There are many automotive clubs that have owners who like to celebrate their particular brand, often doing organized runs, some of them to raise money for charities.
I recently became aware of some Toyota owners – or Yodas as they have come to be known, some of whom showcase that with personalized license plates. The Southern Ontario Toyoda Enthusiasts Club (SOTEC) has more than 100 registered members collectively from Ottawa, Peterborough, Newmarket, the Greater Toronto Area, Hamilton, London, Kitchener, Guelph, Windsor, Sarnia, North Bay, Sudbury and beyond.
The club evolved from a previous group and registered as a non-profit two years ago. It is also an official club with the Ontario Federation Of 4 Wheel Drive (OF4WD). The Federation designates trails for driving, horseback riding, motorcycle and ATV riding and cycling. Some of the trails are so remote they can only be accessed by car.
Peter Massari, one of the leaders of SOTEC and helps facilitate some of its trail runs, said he became a Yoda when he bought a Tacoma in 2010. He joined an online forum for Southern Ontario Toyota Truck owners. He and some other Tacoma owners subsequently formed their group, which grew through social media. The club also includes owners of 4Runners, Land Cruisers, Lexus trucks, Jeeps, Chevies and more. But it is Tacoma that is the essence of the club.
“Tacomas were popular for offroading because they were relatively cheap to purchase, and they were small, nimble and generally easy to modify – and they didn’t die, you could just run them into the ground,” Peter told me in an interview. “The old 22re engines were super reliable; even the newer ones are very reliable. We just got bigger and bigger and there’s subgroups within our group that people hang out with sharing knowledge. The whole goal of the club was just to bring people together, teach them trail stuff and then you can go out on your own and help keep the trails opened.”
The SOTEC does about four offroad trail runs a year and does community service work, including a food drive for kids in the Waterloo region. It also regularly cleans up garbage and debris in and around trails left behind by users, not necessarily motor enthusiasts.
“We’re just a bunch of volunteers essentially, none of us are paid money,” Peter said. “Everyone thinks we’re just going into the bush and destroying the forests. We’re trying to conserve the area that we use. The more we get out into the community and show what we’re doing and create a positive perception, it’s the right thing to do. We’re never cutting down trees and making our way, they’ve generally been there for many, many years.”
The club has been doing its cleanups on the Ardbeg Trail, which is approximately 42 kilometres northeast of Parry Sound. On its landing page, the trail is described as a diverse range of offroading experiences, ensuring that adventurers never find themselves bored, featuring everything from challenging rock climbs to more leisurely trails for ATVing, hunting and cottage access.
Peter said his club has collected more than 6,000 pounds of garbage on the trail, including debris from camping. He said they have also found refrigerators and an HVAC unit that had asbestos in it.
“We started noticing, especially around COVID when no one could go anywhere, this place became so packed and was just littered with garbage and was going to get closed down,” Peter said. “If you don’t do anything about it you’re going to lose the spot you like. We took it upon ourselves to just fix the issue.”
He said they pick up the garbage with their trucks and trailer, though last year they borrowed a trailer from the OF4WD.
“We used to pay to throw it out ourselves, then we started reaching out to the municipality of the area and they let us use their facility,” Peter said.
He said the club holds two camping trips there because it is a good entry point for newcomers to experience offroading.
“We always try to tell everyone the types of trails we’re going on so they are mentally prepared,” Peter said. “People don’t want to damage their vehicles.”
He said during a trip in North Bay at the Mattawa Trail System, their group encountered a group of ATV riders who had a medical emergency because one of them broke a leg. The SOTEC group helped get the injured person to an area to be helicoptered for help. Peter said a year later the injured person joined the club.
To learn more about the club, visit the site toyeclub.ca or its Instagram account @toveclub. Emails can also be sent to [email protected].
Perry Lefko is the Content Manager of The Car Magazine. He can be reached at [email protected]. Feel free to forward any story suggestions or comments.
