The Prius That Shook.. - VFAQ Prius Site

situation will last much longer. There will be a rebound some
day. If we fail to implement proper R&D, we will eventually
suffer the consequences." Toyoda grew more and more wary,
and he wanted young engineers to think of cars that would
be truly appropriate for the 21 st century.
However, during the bubble-economy period, trying to
implement new R&D programs in general was difficult
because everyone was too tied up with what had to be
done immediately. Nevertheless, Toyota repeatedly stated this
opinion at every Board and study group meeting.
Yoshiro Kimbara, then Executive Vice President in
charge of R&D (now Advisor at Aisan Industry Co.,
Ltd.), concurred with Toyoda's view. Consequently in
September 1993, Kimbara founded G21, a project
committee to research cars for the 21 st century. "G" was for
"globe," but many employees thought it stood for Kimbara's
"kin" (which means "gold" in Japanese), since Kimbara was
known for his eccentric personality.
Kimbara advocated a small-size car with a large cabin as
the most important prerequisite for the 21 st century car.
Fuel-efficiency would be necessary since traffic congestion
would become an inevitable chronic urban condition and
fossil fuels would begin to deplete. The first and immediate
prerequisite was "a small-size car."
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