive malaise, an oatmeal mash with no seasonings to spice up the market.
According to Sato, the cure is to inject some sleekness and passion into models that aren’t sports cars. He says that philosophy is something he’s pounding into the heads of every project team in the company, saying, “That is the Toyota I want to create.”
While some will likely misinterpret what Sato means, we don’t think he’s talking about adding tons of horsepower to the RAV4 and Sienna. Instead, we think he’s just looking to put some pizzaz into designs and maybe make each vehicle a little more entertaining to drive.
We love high horsepower, but your average driver shouldn’t have that at their disposal. There are other ways to make cars fun to drive and we can’t wait to see which ones Toyota puts to use.
Image via Toyota