Thought this would take you all a little longer than this, should have known with the Internet I couldn't stump you, you can find just about ANYTHING with it nowadays! Want to THANK Robbin, who PMd me IMMEDIATELY with the correct answer, but didn't Post it, NOT wanting to spoil it for everyone else. Nice work A64Pilot! FWIW, I also heard somewhere, years ago when Toyota adopted the new logo, that the verticle and horizontal ovals represented the Electron Orbits around an Atom, they shifted the Horizontal orbit upwards to signify the letter "T". Don't know if there's any validity to that or not, but it makes a good Talking Point. David (aka Blind Guy)
Okay, I won't dispute the mumbo-jumbo about hearts and boundless opportunities, but that may be an explanation they backed into. My take on the logo was always much more simplistic... Back in the 70's, when Japanese cars translated to 'small', 'cheap' and 'poorly built', Toyota ads seemed to go for a Western theme (cowboys, cattle, etc.) A dealer near me even had a 20' high cowboy on the building, along with a giant steer head. And that's what I think the logo is: take away the outer circle (which is the border of the emblem), and what's left is a stylized longhorn cattle head.
Nobody said it was what it originally meant. Know why Nissan's were originally called Datsun's or why Bridgestone tires got there name? I like the origin of the symbol on my motorcycle, Husqvarna. At least they haven't gone all touchey feeley yet.
They wanted a good "international" name, quickly, so they asked a famous German PR company to help them. The PR company asked when they needed the name, and got a "tomorrow" type reply. The Germans said, "Ah, ... Dat Soon?" (maybe) !
If I'm not mistaken, Nissan had used the name Datsun for years anyway, and thought Datsun would be more acceptable in the US that soon after WWII than Nissan would. I also believe Bridgestone was originally Nippon tire, but thought that name may not fly well so soon after WWII and went with Bridgestone. I could be wrong of course Oh and the Husqvarna symbol is a gunsight Now,:focus:
Could be total boloney here, but I heard that Datsun translated into "slow rabbit" and the company decided it wasn't in keeping with their desired image...
I noticed yesterday that when you get in the car and press the brake prior to starting that the LED in the power button lights up (makes it easy to find in the dark). I double-checked a Gen II Prius and it didn't do that, so it's a new touch!
Maybe already called out in the previous 450 posts, but I noted the other day the orange LED foot lighting on the driver/pax side is bright when you enter the car, and then dims shortly after starting the car. When I noticed this, I turned off the headlights to see if it was time-of-day related, but the interior lights remained on in a dim state (I didn't keep the lights off to see if the interior lights eventually went out).
Wow! I thought I was the only one that noticed this. Seen the same on my '98 Camry's and my '07 Prius. Never did understand this. Thanks for bringing it up.
This is an epic thread! I noticed recently that when I approach the driver side door of my Prius in the dark, the interior lights begin to turn on without me even reaching for the door handle.
Yes, the Gen II also had this feature. It's nice, isn't it? Kind of like your dog wagging its tail to greet you as you approach.