Does Toyota Need To Turn To Outside Help To Invigorate Styling?

Toyota is often billed as the most Japanese of Japanese automakers, but it has turned to a foreigner to spice up the company's famously bland styling.

Simon Humphries, the soft-spoken Englishman tapped for the job, isn't the person you might expect to head the global design studios of the world's biggest carmaker.

Before joining Toyota in 1994, he had virtually no experience in vehicle design. And instead of injecting Toyota with a major dose of foreign perspective, Humphries is -- by his own admission -- sometimes more Japanese in his aesthetics than his own Japanese stylists.

"I think they need to be much more confident about their own cultural heritage," Humphries said in an interview at Toyota's main design studio here. "The foreign people who work within design are more aggressive about promoting Japanese-ness than the Japanese themselves."

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enthusiastx11 - 4/28/2010 10:47:57 AM

+5 Boost

hell, yes. and they need to do more then 'invigorate' their 'styling.' they need to throw away everything they've done for the past decade and start from scratch.

kpaxx - 4/28/2010 12:27:48 PM

-1 Boost

toyota needs outside help to make its cars safe!

bfghemicuda - 4/28/2010 1:08:02 PM

-1 Boost

Toyota has bigger fish to fry...

bfghemicuda - 4/28/2010 8:14:40 PM

+1 Boost

My Comment was not against Toyota. Toyota has other issues that are higher in priority than styling. One step at a time.

Whelan - 4/28/2010 3:02:25 PM

-1 Boost

So this guy has been around since 1994 and so far we have only gotten what we see at the dealers now. YAWN!

But wait! There is a hot FT86 coming out priced just right with fun power options, sporty styling and...what?...whats that? Oh, nevermind, it's the next Solara prices at a comfortable 25-26k base. Awesome! I guess we can just put another nail in the coffin since they have not offered us anykind of sporty small performance car (Civic Si, Mazdaspeed3). But here is 164hp (14hp less than the last generation) in XRS form. HAHAHA what a joke.

WorldofLuxury - 4/28/2010 3:17:56 PM

+1 Boost

They can do it. They just choose to go their own "unique" directions. Since they've kept earning big bucks, they never cared about our complaining.

pennfootball - 4/28/2010 5:13:34 PM

+1 Boost

Does a Bear Sh!t in the woods?

LACMAN - 4/29/2010 9:18:17 AM

+1 Boost

^^^The truth will make you free...