The network will be accessible through PCs, tablets and smartphones, giving Toyota customers the ability to connect with their dealerships, cars and Toyota itself. For example, your car could send you an alert when its battery needs recharging, and you would be able to connect to your dealership to get maintenance tips and service information.
Toyota Friend will primarily be a private network for Toyota car owners, but customers will be able to connect and expand the experience through public social networks such as Facebook and Twitter.
The network will be powered by enterprise social network Salesforce.com's Chatter and Toyota's telematics platform. The first cars to be shipped with social networking capabilities will be Toyota's first battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid cars, which are coming next year.