It has been a long time since people started to talk about young people's shift away from cars, but even during that time, van life and overlanding have been attracting attention, and the ways in which people enjoy cars have not only been immortalized, but have been expanding rapidly. Under the title of "Drive Your Teenage Dreams," TOYOTA is focusing on youth culture. The stage for this year's event was "SUMMER SONIC 2023," one of the leading urban festivals. Let's take a look at what kind of tricks were used for this year's event.
DYTD's Hiace came to Summer Sonic.
Drive Your Teenage Dreams." (hereinafter referred to as "DYTD") is a project that Toyota is continuing to develop in collaboration with "Starbase" in order to create new ways to enjoy cars.
We have been involved in various projects such as pop-ups, apparel releases, and collaborations with fashion brands, but it is SUMMER SONIC ("Summer Sonic") with which we have had a honeymoon relationship since our start. It was at Summer Sonic in 2019 that DYTD was unveiled in the first place, but the summer festival industry has had a difficult time since then following the Corona pandemic.
And this year, in 2023, Summer Sonico will be back in full force! To coincide with the event, DYTD also exhibited a pop-up, but its contents were so unconventional that one would think, "Toyota, with its staid image? The content was so unconventional that it made you think, "Toyota, with its staid image?
The centerpiece of the project, which has been in the works for three years, is a single Hiace that has been customized throughout. First, let's check out the details of the customization.
Based on a 200 series Hiace, the entire vehicle is unified in matte black, just like the image of the booth. In fact, painting Toyota's commercial vehicles such as the Hiace and Probox in matte colors and adding inch-ups and muddy tires to give them an outdoor/street style is a style that is very popular among people who love both fashion and cars.
The exterior is dressed up with aero parts, etc., while the suspension is from "EAGLE #1 NASCAR" by "GOODYEAR," a staple of one-box customization. The rear window is shut with wrapping, but this will actually come into play later on.
Take a look at the interior as well.
While camping and overnight stays are the standard for festival and custom car pop-ups, DYTD's Hiace is no exception, with its LED neon lights and two-tone leather fabric seats and deadening, it looks just like a club VIP room.
Thanks to the rear window, which is designed to block outside light like a panel van, the lights work well and ensure privacy.
If you look at the driving seat side, you will see a large monitor with a "Street Fighter 6" screen. Yes, this Hiace is a gaming-spec vehicle that has been designed in collaboration with "Street Fighter 6" under the title of "TOYOTA GAMINGSPOT" and allows you to enjoy the game inside the vehicle.
Looking around the car with this in mind, the LEDs I saw earlier looked more like the neon lights of a gaming PC than the lights of a club.
DYTD has always been a company that crossovers cars with street culture such as art, music, skating, and fashion, and its focus on e-sports, which is currently gaining momentum, is also very edgy. At the root of this is the belief that "the car is a plaything and a secret base, and we will continue to take on challenges that are not bound by preconceived ideas.
In addition, online competition is the norm in today's games, and it is standard to play games while talking or chatting. Many people must have experienced that while they are absorbed in a game, they tend to become loud, causing complaints from the next room or family members, or even .......
Using a car, even a car with a large space like the Hiace, as a private gaming space may be a reasonable idea, although it has never been done before.
Of course, "Street Fighter 6" could be played against other players. The long line of people waiting in line on the day of the event was not only a great way to relax before seeing a live performance by a musician of their choice, but also because of the extraordinary feeling of playing a game in a car.
Those who experienced the TOYOTA GAMINGSPOT were presented with a "Toyota" x "Street Fighter 6" collaboration T-shirt, drawstring, or poncho. Game T-shirts and corporate T-shirts have been attracting a lot of attention in the vintage market, and the collaboration between "Toyota" and "Street Fighter 6" in a black body is sure to attract a premium in the future.
What is even more noteworthy is the excellent merchandise on sale.
For example, the existence of a T-shirt with only the word "TOYOTA" and no oval mark printed on it is so irregular that those who know the strict rules for logo use in the car industry may mistakenly think, "It must be a boot! For those who know the strict rules of logo use in the car industry, the design is so irregular that it could be mistaken for a "boot". At first glance, the logo T-shirt looks simple, but in it lies DYTD's commitment and spirit of challenge.
The booth will sell BE@RBRICK, "Lee," and other items that have been collaborated with DYTD in the past, as well as original clothing. A work shirt with a "Toyota" patch, which looks like something an American factory worker would wear, would be great for washing your car, and if you can find it in second-hand clothing, you might just pick it up.
KYAN, a fashion influencer with over 1.5 million followers on Tiktok, also visited the booth. Inside the Hiace, he was enjoying "Street Fighter 6" to the fullest. His collaboration T-shirt was also well-dressed.
On the wall of the booth, there was a board on which visitors could freely write their messages, and KYAN was also adding his own messages, enjoying every inch of the booth.
Summer festivals and message boards are good examples, but the importance of communication that requires going onsite is sinking in these days because of the online omnipresence and the self-restraint forced by the Corona.
In this time, the DYTD project, developed by "Toyota" and "Starbase," seems to be rethinking the car not only as a transporter to transport people to real scenes, but also as a hub of communication.
We haven't been able to go to festivals together or play gaming games together for a long time. Looking at DYTD's Hiace, I felt like it was time for us all to get in the car and have fun together.
Photo_Fumihiko Ikemoto
Text_Shunsuke Hirota
