The Prius That Shook.. - VFAQ Prius Site

to eventually replace the existing E-type engine.
At the Vehicle Development Center II that develops FF
cars, the "New Basic Car (NBC)" project was under way at
that time to create the global-strategy car for the 21 st century.
Its vision was a compact car with an engine of 1000cc to
1500cc, a small exterior profile but spacious interior, and
superior crashworthiness features.
Honorary Chairman Eiji Toyoda's third son was the
project leader and his project was attracting a lot of attention
as the first post-war "Toyota model produced by a Toyoda-
family engineer." Shuhei Toyoda had been appointed to the
Toyota Board in June 1998, and became Deputy General
Manager of Vehicle Development Center II, where he was to
supervise the development of "NBC." He also assumed the
position of the General Manager of the Takaoka Plant to
supervise the production of "NBC" and Prius.
It is extremely rare for a Board member to supervise both
development and production work at the same time. Shuhei
took on the dual role because he was determined to be solely
responsible for the "NBC" from development to
production, and wanted to show that he could
successfully develop a "Toyoda" car.
The two-box car Vitz, which is Shuhei's "NBC"
equipped with a new 1000cc gasoline engine, was
introduced to Japanese consumers in January 1999.
Meanwhile, the same car was exported to Europe with the
model name Yaris, and is also to be manufactured at
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