Toyota president says firm's cars need to be better looking

Akio Toyoda, speaking at the Detroit auto show, says the automaker plans to give more authority to its design studios in the locations where the vehicles will be sold and produced.
Reporting from Detroit — Toyota Motor Corp. President Akio Toyoda said Monday that the Japanese automaker needed to add more excitement to the styling of its vehicles.
Speaking to reporters at the North American International Auto Show — his first visit to an American auto show — Toyoda said, "I think cars need to be better looking. We are going to come up with better-looking, nicer cars."
One way Toyota plans to improve the design of its vehicles is by giving more authority to its design studios in the locations where the vehicles will be sold and produced, he said.

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tango - 1/11/2011 10:58:17 PM

+8 Boost

This guy is in touch with reality. Toyota vehicles have moved from boring to ugly. Time to act quickly though, Akio. Time's a wastin'!

WorldofLuxury - 1/12/2011 6:44:04 AM

+1 Boost

This guy knows business in addition to loving cars. His predecessors seem to know only business.

theoptimisticpessimist - 1/11/2011 11:11:09 PM

+6 Boost

If only Honda president would relize that about Acura.

g2ok - 1/12/2011 12:18:11 AM

+8 Boost

He right by giving more control to local studios, but only partially. Toyota needs to hire better designers to build a better brand identity. Just giving more control over to the same old teams will not yield results.

geoff448 - 1/12/2011 12:48:54 AM

+4 Boost

strongly agreed

uaw_lax - 1/12/2011 12:56:34 AM

-1 Boost

I agree with this statement, but performance is also a must. Hyundai has it's Genesis and Nissan has it's Z.

stone - 1/12/2011 1:18:07 AM

-1 Boost

agree completely, might want to give some attention to their interiors as well. I still cringe every time Hertz gives me a Toyota Camry for a rental...

tattedtwice - 1/12/2011 11:05:01 AM

-2 Boost

Youre better than me; I will sit and wait for something nicer (which is just about ANYthing) to come in before I EVER sit my cheeks in a camry.

enthusiastx11 - 1/12/2011 1:40:58 AM

+1 Boost

agree completely with toyoda. hopefully he can commit the firm to investing in design.

Steve - 1/12/2011 1:56:59 AM

+8 Boost

I'm all for "better looking" cars. The tought questions, is better looking to who? One person's "amazing" is another's "yuck." You can't please everyone, so they'll likely focus on what they *believe* is the tastes of a substantial market segment.

truckman - 1/12/2011 5:44:10 AM

0 Boost

Agreed, Function or performance, that is the question, and not everyone has the same IQ,lol Some might be happy with stickers and some may want some performance to accompany the sticker,lol

Lexus - 1/12/2011 2:32:56 AM

+1 Boost

I think were the fan and car owners having been saying this for at least 10 Freaking Year, where have you guys and gals been? This Toyoda dude is freaking cool, first the IS-F, LF-A and possibly a GS-F and now this.

Lexus - 1/12/2011 2:33:35 AM

+1 Boost

If they don't want to go back and built and sale houses only they better act quick.

uaw_lax - 1/12/2011 4:51:12 AM

-5 Boost

something like this is what they need to go back to correct me if im wrong but i think it looks better than anything they today.

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=toyota+mr2&view=detail&id=ADCE70F922656D8479C5D757DF8FDA5C8F692EA9&first=1&FORM=IDFRIR

mggray - 1/13/2011 3:10:20 PM

+5 Boost

You're joking, right? Tell me you're joking . . .

kpaxx - 1/12/2011 7:46:53 AM

-2 Boost

How about safety first! They should concentrate on making safe and quality cars before concentrating on how they look!

kpaxx - 1/12/2011 9:34:49 AM

-2 Boost

and so has every other car company!

kpaxx - 1/12/2011 10:20:46 AM

-5 Boost

Yeah and how good can TPS be in light of toyota's recent quality problems. Plus TPS is not the only system that manufacturers have studied there are numerous system out there and all have there strengths and weaknesses. The toyota TPS is not some magical system and it is not very different from other currently employed systems.

85bmw745i - 1/12/2011 11:07:01 AM

+7 Boost

If it weren't for companies like Toyota and Honda, American cars would still be cheap crappy cars with horrifically cheap interior, sloppy suspension, torque steer monsters with absolutely no steering feedback or brake pedal feel at all. Not that toyotas were that much more involving but they did have more feel than their domestic competition back then, plus they felt solid. The whole door panel didn't bulge and flex every time you closed the door. The whole dash didn't move in every time you pressed the cigarette lighter in or plugged something into the cigarette lighter receptacle. And they didn't float with 20 inches of suspension travel and leap bound and sway every time you hit a dip on the freeway. I'm not Toyota fan boy but I recognize good products regardless of the brand, and Toyotas needs to step it up. Instead they have taken the route that killed GM by making their interiors with less quality and cheaper materials than they did in the past.

85bmw745i - 1/12/2011 11:10:49 AM

+8 Boost

The Venza is probably the best looking Toyota. It looks solid and well put together and looks like they actually took a change when they styled it. Toyota makes their cars so bland and vanilla to not offend anyone and make them acceptable to a more wide audience. Think of the older early 2000 and older Pontiacs. overly styled. Some thought they looked exciting, others thought they were overdone, cheap and tacky, but I give them credit for thinking outside the box even though they were the biggest pos cars GM ever built with more electrical nightmares and the worst interiors GM ever created.

Joe_Limon - 1/12/2011 11:26:42 AM

+4 Boost

I think Toyoda was finally delivered his personal lfa and came to this conclusion.

upwards - 1/12/2011 3:46:19 PM

-2 Boost

your kidding right?

thstone - 1/12/2011 2:43:55 PM

-3 Boost

How about starting with telling the truth about unintended acceleration and we can worry about poor design themes later?

DallasTheo - 1/12/2011 6:44:27 PM

-2 Boost

In an attempt to be non-offensive and appeal to everyone, most every Toyota and Lexus (with rare exceptions) has gone beyond boring and uninspired to often-ugly and always forgettable. I hope Ford, Kia and Hyundai's uniquely branded designs have give Toyota the courage to step it up by importing some of the best car designers in the world--if they would consider the job.

Whelan - 1/13/2011 7:52:35 AM

-4 Boost

So Toyota finally realizes and acknowledges the obvious? What would be news is if Toyota CEO went over to Honda CEO's house and had him do the same thing.

Most likely you will still see the Corolla/Matrix redesign come out similar to the new Civic, a more refresh of current model than redesign.