DShiekhi

Toyota is Going to Alaska to Make Its Vehicles "Ever-Better"



"Let's Go Places." Toyota's corporate slogan implies movement - the exact opposite of resting on its laurels.

Read the rest on the ClubLexus.com homepage. >>

Toys4RJill

Big marketing stunt.

mmarshall

Well, yes and no. Alaska is not the only place where the toughness of off-road vehicles can be proved. But, like adjacent Northern Canada and Siberia, interior and northern parts of Alaska DO provide a good environment for extreme cold-weather testing. A number of manufacturers test their vehicles on the Alaska Highway run from Dawson Creek, BC to Fairbanks.

Nextourer

The roads of Alaska, Yukon and NWT (Nunavut has no roads in/out of the territory) are fairly harsh outside of the major cities and towns. They're uneven due to melting permafrost, they can be gravel (like the Dempster Highway) with lots of heavy duty vehicles and of course the temperatures.

gengar

They're driving the car 16,500 miles and touching on all the extremes the US has to offer. Marketing? Yes. Stunt? No.

Getting feedback from actual and real driving experience is why the ergonomics on Toyota cars are so good, whether it's the Tacoma or the LFA. Putting huge mileage on cars and tearing them apart to figure out what, if anything, can go wrong is one reason why Toyota cars are so reliable - again, whether it's the Tacoma or the LFA.

Toys4RJill

Well, hopefully Toyota will find a seat height cushion mechanism buried by the Neanderthals up there in Alaska. The ergonomics of the Tacoma are not very good, the seat does not go up nor down, which is simply unacceptable for a modern day Toyota. Toyota got cheap and removed the drivers side grab handle on the a pillar and the 4 wheel driver selector feels cheap and brittle and would probably snap off at one point. But yeah sure, the LFA should sure be tested in Alaska.