Wards Names 'Delightfully Daring' Toyota Camry to 2018 10 Best Interiors List

The all-new 2018 Toyota Camry garnered another significant industry award today, as Wards recognized America’s best-selling passenger car on its 10 Best Interiors list for 2018.  Toyota received the commemorative award at the Wards Auto Interiors Conference at Detroit’s Cobo Center.
 
According to Senior Editor Steve Finlay, the WardsAuto editorial team lauded the Camry for its “artistic approach, eye for detail, high degrees of functionality and onboard technology.”  The editorial judges also praised the Camry for the comfort and craftsmanship of its seats, compelling signature lines and a bold, brash use of color, particularly red.  One judge was quoted as saying,” Finally, an interior with some color that pops.”
 
Wards called the Camry “delightfully daring” in its pronouncement of the vehicle making its revered annual list. Jurors praised the cockpit’s sporty appearance, bolstered by just enough “readouts and information not to put the driver into sensory overload.”  The editors also universally hailed the Camry’s advanced driver-assistance programs (ADAS) as a “good value” in the mid-size sedan segment.

Toyota Engineers Use Legendary Road Rally to Demonstrate Vehicle Performance

Teams Will Race Three Different Camry Trims and a Prius in Grueling 3,675-mile, Tire Rack One Lap of America

Although it’s been the best-selling car in the U.S. for 16 consecutive years, the Camry has long been criticized as a plain vanilla, grocery-getter. The 2018 model year has done much to dispel those misconceptions on design alone.  However, three teams of engineers from Toyota’s manufacturing plants in Indiana, and West Virginia and its Production Engineering & Manufacturing Center (PEMC) in Georgetown, Kentucky, plan to alter those impressions even further by putting three trim levels of the re-designed Camry (XSE, SE and hybrid) through their paces in the 2018 Tire Rack One Lap of America May 5 - 12. The teams will also campaign a 2017 Prius, the number one selling hybrid vehicle in America, which suffers similar criticism as just an eco-friendly, commuter car.

“We were doing track testing just a few days ago with the Camry Hybrid,” said Toyota Indiana engineer James Nichols. “It was met with humor by other drivers in the paddock, but, when we started passing cars on the track, the atmosphere changed. I think we’re going to surprise some people out there.”

Successor to the legendary Cannonball Run of the early 1970s, the Tire Rack One Lap of Americatakes place over eight days on seven legendary road courses covering 3,675-miles. The race starts and ends in South Bend, Indiana, and this year will stop at the following race courses:

• Autobahn Country Club, Joliet, Illinois (May 5)                           
• Gateway Motorsports Park, St. Louis (May 6)             
• Hallett Motor Racing, Tulsa, Oklahoma (May 7)                             
• High Plains Raceway, Denver (May 8)
• Motorsports Ranch, Ft. Worth,Texas (May 9)
• NOLA Motorsports Park, New Orleans (May 10)
• NCM Motorsports Park, Bowling Green, Kentucky (May 11)

This is the Kentucky team’s fourth year in the One Lap and the first for the Indiana and West Virginia teams. The three teams race under a loose affiliation they call Toyota Engineering Motorsports.

“We truly believe that lessons we learn on the track in vehicle performance, safety, problem solving and teamwork make us better engineers,” said Toyota senior engineering manager Brandon Barach.

The best Toyota finish so far was a second place by the Kentucky team in 2016 in the Sports GT Small Bore class aboard a highly modified 2013 Toyota 86. With a little luck, one of the teams will ascend the podium again this year. They will, without a doubt, change perceptions of the two nameplates.

About Toyota 
Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in the U.S. and North America for 60 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands. During that time, Toyota has created a tremendous value chain as our teams have contributed to world-class design, engineering, and assembly of more than 36 million cars and trucks in North America, where we operate 14 manufacturing plants (10 in the U.S.) and directly employ more than 47,000 people (more than 37,000 in the U.S.).  Our 1,800 North American dealerships (nearly 1,500 in the U.S.) sold more than 2.7 million cars and trucks (2.4 million in the U.S.) in 2017 – and about 87 percent of all Toyota vehicles sold over the past 15 years are still on the road today. 

Toyota partners with community, civic, academic, and governmental organizations to address our society’s most pressing mobility challenges. We share company resources and extensive know-how to support non-profits to help expand their ability to assist more people move more places. For more information about Toyota, visit www.toyotanewsroom.com. 

Toyota Camrys (and Prius) Turn Heads and Collect Hardware in 2018 One Lap of America

Camry, Prius and Avalon Leave the Competition in the Dust in Legendary Road Rally 

Smart money probably wouldn’t have been on a Camry vs a Corvette in the 2018 Tire Rack One Lap of America Saturday, May 5-12. However, by the end of the eight-day, 3,675-mile test of man and machine, three teams of Toyota engineers collected trophies for first and second place in the alternate fuel class; third place in the economy class; and third place in the mid-priced sedan class.  The Camry’s overall standings in the field of more than 70 cars placed them ahead of several Corvettes, Camaros and BMWs.
 
Just finishing the race is an achievement.  “We push our cars to their limit all day on the track and then hope they hang together for another 6-10 hours of transit driving,” said TMMK Stamping Engineer Steven Byington.  “You eat every meal at a fast food drive thru, you’re averaging 3 or 4 hours of sleep each night and you do it with a smile on your face because you have a passion for driving.”
 
That passion was on display throughout the week as the teams from Toyota’s plants in Kentucky, West Virginia and Indiana demonstrated, in real time, the performance of the 2018 Camry, the 2017 Prius and the 2013 Avalon that all finished “in the money” ahead of vehicles that are much more familiar race platforms. 
 
This is the Kentucky team’s fourth year in the One Lap, but only their second time on the podium.  It was a first for the Indiana and West Virginia teams and they both brought home Hardware.  “We’re really grateful to have had the opportunity to participate in this event,” said TMMI engineering assistant manager James Nichols.  “It was a great experience for our team, and I think we did a lot to convince people that the Camry and the Prius are more than just commuter cars.”
 
The three teams operate under a loose affiliation know as Toyota Engineering Motorsports.  Their philosophy is that lessons learned on the racetrack in vehicle safety, performance, problem solving and teamwork make them better engineers and better engineers make better cars.

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Building Skills for High-Demand Jobs

Twenty-Five Elementary, Middle and High Schools to Implement Innovative Project-based STEM Programs in San Antonio 

Schools in the greater San Antonio area will soon have additional resources to help prepare youth for the jobs of tomorrow. Toyota USA Foundation, together with Project Lead The Way (PLTW), awarded $400,000 in grants to provide curriculum and teacher professional development focused on computer science, engineering, and biomedical science.

Twenty-five elementary, middle and high schools from Harlandale ISD, Lytle ISD, San Antonio ISD, Somerset ISD and Southside ISD, among others, received awards. The schools join 115 schools throughout the United States in receiving Toyota USA Foundation-funded grants to implement PLTW curriculum.

“Our aim is to help students develop critical thinking, problem solving and team building skills through hands-on learning experiences,” said Kevin Voelkel, Senior Vice President at Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Texas, Inc., speaking at Southwest Independent School District, part of 2018 Advanced Manufacturing Career Pathways/AMT Program Conference.

Last year Toyota USA Foundation awarded Southwest Independent School District a $1.7 million grant to equip classrooms with robotics, conveyors and other technologies, enhancing the district’s programs through "smart" classrooms, labs and specialized program spaces at the Southwest Legacy High School. The school opened last August and CAST STEM programming is slated to open at the campus in August.

“These investments are part of our overall effort to inspire, motivate and develop students, and equip their teachers with resources and tools to help students succeed,” added Voelkel. 

“The growing partnership and continued support extended to San Antonio students from Toyota is powerful and will create life-changing opportunities for our students and the workforce,” said Dr. Lloyd Verstuyft, superintendent of Southwest ISD. “Creating partnerships between industry and education has never been more important. Providing students rigorous real-world education opportunities allows them to become tremendously more engaged in their learning experience and exposes our students to the vast array of potential possibilities in their future.

“Toyota is among a growing sector of industry that gets it,” Verstuyft continued. “The future workforce is currently sitting in our classrooms and the more we work in collaboration the more we contribute to a better tomorrow for our youth. Working in concert is what our students and communities need us to do and that is happening at an ever-increasing pace in San Antonio. Thank you, Toyota!”

Schools awarded today include:

• Charlotte ISD
  • Charlotte Middle
  • Charlotte Elementary
• Harlandale ISD
  • Collier Elementary
  • E H Gilbert Elementary
  • Morrill Elementary
  • Rayburn Elementary
  • Stonewall-Flanders Elementary
  • V M Adams Elementary
  • Vestal Elementary
  • Wright Elementary
  • Harlandale High School
  • McCollum High School
• Judson Independent School District
  • Karen Wagner High School
• Lytle ISD
  • Lytle Elementary
  • Lytle Primary School
  • Lytle High School
• San Antonio ISD
  • Sam Houston High School
• School of Excellence in Education
  • Dr. David C. Walker Intermediate
  • Dr. Harmon W. Kelley Elementary
• Somerset ISD
  • Somerset High School
• Southside ISD
  • Freedom Elementary
  • Julius L. Matthey Middle School
  • Southside High School
• Southwest ISD
  • CAST STEM High School
  • Southwest Legacy High School

About Project Lead The Way (PLTW)
PLTW is a nonprofit organization that provides a transformative learning experience for K-12 students and teachers across the U.S. PLTW empowers students to develop in-demand, transportable knowledge and skills through pathways in computer science, engineering, and biomedical science. PLTW’s teacher training and resources support teachers as they engage their students in real-world learning. More than 10,500 elementary, middle, and high schools in all 50 states and the District of Columbia offer PLTW programs. For more information on Project Lead The Way, visit pltw.org.

Teens School Peers on Distracted Driving: There’s No “Fine” Time to Text

Toyota TeenDrive365 Video Challenge Selects Winner from 1,300 Submissions in Nationwide PSA Competition

To educate their peers on the dangers of distracted driving, high school seniors Kirklin “Mack” Hopkins (17) and Kellen Stadler (18) of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools in Charlotte, North Carolina, send a clear message: A single second can have life-long consequences. Their poignant video, titled “It’s Not Fine,” is the winner of the Toyota TeenDrive365 Video Challenge, a national driver safety public service announcement competition, using the tools of storytelling to get through to young drivers.
 
More than 1,300 videos were submitted to the competition by students to help inspire safe driving habits and spark a national conversation about staying safe behind the wheel.
 
“It's Not Fine delivers a direct and powerful narrative that highlights the dangers of distracted driving and the ability of teens to encourage safe driving behavior,” said Mike Goss, general manager, Toyota Social Innovation. 
 
The video opens with Sarah riding in the vehicle as her older sister Ellie texts and drives. Sarah says, “Mom said not to.” Ellie says, “It’s fine. I do it all the time. It’s only for a second.” The video cuts to years later, with Sarah now old enough to drive and behind the wheel. Believing “it’s fine” to text and drive, Sarah follows her sister’s example, with devastating consequences.
 
“The driver-safety video by Mack and Kellen is professional, resolute and a great example of how teens can influence their peers and others,” said Dr. Tracey Harrill, principal at Providence High School. “We are very proud of their work to communicate that ‘it’s not fine’ to text and drive.”
 
Toyota’s TeenDrive365 is a comprehensive program to provide educators, parents and teens with critical safe driving materials. The video challenge, now in its seventh year, has received thousands of inspirational submissions that have celebrated teen’s creativity, while elevating the critical goal of protecting teens on the road.  
 
“We are very proud of the powerful video storytelling by Mack and Kellen,” said Dr. Clayton Wilcox, superintendent of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. “It drives home the dangers of texting and driving in a dramatic, effective way. As a national PSA, it could save lives by showing what happens when you text and drive.”
 
The students were awarded $15,000 and the opportunity to transform their video into a TV-ready PSA. View the video here.

“All of us in CMS are very proud that our students’ work has been nationally recognized,” said Joey Burch, principal at Levine High School. “By showing the tragic consequences of texting and driving, the video impresses the need for safety on everyone.”
 
Other winners include:

• Second Place: Porter Christensen, student at Pine View High School in Saint George, Utah will receive $10,000 for developing Stupid Stats.

• Third Place: Jake Wieners, an Agawam High School student from Agawam, Massachusetts will receive $7,500 for Don't Blind Yourself.

• People's Choice Winner: Michael Sivvianakis, an Old Rochester Regional High School student from Mattapoisett, Massachusetts was voted the People’s Choice winner. Sivvianakis will receive $7,500 – for the People’s Choice and top 10 finalist awards – and a behind-the-scenes trip to a Velocity network taping for Magic Won't Help You.

 
The additional six finalists will receive $2,500, and four regional winners from the Northeast, Midwest, South and West regions will receive $1,000. National and Regional Toyota TeenDrive365 Video Challenge finalists can be viewed here.
 
“TeenDrive365 strikes a chord with teens as role models. Peer-to-peer influence is a powerful tool to engage teens in driver safety conversations, said Kristin Hirst, vice president of corporate education partnerships,” Discovery Education. “We applaud this year’s grand prize winners Mack and Kellen for their use of immersive storytelling, creativity and authenticity to positively influence others and ultimately help save lives.”
 
Access all TeenDrive365 program resources and view finalist videos at TeenDrive365.com.

Toyota Sponsors the 2018 Special Olympics in Seattle!

We are just a few weeks away from the exciting July 1 kick off the 2018 Special Olympics, which are happening in Seattle this year!

Here at Burien Toyota, we are proud to be a part of the Toyota family that sponsors the Special Olympics! With more than 4,000 athletes, 10,000 volunteers, and an amazing spirit, we know the Special Olympics will truly bring something inspiring to Husky Stadium and all of Seattle.

"The 2018 Special Olympics USA Games will showcase the abilities of athletes with intellectual disabilities, promote the ideals of acceptance and inclusion through sport, and celebrate the transformative power of Special Olympics," said Beth Knox, President and CEO of the 2018 Special Olympics USA Games.

Toyota has been a sponsor of regional Special Olympics programs for more than 30 years, but became a global partner in 2017.

Toyota President Akio Toyoda said: “We would like to thank everyone involved in Special Olympics, including Chairman Timothy Shriver, for accepting Toyota as a Global Partner. From my own experience playing sports in my school days, I believe in the power of sports where people with various characters can come together and compete for the same goal. This leads to creating a society where people have respect for each other. Unified Sports further achieves this goal. The Toyota members who are involved in Special Olympics all love and believe in sports. Working together with the athletes, we would like to contribute to building recognition of the appeal of Special Olympics to as many people as possible."

Toyota Engineers Use Legendary Road Rally to Demonstrate Vehicle Performance

Teams Will Race Three Different Camry Trims and a Prius in Grueling 3,675-mile, Tire Rack One Lap of America

Although it’s been the best-selling car in the U.S. for 16 consecutive years, the Camry has long been criticized as a plain vanilla, grocery-getter. The 2018 model year has done much to dispel those misconceptions on design alone.  However, three teams of engineers from Toyota’s manufacturing plants in Indiana, and West Virginia and its Production Engineering & Manufacturing Center (PEMC) in Georgetown, Kentucky, plan to alter those impressions even further by putting three trim levels of the re-designed Camry (XSE, SE and hybrid) through their paces in the 2018 Tire Rack One Lap of America May 5 - 12. The teams will also campaign a 2017 Prius, the number one selling hybrid vehicle in America, which suffers similar criticism as just an eco-friendly, commuter car. 

 
“We were doing track testing just a few days ago with the Camry Hybrid,” said Toyota Indiana engineer James Nichols. “It was met with humor by other drivers in the paddock, but, when we started passing cars on the track, the atmosphere changed. I think we’re going to surprise some people out there.”
 
Successor to the legendary Cannonball Run of the early 1970s, the Tire Rack One Lap of Americatakes place over eight days on seven legendary road courses covering 3,675-miles. The race starts and ends in South Bend, Indiana, and this year will stop at the following race courses:

• Autobahn Country Club, Joliet, Illinois (May 5)                           
• Gateway Motorsports Park, St. Louis (May 6)             
• Hallett Motor Racing, Tulsa, Oklahoma (May 7)                             
• High Plains Raceway, Denver (May 8)
• Motorsports Ranch, Ft. Worth,Texas (May 9)
• NOLA Motorsports Park, New Orleans (May 10)
• NCM Motorsports Park, Bowling Green, Kentucky (May 11)

This is the Kentucky team’s fourth year in the One Lap and the first for the Indiana and West Virginia teams. The three teams race under a loose affiliation they call Toyota Engineering Motorsports.

“We truly believe that lessons we learn on the track in vehicle performance, safety, problem solving and teamwork make us better engineers,” said Toyota senior engineering manager Brandon Barach.
 
The best Toyota finish so far was a second place by the Kentucky team in 2016 in the Sports GT Small Bore class aboard a highly modified 2013 Toyota 86. With a little luck, one of the teams will ascend the podium again this year. They will, without a doubt, change perceptions of the two nameplates.

Embracing Diversity and Inclusion as a Competitive Advantage in the Marketplace

Toyota Earns Top 25 DiversityInc Ranking, Recognition for Supplier Diversity, LGBT Employee and Veterans Programs

Embracing diversity in the workforce and ensuring inclusivity have grown to become significant advantages for top-performing companies across the country. Studies have shown such companies have a greater-than-average return for their shareholders, are more productive and innovative.
 
This year marks the first time Toyota has cracked the top half on the 2018 DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity list, earning 25th place. For the past 11 years, the company has been included in the organization’s list. In addition, Toyota was recognized for other Diversity & Inclusion initiatives, specifically for the company’s achievements in supplier diversity, plus its commitment to hiring LGBT and veteran team members.
 
“Whether it’s the diversity of our people, of our product offerings, or wide-ranging ideas we have for the future of mobility, Toyota is building diversity and inclusion into everything we do,” said Chris Reynolds, executive vice president of corporate resources and chief diversity officer of Toyota Motor North America (TMNA). “We are proud to be among the DiversityInc’s top 25 companies, underscoring our commitment to customers, dealers, team members, suppliers and society.”
 
“Our aim is to help create a more inclusive society in which everyone can take on, challenge, and start their impossible,” added Reynolds. “That is a commitment that continues within our company, helping us to innovate and adapt to an ever changing market.”
 
The DiversityInc Top 50 list, issued yearly since 2001, recognizes the nation’s top companies for diversity and inclusion management. These companies excel in such areas as hiring, retaining and promoting women, minorities, people with disabilities, LGBT and veterans. The survey ranked the practices of TMNA and Toyota Financial Services (TFS) together.
 
Special Recognition for Supplier, LGBT and Veterans Diversity
 
“We know when our organization is well-represented with people of different backgrounds, varying perspectives, and diversity of thought, we will always be better in responding to opportunities and solving challenges,” said Mike Groff, president and CEO of TFS. The financial arm of the organization recently completed its fourth Diversity & Inclusion Bond Offering in the amount of $1.25 billion, setting a record for the largest corporate bond offering in which in which minority, women, and veteran-owned firms play a lead role. Additionally, TMNA spends over $3 billion directly with over 300 diverse suppliers and Toyota's suppliers spend nearly $1 billion with over 1500 diverse suppliers at the Tier 2 level.
 
“We also find that by partnering with influential organizations such as the Human Rights Campaign for LGBTQ equality and the Wounded Warrior Project for empowering veterans, we become better at supporting the needs of our employees and stronger allies to these communities,” Groff said.
 
To qualify for the LGBT specialty list, companies must score 100 percent on the Corporate Equality Index, among other criteria. Toyota has achieved this mark for the past 11 years.  

Companies on the Veterans list demonstrate diversity-management initiatives that help with recruiting and promoting veterans, measuring percentage of workforce, new hires and managers who are veterans, recruitment efforts aimed at veterans, and hiring practices including accommodations for spouses of veterans, among other areas.

The DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity rankings assessed four key areas of diversity management: recruitment, talent development, senior leadership commitment and supplier diversity.

About DiversityInc 
The mission of DiversityInc is to bring education and clarity to the business benefits of diversity. The DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity list began in 2001, when many corporations were beginning to understand the business value of diversity-management initiatives. The 2018 Top 50 Companies for Diversity results will be featured on ?DiversityInc.com and in DiversityInc magazine. DiversityInc is a VA certified veteran-owned business and a USBLN certified business owned by a person with a disability. For more information, visit www.diversityinc.comand follow us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn @DiversityInc.