Toyota started to Celebrate the begining of the Games

Dealerships Across the U.S. will Support Special Olympics USA Athletes and the 2015 Special Olympics World Games.

The countdown started, less than 100 days till the opening ceremony. Toyota is the Official Automotive Partner of the 2015 Special Olympics World Games and again shows its engagement in the World Games. Dealerships across the U.S. are dedicated to raising funds to support athletes and their journey to the World Games in Los Angeles.

"This is an incredible opportunity to support a truly global event and we’re taking a holistic approach, from our sponsorship investment at the national level, support vehicles and engaging local fundraising efforts across the country to the hundreds of Toyota employees who will volunteer at the World Games,” said Jim Lentz, CEO of Toyota North America. “The world is coming to Los Angeles and we are proud to join the Special Olympics World Games and support our shared values of acceptance and inclusion."

WWE announced it has become a Promotional Partner for the 2015 Special Olympics World Games, a global sporting event taking place throughout Los Angeles from July 25 – August 2, 2015. The announcement was made on stage at Monday Night Raw® at Staples Center by the President and Chief Executive Officer of the 2015 Special Olympics World Games (LA2015) Patrick McClenahan joined by Special Olympics Global Messengers and USA athletes who will be competing at the Games.

With 7,000 athletes and 3,000 coaches representing 177 countries, along with 30,000 volunteers and an anticipated 500,000 spectators, the 2015 Special Olympics World Games – being staged in Los Angeles July 25-August 2, 2015 – will be the largest sports and humanitarian event anywhere in the world in 2015, and the single biggest event in Los Angeles since the 1984 Olympic Games. The Opening Ceremony, will be held July 25, 2015 in the historic Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, site of the 1932 and 1984 Olympic Games, is expected to attract 80,000 spectators. On April 30, 2014, LA2015 and ESPN announced a global programming agreement that will bring coverage of World Games to millions of fans around the world. Honorary Chairs of the Games are the President Barack Obama and the First Lady Michelle Obama, with Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and California Governor Jerry Brown serving as honorary hosts.

Not only will it be a part of the world's largest sports and humanitarian event in 2015, but Toyota will also provide vehicles to the World Games, in order to help transport Honored Guests around Los Angeles.

Support vehicles will be supplied for the Special Olympics Unified Relay Across America presented by Bank of America as well as the World Games’ Law Enforcement. Torch Run for the Special Olympics Final Leg, carrying the Flame of Hope, will make its way to Los Angeles. Partnering with the Mural Conservancy of Los Angeles, large scale of murals  across Los Angeles that celebrate the spirit of the Special Olympics World Games will be created. In addition to this, there will also be promotions in dealerships to help promote Special Olympics and the 2015 World Games through in-store activations and events.

"As a Toyota driver as well as a Toyota dealer in Emporia, Kansas, I am looking forward to the opportunity to help Special Olympics USA on its journey to the World Games," said Clint Bowyer. "Sports have always played an important role in my life and after meeting a few of these athletes earlier this year, I know they are ready to show the world what they are made of!"

Even though this is Toyota’s first time sponsoring the World Games, the company has an almost 30-year history with Special Olympics Southern California. Toyota is committed to making its communities better places to live, and the Special Olympics World Games partnership is one of those important attempts. More information on the World Games can be found online at www.LA2015.org. 

No Disturbance! Camera, Lights, Teen Filmmakers Accept Driving Safety

 Toyota and Discovery Education Declare Finalists in Toyota TeenDrive365 Video Challenge

In the fourth year of this teen contest, teens across the country were invited to create short videos to encourage their friends to be brighter, more mature and drive safely, to avoid dangerous behavior behind the wheel. From more than 1,000 videos that were submitted this year, Toyota and Discovery Education, the leading provider of digital content and professional development for K-12 classrooms, declared the ten finalists chosen.

   

“Discovery Education is proud to partner with Toyota and we salute their leadership in addressing this critical need by providing young people with compelling digital resources and experiences that empower smart decision-making behind the wheel. “

“Each year we are impressed by the creativity and talent of the young filmmakers who enter the Toyota TeenDrive365 Video Challenge and this year was no exception,” said Michael Rouse, President of the Toyota U.S.A. Foundation. “At Toyota we believe that when good ideas are shared great things can happen. We applaud the teens who entered the challenge to share their vision to improve safe driving among their peers.” 

“We commend this year’s finalists and their use of digital storytelling skills to influence the behavior of their peers, and know that their hard work and creativity will help save lives across the country,” said Bill Goodwyn, president and CEO at Discovery Education. “Discovery Education is proud to partner with Toyota and we salute their leadership in addressing this critical need by providing young people with compelling digital resources and experiences that empower smart decision-making behind the wheel.”

Through April 30^th, the public can watch the finalist videos at http://www.teendrive365inschool.com/contests/6/vote and place their votes for the People’s Choice Winner, who will receive a $5,000 cash prize and a behind-the-scenes trip for two to a taping of a Velocity network show. Furthermore, a committee of judges at Toyota and Discovery Education will choose first, second and third place winners to receive the following awards:   

First Place - $15,000 and the chance to work with a Discovery film crew to reshoot their entry video into a TV-ready PSA to air on a variety of Discovery networks

Second Place - $10,000 and a behind-the-scenes trip for two to a Velocity network show taping

Third Place - $7,500

Last year, the grand prize went to Jenny Kim, Tyler Koski, Kevin Kim and Chase Masterstook of Irvine, Calif. Their video promoted a young boy who visits a tarot card reader and learns he has the power to dramatically change his future by avoiding distracted driving. The re-created PSA ran across Discovery’s family of networks and can be watched at http://www.teendrive365inschool.com/teens/video-archive.

An inclusive program offering a range of tools was designed specifically for school educators and teens. These tools offer to help teens prepare for the importance and responsibility of driving.

The program is a part of TeenDrive365 (www.teendrive365.com), Toyota’s initiative to help parents model safer driving attitude for their children. The program offers a collection of online tools, events, expert advice and tips as well as social media elements.

Toyota launched this program in November 2013. Since then millions of people have engaged with its online and in-person resources. Early this year, the program brought in a new disturbed driving simulator that uses Oculus Rift, the latest virtual reality technology, to bring the dangers of disturbed driving to life for parents and teens. You can see more of this if you visit www.TeenDrive365.com.

Toyota Mirai Goes to Washington on Stage at the National Mall

Toyota Exclusive Automotive Partner of Earth Day 45^th Anniversary Celebration Mirai Display Kicks off Month of Hydrogen Fuel Cell Education

Toyota will display its hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle, the Mirai, in Washington, D.C. The Japanese automaker has cooperated with Earth Day Network to sponsor the Global Citizen 2015 Earth Day celebration, April 17, 18 and 19, featuring environmental voices, government leaders, star-studded performances and a Mirai activation.

The celebration marks the beginning of a month of fuel cell features and festivities for the company.

The same was done 15 years ago when Toyota showed its Prius hybrid.

“The Toyota Mirai represents a turning point in automotive history,” said Bob Carter, senior vice president, automotive operations, Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. “After more than 20 years of research and development, we are excited to bring Mirai to American driveways. Earth Day 2015 is a great platform to educate the public about hydrogen fuel cell technology and the potential of hydrogen as a future fuel.”

The Mirai integrates hydrogen and oxygen to create electricity, which then powers the electric motor, with water vapor as the only emission. It is said that re-fueling will take about five minutes, and with full tank allows you to drive up to 300 miles. For many people This Earth Day celebration attendees this will be the first personal close look at the Mirai.

“Toyota has been a committed partner in creating solutions and momentum for a cleaner, better planet,” said Kathleen Rogers, president of Earth Day Network. “We are proud to help educate about the possibilities for fuel cell technology and advocate around a shared vision for the environment.”

Beyond the celebration on the National Mall, Toyota said that it will use month of April as the month to educate and engage customers about fuel cell technology and hydrogen power, including events in New York and Los Angeles, and digital activities to speak with skeptics and supporters alike.

 The Mirai will go on sale in California later this year as a 2016 model.

General Constructors are named by Toyota to conduct ''One Toyota'' Construction projects in Texas, Michigan and Kentucky

Toyota declared that it has selected general contractors to conduct the construction, as a part of  the Company’s plan to build a new North American headquarters in North Texas and extend operations in Michigan and Georgetown, Kentucky.

Concerning Texas, Toyota has decided to pick Dallas-based Austin Commercial, a builder working in Texas, California, Georgia and Arizona, as the general contractor in charge of developing its new North America headquarters campus in the Legacy West development in Plano. Austin Commercial has the knowledge in all types of commercial construction. Many projects speak for themselves, including corporate headquarters and sports and health care facilities, schools and universities, data centers and other advanced technology projects like semiconductor plants.

For the projects in Georgetown, Ky., and York Township,Michigan, Toyota selected Walbridge and its shared venture minority-business enterprise (MBE) partner Devon Industrial Group as general contractors. Walbridge and Devon are both based in Detroit.

“We are pleased to be moving ahead quickly with these three projects as we work to bring our major North American business affiliates and leaders together for the first time,” said Osamu “Simon” Nagata, president and CEO of Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc. “I am confident that we have selected companies with outstanding track records, a strong focus on safety and real commitment to supplier diversity.”

To that mark, Devon will have supremacy in management of the York Township project, representing the first time a minority and/or women-owned business (MWBE) leads a major construction project for Toyota. Toyota's goal is to assure partnership with MWBE’s and to accomplish at least 20 percent total diversity spend with MWBE entities at all three locations.

”Toyota has been a leader in providing opportunities to minority businesses so they can grow and develop,” said David Burnley, Sr., CEO of Devon. “We, in turn, look to mentor and aid a diverse base of suppliers so they, too, can gain experience in the auto industry and pass that along to other small businesses.”

New headquarters will be set up in Plano for its North American operations as part of a series of moves designed to better serve customers and position the company for sustainable, long-term growth. 

Construction of all three facilities will begin in spring 2015. These moves will influence approximately 4,000 employees. The three separate North American headquarters for manufacturing, sales and marketing and corporate operations will relocate to a single, state-of-the-art campus in Plano. 

This action involves extending the Toyota Technical Center facilities in Southeast Michigan to accommodate increased investment in its engineering and product development capacity, and also opening a production engineering facility on the site of Toyota’s largest U.S. manufacturing plant in Georgetown, Ky. It is expected to be completed by 2017.

Feeling the street with Toyota in Global Street Music Campaign

Toyota Motor Corporation has launched something new, a global street music initiative called "Feeling the Street". The goal is to celebrate the boundless and perhaps undervalued talent of the world's best buskers. All around the world, you will be able to hear some of the best music being played on the street.

                                                                         

                                                     

The idea branches from the reality that some of the best music you'll ever hear is found on the street and being played by many talented and gifted people who love their art. Over the next nine weeks a competition will be held on www.feelingthestreet.com where street musicians can upload an original video that shows off their skills.

The videos include the artist playing an original song on a street location. People all over the world will be able to vote for the best by throwing virtual money into their respective virtual hats. By voting through the site, people will decide which six individuals they would like to see in a Global Street Band.

Only six artist will make the closing cut! From May to June 2015, the audience will have control over who they would like to see performing together in a band.

In June, when the winners have been chosen, they’ll be taken on a nationwide tour of New Zealand last 9 days, where they will end up performing a live showcase appearance on stage. Six lucky winners from the audience will also be chosen to join the street band on tour as roadies!

Find out more about #FeelTheStreet by following the official Twitter account @FeelingTheSt which will be updated with links to all the latest submissions.

http://www.toyota-global.com/events/feeling_the_street/

IOC Announces Toyota as Top Partner to 2024

Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota) announced it has entered into a sponsorship agreement with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to become part of The Olympic Partner (TOP) program.

This announcement was marked at the ceremony in Tokyo, attended by IOC President Thomas Bach, IOC Marketing Commission Chairman Tsunekazu Takeda (Japanese Olympic Committee President), The Tokyo Organizing Committee of Olympic and Paralympic Games President Yoshiro Mori, Toyota President Akio Toyoda and other Toyota and IOC celebrities.

IOC President Thomas Bach and Toyota President Akio Toyoda have announced that Tokyo is the host city of the 2020 Olympic Games.

Toyota announced it has entered into a sponsorship agreement with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to become part of The Olympic Partner (TOP) program. The arrangement runs through to the end of 2024 in the mobility category, which includes vehicles (passenger cars, urban mobility vehicles and commercial vehicles), mobility services and mobility resolutions.

Commenting on the sponsorship, Toyoda said: “We will do everything possible to fulfill our new role in The Olympic Partner program, and justify the trust the IOC has placed in us. The addition of a mobility category to the TOP Partner field is an important recognition for our entire industry. Under this Olympic flag, let us today reaffirm the power of sports to bring people together. And let us dedicate ourselves to creating a better world by promoting sports in the Olympic spirit of friendship, solidarity, and fair play.”

Bach said: “The IOC welcomes Toyota as a key partner for the provision of sustainable mobility solutions for the Olympic Games as outlined in Olympic Agenda 2020, our strategic roadmap for the future of the Olympic Movement. Toyota is the world leader in its field, and this partnership signifies a strong commitment to the future of the IOC and the Olympic Movement. This is a milestone agreement in the implementation of Olympic Agenda 2020 because the focus of our cooperation is sustainable mobility, and Toyota will provide sustainable solutions for the entire Olympic Movement.”