16 Oct 06
But Toyota didn't get where it is today by being complacent. 'Hate something, change something' may be a Honda advertising slogan but it represents Toyota's attitude.
The company's founders looked at other people's production processes, found them wanting, and instead invented the waste-eliminating Toyota Production System that's now widely used far beyond the car world.
More recently, the Corolla Verso was not up to scratch, so Toyota sped up the development process for its replacement and put it on sale way ahead of schedule.
And of course Toyota actually went ahead and put its hybrid into mass production, rather than just talk about it like most other manufacturers: the Prius is a huge hit. So Toyota doesn't yet need to make good-looking cars - but it will be ready for that day when it comes.
Which brings us to ED2, or Toyota Europe Design Development, which is Toyota's elegantly low-key European centre for experimental design, nestling in the hills overlooking Cannes. It opened in May 2000 and employs 35 people from 10 different countries. They've worked on cars including the current Corolla, Avensis and Land Cruiser, plus the Lexus SC430. That've also given us some fascinating concepts: 2003's slinky CS&S, 2004's zany MTRC, the funky yet functional Endo shown in Frankfurt last year and the Urban Cruiser compact SUV seen in Geneva this spring. They also contributed to the Auris shown in Paris recently, the thinly disguised replacement for the Corolla.
