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WiLL
The WiLL brand was a marketing approach shared by a small group of Japanese companies who decided to offer products and services that focused on a younger demographic from August 1999 until July 2004 in Japan. The companies that participated were the Kao Corporation (a manufacturer of personal hygiene, household detergents, and cosmetics), Toyota, Asahi Breweries, Panasonic, Kinki Nippon Tourist Company, Ltd, Ezaki Glico Candy, and Kokuyo Co., Ltd. (an office furniture and stationery manufacturer). Toyota also engaged in a similar "youth oriented" approach in North America, with the Project Genesis program. This selective marketing experiment reflected a Japanese engineering philosophy called Kansei engineering, which was used by other Japanese companies. All products were listed online at "willshop.com".
Toyota offered three individually designed cars, based on the mechanicals of existing Toyota models. The series was intended to appeal to markets that were not covered by Toyota's mainstream range, and to discover how commercially feasible such unusual designs were. The American Scion range is based on a similar concept. All WiLL vehicles were only sold in Japan, and only at Toyota Vista Store locations. When the WiLL project ended in 2004, Toyota stopped producing WiLL-branded vehicles, and renamed the Toyota Vista dealerships to Toyota NETZ, that coincided with the launch of the North American introduction of Scion, using lessons learned from the WiLL project.
The WiLL Vi is a subcompact car, produced from 2000 to 2001, with distinctive styling combining elements of many cars. The WiLL Vi was designed by the then newly formed Virtual Venture Company, headed by Jim Shimizu. The unique-appearing rear window had earlier appeared on the Mazda Carol, late Reliant Regals, the Ford Anglia (1959–1968), and the Citroen Ami. The "neo-retro" look represented a period in Japan where vehicles took on the styling of historic vehicles from the 1950s and 1960s, such as the Nissan Be-1, Nissan Figaro, Nissan S-Cargo, Nissan Pao, the Toyota Origin, the Subaru Vivio Bistro, and the Mitsubishi Minica Town Bee. The curve of the tail section is also similar to that of the second generation of the Renault Mégane.
The car was equipped with MacPherson struts for the front wheels and a torsion beam axle for the rear wheels. The car was painted in a number of pastel colors, and the plastic wheel covers resemble sand dollars. One of the few options was a canvas sliding roof, and the vehicle was installed with bench seats for both front and rear passengers, with the gearshift installed on the dashboard.
The WiLL Vi's 16,000 sales were so disappointing compared to the Vitz's 600,000+ that the car was discontinued in December 2001 and was replaced by the WiLL Cypha.
The WiLL VS was first introduced in 2001. It was formally introduced at the 2001 Los Angeles Auto Show, as a precursor to the introduction of Scion to North America, and sales in the Japanese market in April of that year under a massive publicity campaign with British electronic group Underworld. The TV commercial featured their hit, "Born Slippy," originally released six years prior. The WiLL VS was manufactured at Kanto Auto Works. Inspiration for the design of the WiLL VS was said to have been derived from the Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk Stealth Fighter. It also has many appearance similarities to the Renault Avantime.
The WiLL VS came in three levels of trim. The top of the range model came with alloy wheels, fog-lamps, body kit and tiptronic gearshift. Models are available in automatic transmission, tiptronic, and a six-speed manual, powered by Toyota's 1800 cc VVT-I engine offering 140 hp or VVTL-I engine offering 180 hp, which is the unit in the higher spec Toyota Celica. The VS joined the revised Vi, renamed the Cypha, and offered WiLL buyers the choice of a wider car with a more powerful engine. The width dimensions of the VS exceeded Japanese Government regulations that taxed vehicles based on exterior dimensions, which buyers of the VS were liable.
In spite of its success in the Japanese market, where the WiLL VS had a cult following, the model was never released overseas. Production of the WiLL VS was stopped circa 2004 and a replacement model was never announced, much to the disappointment of its fans. Nevertheless, some would argue that there was no need to replace the WiLL VS for at least another decade given its futuristic design that some of the newer cars were only beginning to adopt. This would include trend-setting features such as the rakish body shape, aerodynamic angles, projector-style headlamp cluster (regarded as revolutionary in 2001), illuminated speedometer and clear LED tail lights.
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WiLL
The WiLL brand was a marketing approach shared by a small group of Japanese companies who decided to offer products and services that focused on a younger demographic from August 1999 until July 2004 in Japan. The companies that participated were the Kao Corporation (a manufacturer of personal hygiene, household detergents, and cosmetics), Toyota, Asahi Breweries, Panasonic, Kinki Nippon Tourist Company, Ltd, Ezaki Glico Candy, and Kokuyo Co., Ltd. (an office furniture and stationery manufacturer). Toyota also engaged in a similar "youth oriented" approach in North America, with the Project Genesis program. This selective marketing experiment reflected a Japanese engineering philosophy called Kansei engineering, which was used by other Japanese companies. All products were listed online at "willshop.com".
Toyota offered three individually designed cars, based on the mechanicals of existing Toyota models. The series was intended to appeal to markets that were not covered by Toyota's mainstream range, and to discover how commercially feasible such unusual designs were. The American Scion range is based on a similar concept. All WiLL vehicles were only sold in Japan, and only at Toyota Vista Store locations. When the WiLL project ended in 2004, Toyota stopped producing WiLL-branded vehicles, and renamed the Toyota Vista dealerships to Toyota NETZ, that coincided with the launch of the North American introduction of Scion, using lessons learned from the WiLL project.
The WiLL Vi is a subcompact car, produced from 2000 to 2001, with distinctive styling combining elements of many cars. The WiLL Vi was designed by the then newly formed Virtual Venture Company, headed by Jim Shimizu. The unique-appearing rear window had earlier appeared on the Mazda Carol, late Reliant Regals, the Ford Anglia (1959–1968), and the Citroen Ami. The "neo-retro" look represented a period in Japan where vehicles took on the styling of historic vehicles from the 1950s and 1960s, such as the Nissan Be-1, Nissan Figaro, Nissan S-Cargo, Nissan Pao, the Toyota Origin, the Subaru Vivio Bistro, and the Mitsubishi Minica Town Bee. The curve of the tail section is also similar to that of the second generation of the Renault Mégane.
The car was equipped with MacPherson struts for the front wheels and a torsion beam axle for the rear wheels. The car was painted in a number of pastel colors, and the plastic wheel covers resemble sand dollars. One of the few options was a canvas sliding roof, and the vehicle was installed with bench seats for both front and rear passengers, with the gearshift installed on the dashboard.
The WiLL Vi's 16,000 sales were so disappointing compared to the Vitz's 600,000+ that the car was discontinued in December 2001 and was replaced by the WiLL Cypha.
The WiLL VS was first introduced in 2001. It was formally introduced at the 2001 Los Angeles Auto Show, as a precursor to the introduction of Scion to North America, and sales in the Japanese market in April of that year under a massive publicity campaign with British electronic group Underworld. The TV commercial featured their hit, "Born Slippy," originally released six years prior. The WiLL VS was manufactured at Kanto Auto Works. Inspiration for the design of the WiLL VS was said to have been derived from the Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk Stealth Fighter. It also has many appearance similarities to the Renault Avantime.
The WiLL VS came in three levels of trim. The top of the range model came with alloy wheels, fog-lamps, body kit and tiptronic gearshift. Models are available in automatic transmission, tiptronic, and a six-speed manual, powered by Toyota's 1800 cc VVT-I engine offering 140 hp or VVTL-I engine offering 180 hp, which is the unit in the higher spec Toyota Celica. The VS joined the revised Vi, renamed the Cypha, and offered WiLL buyers the choice of a wider car with a more powerful engine. The width dimensions of the VS exceeded Japanese Government regulations that taxed vehicles based on exterior dimensions, which buyers of the VS were liable.
In spite of its success in the Japanese market, where the WiLL VS had a cult following, the model was never released overseas. Production of the WiLL VS was stopped circa 2004 and a replacement model was never announced, much to the disappointment of its fans. Nevertheless, some would argue that there was no need to replace the WiLL VS for at least another decade given its futuristic design that some of the newer cars were only beginning to adopt. This would include trend-setting features such as the rakish body shape, aerodynamic angles, projector-style headlamp cluster (regarded as revolutionary in 2001), illuminated speedometer and clear LED tail lights.