Ever wonder why your new Toyota looks so good? A lot of thought goes into each and every design, and Toyota has been taking advantage of American design talent since 1973.
When Calty Design Research, Inc. first opened in El Segundo, CA, it was a small, underdog operation. "There were about six designers and 25 people total in support," said Doris Kusumoto, one of the original team. "Some locals thought we were a small manufacturing facility, or even selling t-shirts. Early on, it was so low profile, we were not allowed business cards."
Today, Calty's designs are still kept top-secret. Visitors must tape over the cameras on their phones, to make sure nobody is covertly taking pictures of unreleased concepts.
Some things have changed a lot in Doris Kusumoto's 40 years with Calty. Today, 3D printing, and Computer-Aided Design is used to model vehicles. Others have remained the same -- traditional pencil and paper, and clay milling will always be concept artists' preferred way to get a tactile sense of designs.
Visit Lithia Toyota of Medford to find models like the Toyota Sienna, Tundra, and Tacoma that are not only manufactured in America, they're designed here, too.
