Yesterday's Fast Followers, Today's Global Leaders

Yesterday's Fast Followers, Today's Global Leaders

Asia's automotive innovations started with the Japanese, specifically Toyota and its revolutionary Toyota Production System. TPS successfully assaulted global manufacturing and is now an established benchmark. Complementing and continuing that watershed is Asia's transition in auto making from a fast-follower to an innovation leader. Once again, Toyota Motor Corp. is out in front, this time forging a path to commercially viable hybrid passenger vehicles.

Toyota's journey began in the early 1930s, when founder Kiichiro Toyoda determined to develop "a Japanese car for the public made using the brains and skills of Japanese people." In April 1936 production of the Toyota Model AA began.

Today Toyota's journey continues with the second-generation 2004 Prius hybrid. At last November's Tokyo Auto Show, Fujio Cho, Toyota's president, cited the underlying significance of the Prius: "Toyota believes that without a high level of environmental response, the automobile has no future."

Conceptually, it is a long way from the Model AA to the Prius. Toyota freely admits to its past adaptation cues from the Airflow styling of Chrysler's DeSoto and designing an engine inspired by Chevy's venerable OHV in-line six. (You can see a reconstruction at the company's Nagoya, Japan, automobile museum.)

With the Prius, the company is seriously challenging the competitive landscape with its belief in the potential of hybrid technology. "With the 21st century being referred to as the century of the environment, two crucial issues facing the world are initiatives to aid global environmental preservation and energy security," says Cho.

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Jeff