It started as a secret, a little-known American outpost of the world’s then-fifth-largest automaker. It would be the CALTY Design Research Center, founded in 1973 in El Segundo, Calif., by Soichiro and Eiji Toyoda. Their intent? Tap into the trendiness that defines California and bring it back to Japan.
It’s no longer secretive. In fact, the idea of a foreign automaker establishing an American design outpost is no longer novel as many automakers from around the world have outposts there, even those from Detroit.
CALTY celebrated its 50th anniversary Thursday night, in an event attended by retired CALTY designers, company executives, Toyota/Lexus dealers and the media. It was a rare look into Toyota’s secretive world.
[See image gallery at www.thetorquereport.com]
But it was once far more guarded than it is now.
Toyota has always been a fairly conservatively-run company. Yet launching an American outpost in 1973 was audacious. When initially established, no automaker had a California-based design studio, and the company did little to publicize it.
“It was so secret that neighbors thought CALTY was making and selling T-shirts; the perfect 1970s front for disguising a covert operation,” said Kevin Hunter, president of CALTY Thursday night.
It was a sentiment echoed by his boss, Simon Humphries, Chief Branding Officer and Head of Design for Toyota.
“There was no other design studios in California, not even the Americans made their other studios out here.”
In the intervening decades, designers from all over the world have come to CALTY, now headquartered in Newport Beach, with the Design Center becoming a key part of Toyota product development. Starting with the second-generation 1978 Toyota Celica, the studio has created some of the most popular Toyota and Lexus models.
How vital is CALTY? When Akio Toyota sought to instill excitement into the Lexus brand, it’s CALTY that created the evocative designs that heralded a new direction and image for the Lexus LS coupe and sedan.
“We have no engineers here, we’re artists and designers.” Hunter said. “There’s no way we could have thrived without Toyota’s nurturing support, enabling new ideas to breathe, while encouraging artists and designers to dream big – because that’s what we do here.”
The post Toyota Celebrates 50 Years of American Car Design appeared first on The Torque Report.
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