Toyota drops “plain vanilla” styling with eye on Hyundai’s rise

When Tokuo Fukuichi was brought back to Toyota Motor to become head of design, he was given a simple directive from President Akio Toyoda: make Toyota cars simple and cool. He took a risk and objected.

“I said, look, Mr. President, just cool is not good enough,” Fukuichi told Reuters. “Toyota had already tried hard to fix ugly parts and make them look better. What Toyota lacks the most is character.”

via Business feed http://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/1127744/toyota-drops-plain-vanilla-styling-eye-hyundais-rise