Cross-cultural communication （114）　

114) White Toyota Corolla
This is not an advertisement for Toyota cars. Or is it...? In September 2021, it was reported that the US military had admitted to and apologized for mistakenly bombing a charity organization's office in Afghanistan. It is very rare for the US military to apologize for a mistaken bombing, but what I found even more unusual was that they even announced the reason for this mistaken bombing. It said that they had received information that the Islamic State (IS) was transporting weapons in a white Corolla, and that they had bombed the white Corolla that was parked in front of the office in question.

Over the past decade or so, there have been many terrorist incidents around the world. Apart from urban terrorism, cars are a necessity as a means of transport for terrorist incidents in desert and mountainous regions. These incidents are covered by the media and the footage is broadcast around the world. For the past ten years or so, I have been watching this footage with great interest, and the more inhospitable the environment in the conflict zone, the more likely it is that the car in the footage will be a Toyota. It's clear from the prominent letters 'TOYOTA' on the back of the pickup truck's load bed, or the Toyota logo on the front, that it is a Toyota. The vehicles used by the terrorists and the government forces fighting them are almost always Toyota. Am I the only one who was watching this with a mixture of bemusement and admiration? (Well, it's true that the type of car is not the main subject of these news reports.)

The cars that Toyota makes are for general use. It is the local military organizations that equip these cars with weapons and add bulletproof devices, so I don't think there is any reason why Toyota is called an arms dealer. I imagine that the reason they are popular in the military is probably because of their durability and the fact that there is a repair infrastructure in place all over the world.

If you watch the Indiana Jones movies, all the cars driving through the desert are Mercedes-Benzes. I guess that in the first half of the 20th century, Mercedes-Benzes were the only way to get around in the harsh environments of the world. So, does that mean that Toyota has inherited the position of Mercedes-Benz in the first half of the 21st century?
If any of the people involved with Toyota read this, I would love to hear your comments.

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