Car Throttle

Not much time has passed since the introductions at the Tokyo Motor Show. Toyota was no doubt the winner of the show, debuting two performance models, the Toyota FT-86 Concept and the Lexus LFA. The former probably of the most interest to performance enthusiasts (unless you have $375,000…..and even then).

So we know the FT-86 concept is a lock for production and now speculation is turning to what it will be named. FT-86 is obviously not the final production name, with the moniker chosen to pay homage to the Toyota Corolla AE-86 GT.

The names under consideration, as reported by Autocar and The Detroit Bureau are Celica and surprisingly – Scion tC?  In producing the FT-86, Toyota’s goal is to make a vehicle that will help build excitement.

I assumed, along with most others, that this would mean the car would be coming to the United States wearing the Toyota badge. Toyota is the volume brand and is in need of new buyers. It’s possible that Toyota still hasn’t given up on it’s supposed youth brand and might use the car as a way to jumpstart it.

At this point I think it is more important to work on the volume brand. That still begs the question though of what it will be badged as internationally. Celica seems to be a likely prospect.