The Prius That Shook.. - VFAQ Prius Site

document, detailing how the decisions were made and what
procedures were used. Although the document describes the
developmental process for the Prius, it is not available to
anyone outside of the company. Even within Toyota, special
permission is required before anyone is allowed to browse
through it.
Every month, the team reported to Executive Vice
President Kimbara and in turn they received some directive
from him at every meeting, but they were never told to make
drastic changes. Kimbara retired in June of that year from
the Board, but was appointed a Director of Toyoda Central
Research & Development Laboratories, Inc., which does basic
research for the Toyota Group. Senior Managing Director
Wada succeeded him as Executive Vice President in
charge of development. Since the team was unable to come
up with final answers and decisions, Wada often nudged them,
saying, "You guys, how long do you have to discuss all
this? The world will be over before you are finished."
Trying out a new unit
When the decision was made on the packaging, the
team then proceeded to discuss what to do with the
engine and the transmission.
In the first-generation concept car proposed by Kubochi
and others, neither the engine nor the
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