Toyota Stalking, er...um, SPOTTING with Charlie™ (Cars, vans, SUVs, Lexus, Scion, and brochures)!

My friend who lives in Hong Kong took some pictures of the new Toyota hybrid taxis they have there...

 

Some of the iconic Toyota Crown Comfort taxis, which have been a mainstay in HK for decades.

 

All of these taxis run on propane!

 

Crown Comfort taxis and Toyota Coaster minibuses...

 

Toyota Alphard minivans in Hong Kong...

 

The Alphard is definitely cooler looking than the Sienna!

 

I did not know that Lexus made minivans until my friend sent me this picture of a Lexus dealership in Hong Kong. The LM350 is only available in the Asian market, though I personally wouldn't mind bringing one stateside in 25 years!

 

Toyota Vellfire

 

Daihatsu Midget at the new M+ Museum in Hong Kong...

 

I know that 1st Gen RAV4s came in a bluish purplish violet color, but not this loud of a purple, and I'm pretty sure that this 2nd Gen example that I saw in a shopping center parking lot yesterday has been repainted...


December 3rd, 2022:

Dublin, Pennsylvania

 

My friend sent me a slew of Asian-market minivans from Hong Kong yesterday, including this fairly new Toyota Alphard!

 

Yet another Alphard...

 

And one of Hong Kong's iconic Toyota Crown Comfort taxis with an equally iconic Toyota Coaster minibus in the background...

 

Yet another black Alphard...

 

And yet another black Alphard, with what appears to be another white Nissan Serena (I am unsure if it actually is though, because it looks smaller than the first Nissan)...

 

A HiAce cargo van...

 

I saw this when I went to the body shop for an estimate on painting my grille; 1990 Corolla DX doing what old Toyotas do best, and that's continuing to run like new while rusting like the Titanic! Butch is doing some rust repair on this car so it will pass PA safety inspection...


December 8th, 2022:

Danboro, Pennsylvania

 

Still a Toyota!


December 12, 2022:

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

 

1998 Lexus ES300; I rarely see an ES of this era that hasn't been beaten to shit. I ran a Carfax report on this car and was amazed to discover that it was totaled in January 2020. It also shows a minor accident with moderate damage to the left rear, three days after the total loss declaration; I have no idea if these two events are linked. I would not be surprised if they were, and if they were then it was probably because the car had almost 200K miles and the cost to fix it exceeded the actual value. If you look at the car, you will see some minor imperfections and some minor damage to the right front fender, but the damage that led to it being declared a total loss appears to have been repaired very well. What's very weird is that the car still seems to have a clear title...


December 19th, 2022:

Warrington, Pennsylvania

 

In Destroy All Humans! 2, there is a fictionalized version of Japan, specifically Tokyo, called Takoshima Island. There is an obvious parody of Toyota called "Toymoto"...

 

The Toymoto compact seen on various billboards around Takoshima Island, with a red pickup that looks a like a Datsun, and purple 3-wheeler that resembles a Daihatsu Midget...

 

Another Daihatsu Midget...