AUTOMOBILE COLLABORATIONS

On the previous episode, we learned about the automobile twins, explaining how Lexus is basically Toyota, Acura is Honda and so on. Although, I concluded the episode by noting that in the case of cars like the Toyota 86 and Subaru BRZ, they are not automobile twins but rather automobile collaborations between two different car companies, as in this case Toyota and Subaru. This would form the basis of todays discussion.

Same car but from two different companies

What is Automobile Collaboration? 

A collaboration simply means the action of working with someone to produce something. Hence, automobile collaboration involves the coming together of two or more car companies to produce one usually awesome car, which is then sold by the two companies under different badges. Automobile collaboration usually occurs so car companies can compliment each other and make up for their individual shortcomings. Companies also collaborate in order to share parts and expertise, thereby reducing the overall cost of production and this is how they make their billions.

Toyota and Subaru Collaboration

Now that we are done defining terms, let us take a look at a few automobile collaborations that were descent;

1. The Toyota and Subaru Collaboration

First off, Toyota and Subaru have a very wonderful relationship, probably better than some relationships that would be celebrated in seven days. There is basically no bad blood between them and since Toyota purchased a stake in Subaru, they have become even closer. Toyota is known for reliability while Subaru is known for fun and rally ready cars, so this combination of attributes is definitely going to produce awesome cars. Asides the Subaru BRZ and Toyota 86, there are definitely going to be more collaborations to come.

Top - Subaru BRZ, Bottom - Toyota 86

2. The Toyota and BMW Collaboration

This is one of those controversial relationships, like the ones your celebrity couples have. This particular collaboration initially brought about a lot of backlash especially for Toyota. For gear heads in the house, you already guessed it, the Toyota Supra MK5. The new generation Supra is a collaboration between two companies no one could have pictured together, with Toyota having the Supra while it's counterpart being the BMW Z4.

Toyota and BMW Collaboration

BMW supplied Toyota with the engines and probably also the transmissions for the new generation Supra, which makes the Supra basically a rebadged BMW. People were not happy because the Supra has a lot of history and they felt this was not a proper replacement for the legendary Supra MK4, but Toyota had their reason for not building a new sports car from scratch. To know more about this, check out the episode on "Toyota's reluctance to producing proper sport cars anymore".

    Blue - Toyota Supra, Grey - BMW

3. The Aston Martin and Smart Car Collaboration

Most of us should know the Aston Martin car company, but for those who don't, just remember your James Bond movies because that is like the official James Bond car. The smart car is also a popular car abroad, it is a small commuter car that is quite boring. So guess what? Aston Martin decided to put a 4.7-liter V8 producing 430 horse power into the boring commuter car, thereby turning it into the hulk!

I especially like this collaboration because it doesn't just make sense. These two car companies have nothing in common but they somehow produced a fun to drive car.

The Aston Martin Cygnet

4. The Pontiac and Toyota Collaboration

This is one very interesting collaboration because it involves two very common cars in Nigeria. I remember my Dad wanting to buy a Pontiac Vibe back in the day and I was confused because Pontiac has stopped producing cars since 2009. Pontiac was one of the car companies under General Motors (GM) and they produced fire cars like the Pontiac Firebird popularly known as the Trans Am. GM eventually discontinued the Pontiac line up, which means no more Pontiacs should be produced but then I started seeing this new Pontiac Vibe everywhere in Nigeria and this car bears so much resemblance to the Toyota Matrix.

Pontiac Vibe

If you live in Ibadan, there is no way you have not seen the car above. So I figured GM must have rebadged Toyota Matrix's as Pontiacs and sold them here in Africa where people don't know Pontiac has stopped existing. If you ask Mechanics, they would tell you the Pontiac Vibe shares most parts with the Toyota Matrix and Rav4.

Left - Pontiac Vibe, Right - Toyota Matrix

There are a lot more automobile collaborations but I would stop here for now. If you want more content on this topic, then signify in the comments section. Thank you for reading and always remember to Turbo that engine.