Toyota: A History of the First 50 Years by Toyota Motor Corporation

Abstract

TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE Book Reviews 423 Street Railways and the Growth ofLos Angeles is a thoughtful, delight­ fully written work. Moreover, it contains outstanding photographs, superb maps, and other useful illustrations. The publisher contrib­ uted to a successful project by producing a handsome, oversized volume. When Los Angeles completes the light-rail and subway system presently under construction, this book will require an ex­ panded epilogue. H. Roger Grant Dr. Grant is professor in the Department of History at the University of Akron and is the editor of Railroad History. Toyota: A History of the First 50 Years. By Toyota Motor Corporation. Toyota City, Aichi: Toyota Motor Corporation, 1988. Pp. 522; illustrations, appendixes, bibliography, index. Thirty years ago an undistinguished sedan built by a largely unknown Japanese manufacturer made its appearance in California. Poorly constructed and prone to overheating, it was no match for domestic products, nor could it compete with the European imports that were beginning to get a firm toehold in the American market. A disappointment to all, the company ceased its export to the United States after less than thirty months. Today, its producer, the Toyota Motor Corporation, is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of automobiles, and its products are widely regarded as exemplifying the highest standards of performance, durability, and value. The story of the firm’s remarkable rise to worldwide automotive prominence is told in this book on the occasion of the firm’s fiftieth anniversary as a manufacturer of automobiles. The company’s origins lie with Sakichi Toyoda’s invention of an automatic loom in 1891 and the subsequent development of the Toyoda automatic loom company into a technologically dynamic producer of weaving equipment. The purchase of patent rights to Toyoda’s looms by Platt Bros, of Great Britain in 1929 demonstrated thatJapanese firms were not necessarily the consumers of technologies developed elsewhere but were able to initiate new technologies as well. Kiichiro Toyoda, the son of the founder, having become infatuated with automobiles, was determined to become a car manufacturer. Despite the handicaps of a limited domestic market and a meddlesome government, the team he put together succeeded in producing its first prototype car in 1935, with quantity production beginning shortly afterward. The development and adaption of a myriad of new technologies were of paramount importance in the firm’s development. But unfortunately for the readers of this journal, the process of techno­ logical advance is not the focus of the book. Scattered references are 424 Book Reviews TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE made to innovations in productive technologies, such as the use of just-in-time supply systems, andon boards for showing any problems appearing on the production line, and the introduction of computers during the 1960s. It is also apparent that many production technol­ ogies have been complemented by Taylorist managerial methods, such as the use of standardized work charts and carefully calibrated work schedules. But, since this is an official company history, there is little hint that labor relations have been anything but harmonious; the reader will have to consult Satoshi Kamata’s Japan in the Passing Lane for a very different view of a Toyota worker’s life on the job. The book has even less to say about the technologies embodied in the cars themselves. In part this may be due to the fact that, at least until recently, Japanese cars have generally not been in the forefront of technological advance, while Toyota’s products have been more technically conservative than most. In any event, it is apparent that the producers of the book have had limited interest and understand­ ing in the subject, as evidenced.by confusing descriptions of valve mechanisms (p. 149), references to efforts to “streamline the engine block” (p. 320), and a statement that one model exported to Canada encountered difficulty because “its ignition did not always turn over” in cold weather. Perhaps it is asking too much for a general history of a vast company to devote a significant amount of attention to technical matters, even though they are a key component of the firm’s success. Still, it hardly seems a good use of space to burden the text with endless narratives...