Filed under: Etc., Japan, Plants/Manufacturing, Toyota, Design/Style
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These days, most Toyota models are about as likely to get your pulse up as the latest hardware from Frigidaire. But it wasn’t always so. There was a time when Toyota counted itself among the world’s sports car manufacturers with vehicles like the [Supra](http://www.autoblog.com/tag/toyota supra), [Celica All Trac](http://www.autoblog.com/tag/toyota celica) and [MR-2](http://www.autoblog.com/tag/toytoa mr-2). Those two-doors helped forge generations of enthusiasts before the company shuttered its go-fast ambitions, a door that is only now starting to open again thanks to the new GT 86/Scion FR-S codeveloped with Subaru. Now, according to Automotive News, the company has unveiled a new development and manufacturing framework designed to aid in producing more exciting vehicles. According to [CEO Akio Toyoda](http://www.autoblog.com/tag/akio toyoda), the revamped system will allow the company to design multiple models at the same time to reduce costs.
It will also cut the number of executives tied to the design review process to streamline decisionmaking. The company says that with too many people involved, vehicles have been built by “eliminating negatives” instead of focusing on their strengths. Added cooperation between the automaker’s planning and design units may foster more innovative styling, including models with lower centers of gravity and better aerodynamics. Think NS4 Plug-In Concept.
The Toyota New Global Architecture will first be applied to front-wheel drive models.Toyota retools development process with goal of creating more exciting cars originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 10 Apr 2012 14:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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