Area 86 Program

[ryangt]

I did a search and the only thing i found on this topic was people talking about buying stuff from it. If there is a topic on this already please link me to it.

I found out that Toyota is going to be doing a community program in Japan called Area 86 on their site it says this


"In step with the launch of the 86, TMC will set up 283 Area 86 shops at dealer locations throughout Japan, where specialists will provide comprehensive, expert advice and services to car enthusiasts. Designed as a place where sports-car enthusiasts can gather, Area 86 shops will exhibit the 86, provide it for test-driving, and distribute information related to sports cars, with the aim of becoming places where people can be immersed in the fun of automobiles.

In collaboration with Area 86 shops, TMC will help owners fully experience their 86s by providing various materials on 86 mountain passes in Japan deemed most suitable for enjoyable driving of the 86. TMC also plans to undertake activities together with sports-car enthusiasts to aid in further building sports-car culture over the long term, such as setting up an 86 owners website, producing merchandise featuring the 86 logo in collaboration with companies from other industries and holding an 86-only race (targeted for 20136)."


This is one thing I hope they bring over to the states for the Scion owners, get to meet other owners, race, find some back roads etc. would be awesome imo. I emailed Toyota doubt I will get a real response. I just want your guys take on this.

http://www2.toyota.co.jp/en/news/12/02/0202.html

[Sport-Tech]

Sounds like a great idea, but I suspect due to cultural differences and cost we won't likely see this from Scion in NA. Relatively speaking the GT86 is upmarket compared to the FR-S, with higher profit margins, so Toyota can afford to do this in Japan.

[ryangt]

Yea I see where you're coming from, just a small pipe dream I guess.

[Brett]

I saw the other post about area 86, and wondered what it was. I googled and got a bunch of pages in Japanese. Thanks for explaining it!

[Ochtó-Sé]

Making my decision of moving over there even easier.

I like this bit a lot:

...providing various materials on 86 mountain passes in Japan deemed most suitable for enjoyable driving of the 86

[ryangt]

Yea thats why i hope they bring it over to the states how cool would that be to get a list from Scion/toyota with back-roads to try.

[_hollywood]

Yet another reason to move to japan, i just cant see scion giving me a list of places to do some spirited drives, would be cool though.

I hope the brz/frs guys atleast start a yearly meetup since this car is going to have a huge fanbase or meetups by region....

[Brett]

Originally Posted by ryangt

Yea thats why i hope they bring it over to the states how cool would that be to get a list from Scion/toyota with back-roads to try.

I figured we're not the first people who want fun, twisty roads to drive on, so I did some googling.

This looks promising. It's aimed at motorcycles, but there's probably a lot of overlap in the types of roads that would be fun in a sports car:
http://www.motorcycleroads.us/

Brett

[Xdragonxb0i]

this will be like the scion events that is held for the current scion models.
i would expect we will see something in the bigger U.S car cities

[Saber_TRD]

Originally Posted by Scion FR-S

Sounds like a great idea, but I suspect due to cultural differences and cost we won't likely see this from Scion in NA. Relatively speaking the GT86 is upmarket compared to the FR-S, with higher profit margins, so Toyota can afford to do this in Japan.

This is why I want the Toyota version and not the Scion version. I don't care about paying a bit more as you get what you pay for.