When Toyota Kirloskar Motors unveiled the hatchback and sedan variants of Etios, it did not stop with a number-crunching press meet for business and auto journalists. It extended the event into a soirée for people who have already bought Toyota vehicles and are likely to warm up to the new ones.
Called ‘Toyota Q World', the show at Chennai Trade Centre featured a traditional dance programme and a fashion show; the entertainment was interspersed with quizzes and pitches about Toyota's vehicles in the market. While the Etios concept cars occupied elevated spaces on the podium, other Toyota machines in the Indian automobile market filled the flanks.
The entertainment got underway with a theme song, “World First! India First!” that dwelt on the vehicles' significance to India. Dancing to the song were women dressed in black and simulating the flight of butterflies with gauzy white clothes for wings.
Following the lilting start, dancers of Avigna Dance Ensemble and models, who had been put through the paces by Ajit Menon and Trendz, kept the interest alive.
While the Ensemble displayed a plethora of scenes capturing the Indian ethos, stretching from North and South, with ornate umbrellas, peacock feathers, mridangams, silambam props and garlands and finished with a popular Tamil film song; the models displayed clothes by Richa Kapoor and Vivek Karunakaran.
While Richa's clothes, ranged from the heavily sequined to embroidered sarees that shimmered to cotton and linen casuals, Vivek's collection was a celebration of colour and bold cuts.
Between dance steps and ramp moves, hostess Paloma engaged the audience with her banter, including a quiz contest on Toyota vehicles. Toyota officials, including head of Lanson Toyota, Lanka Lingam kept their speeches admirably short.
Etios hatchback and sedan, made with the Indian market in mind, is expected to swing into production by the year-end.
