The Art of Toyota: A Journey Through Innovation and Tradition

At the heart of Toyota's success lies a deep understanding of its customers' needs and desires. The company's commitment to manufacturing cars that are fun for every Toyota customer to drive is reflected in its approach to product development, from the design process to the final product on the road. This philosophy has been embodied by three generations of Toyodas: Kiichi Toyoda, Akio Toyoda, and his grandfather, who started it all.

Kiichi Toyoda's impact on Toyota's growth cannot be overstated. In 1999, only four percent of the world was using the Internet, but Toyota was already harnessing its power to streamline its manufacturing process. The company implemented a system called eKanban, which digitized the traditional card-based system used by suppliers and factory workers. This innovation cut the cycle time in half, reducing storage needs and minimizing the risk of part shortages. By uploading information onto a database, suppliers could instantly receive notifications of the parts they needed to send, streamlining the entire supply chain process.

This forward-thinking approach was evident even before Toyota's induction into the Automotive Hall of Fame in 2009. The company had already begun to explore new technologies and innovations that would set it apart from its competitors. Akio Toyoda, a master driver with countless hours behind the wheel of his third-generation AAT Supra, brought this same sense of passion and dedication to his role as president. He worked tirelessly to improve Toyota's products, working on the Toyota GR project – which stands for Gazoo Racing – and overseeing the development of high-performance vehicles.

Toyota Gazoo Racing is an integral part of the company's DNA, embodying the idea that the team works together in a "garage" setting to refine every detail. This focus on perfection has yielded victories at prestigious racing events such as the World Rally Championship, the Nurburgring 24 hours, and Japan's Super GT series. In 2019, Akio Toyoda made headlines by competing in the Nurburgring 24 hours under the pseudonym "mr. Mauricio," a nod to the Japanese green shrub that served as the mascot for the 2005 World Expo.

The expo itself was held near where Clione is based and the Aichi Prefecture, with a theme focused on nature's wisdom and ecological coexistence. The Toyota logo, or "Mr. Machi" in Japanese, can be seen paying homage to this philosophy. As the company looks to the future, it's clear that Akio Toyoda has big plans for renewable energy and sustainable manufacturing practices.

One of these initiatives is the Mirai, Toyota's first full-production hydrogen fuel cell car unveiled at the 2014 Los Angeles Auto Show. The Mirai converts 13 gallons of water into 11 pounds of hydrogen and travels over 312 miles – an impressive feat that showcases the potential of this clean energy source. Like a cross between battery power and an internal combustion engine, fuel cells use pressurized hydrogen to generate electricity, producing only water as waste.

In 2018, Akio Toyoda received the Issigonis Trophy for bringing back cars that appeal to motor enthusiasts. He paid tribute to his grandfather, Kiichi Toyoda, who founded Toyota in 1937 and instilled a love of driving in him. For Akio, making cars that people want to drive is not just a responsibility but a passion. As he looks to the future, it's clear that the third generation of Toyodas will prove this adage wrong – proving that Toyota is more than just a family business; it's an institution built on tradition and innovation.

As we look ahead to what's in store for Toyota, one thing is certain: the company's commitment to driving excitement and passion will only continue to grow. With new products and technologies emerging on the horizon, subscribers to this channel can expect more exciting content – including behind-the-scenes looks at the design process, innovative manufacturing techniques, and interviews with industry experts. Be sure to subscribe and hit that notification bell to stay up-to-date on all things Toyota.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enwhy do some people regard the Prius as important as a Model T Ford why did Toyota engineer a flower and who is Toyota's mysterious race driver known as mr. Murray so you'll find out all this and more in part three of our series on how to iota got so big so far we followed the story of the Toyota family first there was Sakichi Toyoda an inventor who started a power loom business then a son kiichi ro who started manufacturing Toyotas first cars within the loom factory we then met Ichiro Seung Jo Ichiro who was called the crown prince of Toyota we also saw lots of toyota cars named after crowns in a few decades toyota would become king of all car makers one of the largest original equipment manufacturers in the world but let's not speed too far ahead it's now 1997 Toyota launches the first mass-produced hybrid car the iconic Prius Prius is Latin for go before and the Prius lives up to the name it's the first hybrid car in the world to be mass-produced some say its importance in the history of car manufacturing is equal to that of the Ford Model T because it symbolizes the new electric era of cars it's economical with minimal emissions it becomes the world's top-selling hybrid car by far you might think that this is because it's the first to market but actually this isn't the reason Honda Insight arrived in the u.s. first but Prius was the first to launch globally Prius is also not even the world's first hybrid car the idea for hybrids goes way back to 1889 when William H Patton developed a gasoline-electric hybrid railcar propulsion system then Ferdinand Porsche developed the mixed hybrid vehicle in 1900 but it won't be until the late 20th century that hybrid vehicles in general become commercially viable back to our story self honda launches had a Prius in America wait doesn't it win the race here well Americans like practicality and space for larger cars the inside only two doors an accommodation for just two people it's less practical for most Americans the Prius on the other hand has space for four in the Battle of the hybrids Prius leads not only America but in the rest of the world - it doesn't surrender its position after Prius Toyota looks for more ways to become environmentally friendly this is clue number nine on how Toyota got so big the world is moving towards green energy so too does Toyota and it's not just cars the company receives criticism because manufacturing Priuses has a larger environmental impact than most cars so Toyota genetically engineered the Toyota flower its purpose is to balance the carbon dioxide released into the Prius assembly plant two new species were created from cherry sage and gardenia one absorbs nitrogen oxide the other creates water vapor to reduce the temperature surrounding the factory Toyota continues to improve the manufacturing processes in 1999 they introduced the econ bond system earlier in part two of our history we explained how the traditional Kanban system works if you missed it click on the link below remember the pizza shop you keep just enough ingredients ready for a set number of pizzas as you use ingredients you replenish what you've used and continue assembling the pizza of course it's much easier to manage this if you're in the pizza shop and can see when ingredients are low but at a car manufacturing plant the parts can come from far away it's hard to keep track of something you can't see Sall cards are used to keep track when a parts container is empty a card is placed inside each container card contains the part number and details then the container is sent back to the supplier the supplier can see from the card what parts are needed they fill the container with those parts and send it back to Toyota this works well in Japan because many of the parts suppliers are close to the Toyota manufacturing back tree but in Europe it's a little different some of the suppliers are far away from the factories even in different countries solve this can cause a delay of the containers being shipped back to the supplier the solution is e Kanban the cards are still used between different departments inside the factory but every day the information of the cards is uploaded onto the database suppliers download the data is in the internet it's just like receiving the physical cards except quicker the data tells them exactly what parts they need to send they immediately dispatched the parts this cuts the cycle time in half which reduces the storage which reduces shortage of parts and ensures production is not interrupted now this might seem a simple and obvious solution but remember at the end of 1999 only 4% of the world is using the Internet but let's get back to what's happening at Toyota it's 2009 Akio Toyoda becomes president he is grandson of kiichi ro Toyota I never met my grandfather but I tried to think for he think big news for Toyota get your Toyota has been inducted in the automotive Hall of Fame by the way who are you anyway I'm Akio Toyoda your grandson Oh what do you do now I work for an automobile campaign mm-hmm I hope it's Toyota Akio Toyoda is a master driver he has spent countless hours behind the wheel of his third-generation AAT Supra no surprise that this motor enthusiasts Beck's Toyota Racing projects before becoming president he worked on the Toyota GR project which stands for Gazoo Racing Gazoo refers to the word garage it is an intimate place where the team works together to improve the finest details it's this idea that drives toyota gazoo racing to make better cars Akio believes that Toyota must manufacture cars that are fun for every toyota customer to drive its Akio steering the company gr finally wins at Lu mine and also wins victories at the World Rally Championship the Nurburgring 24 hours and Japan's Super GT series it's 2019 there's a mystery surrounding a Toyota driver at the Nurburgring 24 hours the driver is mr. Mauricio who turns out to be none other than the 63 year old Akio Toyoda he is racing the 90gr Supra Akio has used the name mr. Mauricio before mr. Mauricio is the nickname of a green shrub that was the mascot of the 2005 World Expo this Expo was held near where clione is based and the Aichi Prefecture the theme of the expo was nature's wisdom and it focused on ecological coexistence and renewable energy the name mr. Mauricio Hinson what's to come which is renewable energy but it's also been used for racing performance cars when we see energy efficient our performance cars and Toyota's future turns out we will see both it's not 2014 the Mirai which in Japanese means future is unveiled at the Los Angeles Auto Show it's the first full production hydrogen fuel cell car it converts 13 gallons of water into 11 pounds of hydrogen and travels for over 312 miles it is the most fuel-efficient hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle rated by the APA and the one with the longest range fuel cells are a little like a cross between battery power and an internal combustion engine internal combustion engines work by burning fuel to generate heat and push the Pistons fuel cells use pressurized hydrogen so instead of burning the fuel the hydrogen is chemically combined with oxygen in the air to make water this process is a little like what happens at a battery the process releases energy the only waste product from this process is water which they say is so pure you can actually drink it not saying you should I prefer than the tap myself so if you do try remember it's at your own risk in 2018 Akio receives the Issigonis trophy for bringing back cars that appeal to motor enthusiasts this trophy is named after the celebrated car designer Sir Alec Issigonis creator of the iconic mini when accepting this award Akio pays tribute to his grandfather kiichi ro Toyota so here's clue number 10 make cars that people want to drive whatever the reason whether it's fun whether it's just to get around or for the pure joy of driving I am the third generation Toyota to lead this company and perhaps you have heard the saying that the third generation ruins everything well it's something I've heard all my life and it's something I'm determined to prove wrong and that is the story of how a Toyota got so big a company that started as a family business and illumined this tree in Japan and became the largest car manufacturer in the world we have more exciting content coming real soon so subscribe and ring that bell to get notified of our next episode youwhy do some people regard the Prius as important as a Model T Ford why did Toyota engineer a flower and who is Toyota's mysterious race driver known as mr. Murray so you'll find out all this and more in part three of our series on how to iota got so big so far we followed the story of the Toyota family first there was Sakichi Toyoda an inventor who started a power loom business then a son kiichi ro who started manufacturing Toyotas first cars within the loom factory we then met Ichiro Seung Jo Ichiro who was called the crown prince of Toyota we also saw lots of toyota cars named after crowns in a few decades toyota would become king of all car makers one of the largest original equipment manufacturers in the world but let's not speed too far ahead it's now 1997 Toyota launches the first mass-produced hybrid car the iconic Prius Prius is Latin for go before and the Prius lives up to the name it's the first hybrid car in the world to be mass-produced some say its importance in the history of car manufacturing is equal to that of the Ford Model T because it symbolizes the new electric era of cars it's economical with minimal emissions it becomes the world's top-selling hybrid car by far you might think that this is because it's the first to market but actually this isn't the reason Honda Insight arrived in the u.s. first but Prius was the first to launch globally Prius is also not even the world's first hybrid car the idea for hybrids goes way back to 1889 when William H Patton developed a gasoline-electric hybrid railcar propulsion system then Ferdinand Porsche developed the mixed hybrid vehicle in 1900 but it won't be until the late 20th century that hybrid vehicles in general become commercially viable back to our story self honda launches had a Prius in America wait doesn't it win the race here well Americans like practicality and space for larger cars the inside only two doors an accommodation for just two people it's less practical for most Americans the Prius on the other hand has space for four in the Battle of the hybrids Prius leads not only America but in the rest of the world - it doesn't surrender its position after Prius Toyota looks for more ways to become environmentally friendly this is clue number nine on how Toyota got so big the world is moving towards green energy so too does Toyota and it's not just cars the company receives criticism because manufacturing Priuses has a larger environmental impact than most cars so Toyota genetically engineered the Toyota flower its purpose is to balance the carbon dioxide released into the Prius assembly plant two new species were created from cherry sage and gardenia one absorbs nitrogen oxide the other creates water vapor to reduce the temperature surrounding the factory Toyota continues to improve the manufacturing processes in 1999 they introduced the econ bond system earlier in part two of our history we explained how the traditional Kanban system works if you missed it click on the link below remember the pizza shop you keep just enough ingredients ready for a set number of pizzas as you use ingredients you replenish what you've used and continue assembling the pizza of course it's much easier to manage this if you're in the pizza shop and can see when ingredients are low but at a car manufacturing plant the parts can come from far away it's hard to keep track of something you can't see Sall cards are used to keep track when a parts container is empty a card is placed inside each container card contains the part number and details then the container is sent back to the supplier the supplier can see from the card what parts are needed they fill the container with those parts and send it back to Toyota this works well in Japan because many of the parts suppliers are close to the Toyota manufacturing back tree but in Europe it's a little different some of the suppliers are far away from the factories even in different countries solve this can cause a delay of the containers being shipped back to the supplier the solution is e Kanban the cards are still used between different departments inside the factory but every day the information of the cards is uploaded onto the database suppliers download the data is in the internet it's just like receiving the physical cards except quicker the data tells them exactly what parts they need to send they immediately dispatched the parts this cuts the cycle time in half which reduces the storage which reduces shortage of parts and ensures production is not interrupted now this might seem a simple and obvious solution but remember at the end of 1999 only 4% of the world is using the Internet but let's get back to what's happening at Toyota it's 2009 Akio Toyoda becomes president he is grandson of kiichi ro Toyota I never met my grandfather but I tried to think for he think big news for Toyota get your Toyota has been inducted in the automotive Hall of Fame by the way who are you anyway I'm Akio Toyoda your grandson Oh what do you do now I work for an automobile campaign mm-hmm I hope it's Toyota Akio Toyoda is a master driver he has spent countless hours behind the wheel of his third-generation AAT Supra no surprise that this motor enthusiasts Beck's Toyota Racing projects before becoming president he worked on the Toyota GR project which stands for Gazoo Racing Gazoo refers to the word garage it is an intimate place where the team works together to improve the finest details it's this idea that drives toyota gazoo racing to make better cars Akio believes that Toyota must manufacture cars that are fun for every toyota customer to drive its Akio steering the company gr finally wins at Lu mine and also wins victories at the World Rally Championship the Nurburgring 24 hours and Japan's Super GT series it's 2019 there's a mystery surrounding a Toyota driver at the Nurburgring 24 hours the driver is mr. Mauricio who turns out to be none other than the 63 year old Akio Toyoda he is racing the 90gr Supra Akio has used the name mr. Mauricio before mr. Mauricio is the nickname of a green shrub that was the mascot of the 2005 World Expo this Expo was held near where clione is based and the Aichi Prefecture the theme of the expo was nature's wisdom and it focused on ecological coexistence and renewable energy the name mr. Mauricio Hinson what's to come which is renewable energy but it's also been used for racing performance cars when we see energy efficient our performance cars and Toyota's future turns out we will see both it's not 2014 the Mirai which in Japanese means future is unveiled at the Los Angeles Auto Show it's the first full production hydrogen fuel cell car it converts 13 gallons of water into 11 pounds of hydrogen and travels for over 312 miles it is the most fuel-efficient hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle rated by the APA and the one with the longest range fuel cells are a little like a cross between battery power and an internal combustion engine internal combustion engines work by burning fuel to generate heat and push the Pistons fuel cells use pressurized hydrogen so instead of burning the fuel the hydrogen is chemically combined with oxygen in the air to make water this process is a little like what happens at a battery the process releases energy the only waste product from this process is water which they say is so pure you can actually drink it not saying you should I prefer than the tap myself so if you do try remember it's at your own risk in 2018 Akio receives the Issigonis trophy for bringing back cars that appeal to motor enthusiasts this trophy is named after the celebrated car designer Sir Alec Issigonis creator of the iconic mini when accepting this award Akio pays tribute to his grandfather kiichi ro Toyota so here's clue number 10 make cars that people want to drive whatever the reason whether it's fun whether it's just to get around or for the pure joy of driving I am the third generation Toyota to lead this company and perhaps you have heard the saying that the third generation ruins everything well it's something I've heard all my life and it's something I'm determined to prove wrong and that is the story of how a Toyota got so big a company that started as a family business and illumined this tree in Japan and became the largest car manufacturer in the world we have more exciting content coming real soon so subscribe and ring that bell to get notified of our next episode you\n"