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“Call me an ambulance!” cried out the despairing man, and a cheeky little kid came along and rhythmically teased the man, “You are an ambulance! You are an ambulance!”
I am quite sure you have heard of that joke before, and here we are, presented with a new app from Toyota that lets you become their new vehicle, simply known as the “86″. This vehicle pays homage to the classic AE86 Trueno that was made famous in the Japanese manga, Initial D, with Takumi behind the wheel. Inspired by Japan's original “Drift King”, the young Takumi is an unassuming tofu delivery boy who inherited his father's driving skills, and has beaten countless competitors who dared challenge his racing and drifting skills along Japan's famous mountain passes. Well, before the updated car from Toyota arrives in the market this spring, how about a little bit of promotion through the "I am 86″ app? It lets you race around anywhere you want, flash your lights, honk to your heart's content without annoying anyone, as well as drift around corners and record the "race".
This free app will rely on your handset's camera, transforming it into a windshield, while the accelerometer will measure speed and drift around corners as you record the journey into a video format. Entertaining definitely, but will it be able to translate one's initial interest into sales figures? Only time will tell.
