The Much Fashionable Gen 2 Toyota bB Spotted in the Philippines

    It's no brainer that much of the strange and unconventional design choices pertaining to cars have originated from the land of the rising sun. From their Shakotan-styled auto shows, featuring heavily-modified and illogically-designed tuners, to their factory-made Toyota-configured WiLL cars, comprising of looks made to entice the youth of Japan. In the sea of eccentric-looking vehicles, came the second gen Toyota bB.


    The Gen 2 bB, given the code QNC20, was unveiled in Tokyo back in 2005. Despite Japan being its main and a part of its small market size, it was rebadged under numerous different names, such as the Daihatsu Materia and the Subaru Dex, to name a few. Its design was cited to have been made similar to a music player, such as the Sony Discman, once again to entice the younger generation of Japan. The redundantly-named car continued its production until the end of its model's lifetime, in 2016, far outliving the lifetime and the popularity of the Discman.


    The variants offered at the time, either came with a 1.3L engine, or a larger 1.5L engine, generating between 90 to 110 brake horsepower and 120 to 140 Nm of torque. Although it wasn't much, this JDM family hatchback's power was enough to satisfy its Japanese customers to justify its comparatively long production, unlike the more locally popular first gen Toyota bB.


    Because the car was easy to park, and small enough to avoid Japan's tax on larger vehicles, it became a hit during its time. The popular brand, or brands, it carried, its economically nimble engine, and its quite stylish interior proved its place to the public. Inside, it had circular air vents, a center-positioned instrument panel, a standard yet hi-tech radio, and speakers placed all around the cabin, lined with LEDs to simulate a starry night when driving in the dark. Not to mention, with all these features, it was still easy to insure.


    However, due to its unavailability here in the domestic market, a number of these bB's were imported through the grey market straight from Japan. Then being converted from an RHD position to an LHD position. Since it was an import car, the exact number of these existing bB's in the Philippines are unknown and possibly scare, making it one rare and cool car.

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