Re: Toyota Century FP Article

"benjrblant" (benjblant) 07/24/2019 at 14:28 • Filed to: None

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In case you missed it, Ken Saito published an !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

The TLDR version is essentially: absolute flagship vehicle hand made for the Japanese market only and is supposed to be Toyota’s finest display of precision, attention to detail, reliability , in an understated design.

*scrolls to comments, the first several of which are complaining about:

-CVT is boring AF
-Germans do it so much better
-I don’t get it
-D ated switchgear
-N o 360 camera, how is this even luxury
-Boring paint

Do people even read before sto rming the comments with their complaints? I mean, it’s a super niche vehicle. There are only 50 made a year, and it’s designed solely for the uppermost luxury segment for a country of 130m people that’s the size of California. It’s not for people who get super excited about the bangin’ sound system and carplay headunit. It’s not for going fast. It’s obviously not for people who need to flaunt the size of their genitalia .

When did the FP lose its car enthusiasts? The people who would get excited about super niche, crazy weird cars? When did it fill up with whoever’s on it now?

Sorry. It’s been a long and crappy week. I’ll return to placing my frustrations elsewhere.

VajazzleMcDildertits - read carefully, respond politely > benjrblant 07/24/2019 at 14:47

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I think the problem lies solely that the definition of the “car enthusiast” term has decomposed down to “anyone who’s had an opinion about a car at any time” and that internet arguments allow incompetents to argue with each other freely.

Also, when popularity goes up, quality goes down. Mechanisms intended to handle society doesn’t scale, which is why hipsters exist as they kneejerk in the opposite direction.

I wish that most of the internet was curated as well as /r/AskHistorians is, but that’s just unrealistic. Those mods really put in the time for quality. 

facw > benjrblant 07/24/2019 at 14:50

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Hey, at least I skipped that article, so you don’t have me in the comments complaining about how stupid it is to make luxury cruisers RWD just because that’s how it was done in the past.

PS9 > benjrblant 07/24/2019 at 14:50

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Do people even read before storming the comments with their complaints?

Of course not. So long as you don’t look at the actual article, you’re free to think there are infinity things wrong with the car, and you’ll never be proven wrong by anyone in your nation because they can’t drive it.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > benjrblant 07/24/2019 at 14:52

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It’s those type of comments that doesn’t want to make the writers bother to take on anything unusual or interesting. Reposting a road-rage video is more fruitful because it’s sadly what the audience seems to demand...

vicali > benjrblant 07/24/2019 at 14:53

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Was this article before or after the poop in the bag story?

You know what, forget it, it doesn’t matter..

WiscoProud > benjrblant 07/24/2019 at 14:57

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It didn’t lose the enthusiasts, its just there are many younger enthusiasts who value those things. Considering the thing Bentley, Mercedes, and Rolls are doing to their flagships, theres a market for a 700 hp executive cruise missile. The Century appeals to the same buyer that a 200 series land cruiser does. Its not the flashiest or have cutting edge features, but it is luxurious and absolutely will not break down. Its subtle luxury. 

MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s > benjrblant 07/24/2019 at 14:59

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When did the FP lose its car enthusiasts

When was this glorious time period?

Aremmes > benjrblant 07/24/2019 at 15:02

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Mr. Regular reviewed a Century in one of the videos he made from New Zealand. The gist of the video was: it’s meant for the owner to ride i n the back like a boss , not behind the steering wheel like the hired chauffeur. Once you understand that every detail of the car's design and construction makes sense.

fintail > benjrblant 07/24/2019 at 15:03

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It also might be the best looking modern Toyolex, no predator maw or overdone styling.  

FP gonna FP

Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now) > benjrblant 07/24/2019 at 15:03

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We were talking about this in regards to Oppo over the weekend. The reason I like Oppo so much is that the community likes cars in general. I may like some genre of cars more than another, but not to the point where I’m only interested in that genre.

During the California Wichitoppo trip we got more excited about seeing weird clean old cars than we did about seeing 458s, which reminded me how great this group is.

benjrblant > benjrblant 07/24/2019 at 15:03

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Isn’t this what an enthusiast community should be excited about? An ultra-low production, handbuilt (in 2019!) car intended to fit only a singular specific need? A car blog that’s not just reposting some Russian youtube video for a change, but actually doing some firsthand review work on a car that’s so uncommon and so far out there that 99.99 % of its readers will never ever see one in person? 

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > benjrblant 07/24/2019 at 15:06

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It has a CVT? Interesting, I thought CVTs struggled with large amounts of torque and heavy vehicles. I would have guessed it had an 8 speed of something.

jimz > benjrblant 07/24/2019 at 15:07

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When did the FP lose its car enthusiasts? The people who would get excited about super niche, crazy weird cars? When did it fill up with whoever’s on it now?

when most of us got kicked off for criticizing articles, leaving behind a bunch of know-nothing kids who just parrot whatever crap they heard elsewhere. That “Hayden Lorell” guy who posts a lot is a special brand.

but at least it’s not as bad as TTAC.  All that’s left are a handful of trolls and a bunch of aging, right-wing curmudgeons who have to drag every comment thread into a political cesspool.  

jimz > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 07/24/2019 at 15:08

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it’s not a typical CVT, it’s a power-split transmission like the Prius and Ford hybrids. which uses one of the motor/generator units and a planetary gearset to act as a CVT. it doesn’t have the input torque limit that a belt CVT does; the downside is you can only really use a power split trans in a hybrid.

Nauraushaun > benjrblant 07/24/2019 at 15:09

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Its the click bait headline that did it. Too luxurious for America.

That’s not the reason.

Satoshi "Zipang" Katsura > Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now) 07/24/2019 at 15:11

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Same. FP became the very anti-thesis of enthusiasts being a hivemind.

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > benjrblant 07/24/2019 at 15:18

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Lst time Jalopnik wrote about the Century people were complaining about the wool seats not being “p remium ” enough, even though the article stated that the seats were wool specifically because leather makes too much noise

SpeedSix > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 07/24/2019 at 15:28

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As JimZ wrote, it’s a CVT as used in a hybrid system, since the Century now uses a powertrain like the now-discontinued last- gen Lexus LS600hL (5.0L V8 + electric motors).

i86hotdogs > benjrblant 07/24/2019 at 15:32

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Where do I apply to chauffeur those CEO’s, presidents, and world leaders in this vehicle? I’d do that for the rest of my life.

HammerheadFistpunch > benjrblant 07/24/2019 at 15:36

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“When did the FP lose its car enthusiasts?”

When oppo content became reliably more interesting (on the whole).  

benjrblant > Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now) 07/24/2019 at 15:42

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Yes to all of this.

And I’ll get 100% more excited over a pristinely cared for shitbox than a supercar. Supercars are expected to be cared for and babied. Shitboxes? It takes a special person to weekly detail a low-mile 1993 Geo Metro and I want to be friends with that person.

Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now) > benjrblant 07/24/2019 at 16:06

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Yeah, supercars are neat because of the engineering involved. However, they’re so expensive that I’ve lost most interest in them as I’ll likely never own one. 

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > benjrblant 07/24/2019 at 16:34

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The comment I wanted to make:

While I understand the concept, I can’t keep myself from thinking it looks cheap inside after looking at the pics. I’m guessing it’s a “have to see it in person” thing, but it looks like normal cloth seats with lace draped over them, tons of plastic, and some gimmicks for good measure. All covered by it being a $180+k “luxury” car living off it predecessors name.

But reading the review, it seems none of this is the case, so I’m happy I actually took the time to read it.

Brickman > benjrblant 07/24/2019 at 16:35

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When did the FP lose its car enthusiasts?

Somewhere in between when Kinja was born (oh god why?!) and Gawker thinking they were a news organization  

benjrblant > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness 07/24/2019 at 16:42

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Right, and this is a good take, but it’s not designed for us. It’s meant for a different culture. And in this segment of client, wool seats are seen as more luxurious as leather. While I agree that the lace looks somewhat tacky at first, I’ve got to remember that this isn’t for me. It’s for the old money of Japan from an era when airlines still had lacey headrest covers and chauffers to drive people around.

Glad you took the time to read it!

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > benjrblant 07/24/2019 at 16:45

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I’m glad I did as well. It was a good read and lent a good insight on the culture it caters to, which in turn gave me an understanding of why/how/who.

DipodomysDeserti > benjrblant 07/24/2019 at 21:38

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Ahh, Japan. Where old money is younger than my grandmother.

Stef Schrader > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness 07/25/2019 at 04:12

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Thank you for R-ing TFA.

Always RTFArticle.

(I don’t think the front page commenters are that bad, for what it’s worth. There’s some dumb ones who sneak through, but it’s still funny when those get called out for not reading or whatever. )