The Prius That Shook.. - VFAQ Prius Site

disadvantageous Tahara Plant and Kyushu Plant were ruled
out. Of the three local plants, the committee decided on
Takaoka Plant based on its experience with sub-compact cars,
the timing of switching to the production of a new model,
and the plant's capacity. Takaoka Plant, which had
produced the Starlet and Tercel, was Oi's home ground. The
whole company also was inclining towards settling on
Takaoka Plant.
After the plant was selected, the committee had to
decide whether Prius was to be produced on an exclusive line
or with other models on the same line.
Preparation differs between the two formats. If the
line workers do not understand the process completely, the
line will not function properly.
Upon receiving the committee's recommendation, the
development division verified whether each
procedure was operative by actually assembling a test
vehicle. The test results showed that parts and procedures
were completely different from conventional cars, and the
division ruled that sharing the line with other cars would
be extremely difficult. The committee began preparation for
an exclusive line.
In June 1996, based on the assumption that it would
be selected, Takaoka Plant dispatched a group of "Reverse
Resident Engineers" (RE) to work with Oi at product
planning. Resident engineers are development engineers
stationed at the mass-production plant for a period of time
to make improvements by looking for design problems
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