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Toyota to give car designs more Japanese flavor

TOKYO - On Monday, Toyota Motor Corp launched an initiative to incorporate more elements of uniquely Japanese culture, philosophy and spirituality into its product design and development.

The sense of hospitality and well-being epitomized by the Japanese teahouse already has international recognition, according to the company, which feels that if its automotive products could embody more of this sense, along with leading-edge technology, it will be able to offer customers something that its foreign competitors cannot.

Toyota wants its designs to convey a sense of spiritual richness, alongside safety, concern for the environment and functionality.

The redesigned Crown sedan, which is scheduled to be launched this month, will be the first to reflect the auto maker's new thinking.

"This is not a matter of simply turning back to the past," executive vice president Akihiko Saito told a news conference on Monday. "We want to build into our products Japanese creative values that already have global acceptance."

(Asia Pulse/Nikkei)

Dec 3, 2003

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