Student-Designed Vehicles Bridge Transitional Lifestyles

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., Jan. 8 -- Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc. (TMS) and Calty Design Research, a Toyota design studio, have unveiled student-designed vehicle concepts as part of the Bridge Project, a Toyota-sponsored program for the College for Creative Studies (CCS) in Detroit, Mich. The student designs were formally presented in a special event at CCS today, coinciding with the Calty-designed debut of the next-generation Tundra full-size pickup and the FT-HS hybrid sports coupe concept at the North American International Automobile Show.

Launching in September 2005, the Bridge Project challenged CCS students to create a bridge vehicle to pull current Scion customers into the Toyota brand as they mature and experience lifestyle transitions. Twenty CCS juniors participated in the TMS- and Calty- sponsored project, which allowed students to develop a vehicle concept and strategy while infusing Toyota's key design principles dubbed Vibrant Clarity and J-factor.

"The need for a vehicle that moves us effortlessly into new life chapters was the challenge behind the Bridge Project," says Kevin Hunter, Calty vice president of design and studio operations. "Scion customers need the right Toyota vehicle as they grow into different life phases like marriage, family and employment."

The Bridge Project encouraged students to innovate a vehicle which could be introduced in 2012. While the Bridge Project was open to all vehicle segments, students were challenged to create a concept which took vehicle purpose, market influences and buyer demographics into consideration.

"The Bridge Project challenged our students to develop the right cars for transitional life phases," said Bryon Fitzpatrick, Paul and Helen Farago Chair of Transportation Design at CCS. "For more than a decade, we have partnered with Toyota on educational initiatives through sponsored projects and student internships which reflect their ongoing commitment to and support for design education."

For nearly 15 years, TMS and Calty have sponsored design education initiatives at premier design education institutions such as CCS and Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, Calif.

Student creations, including exterior clay models, research, sketches and illustrations, are available for viewing at College for Creative Studies, Walter B. Ford II Building, on January 8, 2007, from 2 - 4 p.m. Digital images available upon request.

About Calty Design Research

Headquartered in Newport Beach, California, Calty designs innovative Toyota, Lexus and Scion vehicle concepts for the North American market. It was founded in 1973 in Southern California by Toyota, the first automotive company to recognize the importance of "California car culture" and its powerful influence on national trends. Recently, Calty has been credited with design contributions on the production versions of the Toyota Matrix, Avalon, Celica, FJ Cruiser and the 2007 Tundra. Calty has also created numerous motorshow concept vehicles, most recently the Toyota F3R, Scion FUSE, and t2B, Toyota FT-SX, and the Lexus LF-C sports coupe.

About The College for Creative Studies

The College for Creative Studies is one of the nation's leading arts education institutions. A private, fully accredited, four-year college, CCS offers Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees in advertising, animation and digital media, art education, communication design, crafts, fine arts, illustration, industrial design, interior design, and photography. CCS is credited with having the world's most recognized program in transportation design and for placing more graduates in automotive design than any other school. The College also offers non-credit visual arts courses through its Continuing Education programs and opportunities for youth through Community Arts Partnerships. CCS is located in Detroit's Cultural Center; where it provides a dynamic learning environment in which students explore issues of art and design and the culture in which they exist, while preparing for careers in the professional world. For more information, contact CCS at 313.664.7400 or visit www.ccscad.edu.