Toyota = Abundance of rice

[*MAD DOG*]

I was looking for spare parts online on this website http://www.findapart.com.au/toyota_parts.php and i found this quote about Toyota.

The Toyota logo is comprised of three ellipses, representing the heart of the customer, the heart of the product, and the ever expanding technological advancements and opportunities that lie ahead. Another interpretation is that it represents the three interlocking aspects of the culture of the company - freedom, team spirit, and progress. Also, in Japanese 'Toyo' means an abundance of, and 'ta' is rice. In some Asian cultures, those blessed with an abundance of rice are believe to be blessed with great wealth.

So in Japanese Toyota means abundance of rice?

Is this why people call Toyota's rice?

[SilverBack]

If Toyota is rice, then what's Honda? :iono:

[yarisugi]

If you translate it that way literally, then, yes - "ta"= rice field, to be exact.
But Toyota is a person's last name - like Ford and Honda.
The "da" in Honda and Mazda is also rice field.
So I suppose Honda would mean "genuine rice field" and Mazda would mean "pine rice field"

[cali yaris]

The original company name was the family name, "Toyoda". It was changed shortly after they started marketing cars in the USA, but there are a few vintage Toyodas still around.

http://www.toyota.co.jp/Museum/data_e/images/a03_08_1_1_2.jpg

[SilverBack]

Wow, and I always thought all Toyo's were much smaller in those times

[eTiMaGo]

The original company name was the family name, "Toyoda". It was changed shortly after they started marketing cars in the USA, but there are a few vintage Toyodas still around.

http://www.toyota.co.jp/Museum/data_e/images/a03_08_1_1_2.jpg

+1

Or it's like saying "Linton" means there is a lot of lint on you :biggrin:

[Yaris Hilton]

Changing "Toyoda" to "Toyota" was done for the Japanese market when the auto company was separated from the parent Toyoda firm in 1937, not when they started exporting to the U.S.
http://www.toyota-industries.com/corporateinfo/history/1930.html
There are several online references saying it was done because "Toyota" is simpler to write in Japanese, and they thought it looked better.

[yarisugi]

There are several online references saying it was done because "Toyota" is simpler to write in Japanese, and they thought it looked better.
True. And Japanese people in their homeland pronounce it TO-YO-TA. Most westerners pronounce it TO-YO-DA.

Why westerners pronounce "karaoke" as ka-ree-O-kee baffles me.

[TLyttle]

I don't think I would like to guess at the size of the vintage Toyota shown: what does one use for a reference? The headlights? Some of the early Brit Fords looked bigger in photos than the actually were. Nice looking resto just the same...

[mrbond]

The original company name was the family name, "Toyoda". It was changed shortly after they started marketing cars in the USA, but there are a few vintage Toyodas still around.



Yup, no denying this.

[Yaris Hilton]

Yup, no denying this.

I'm denying this. Based on a bunch of reputable appearing sites on Toyota history, starting with the factory link I gave above. The car company was called Toyota in 1937, and it was 10 years or more later before any of their cars were exported to the U.S. Google "Toyota history" and browse for yourself.

[Yaris Hilton]

I don't think I would like to guess at the size of the vintage Toyota shown: what does one use for a reference? The headlights? Some of the early Brit Fords looked bigger in photos than the actually were. Nice looking resto just the same...
That's a replica that Toyota built a few years back. None of the originals are still in existence, nor are the original plans. Reportedly Mr. Toyoda had several American cars imported that were disassembled, every part being carefully measured and reverse engineered. The Toyota Model A's chassis and body construction was based on Ford design. The styling was heavily influenced by the Chrysler Airflow. The engine was a close copy of the Chevrolet Six. (As were the six cylinder engines used for many years in Land Cruisers, though copied from a later version of the Chevy Six.) It's reported that many of the parts could be replaced by off-the-shelf American parts. Everybody has to start somewhere.

[Yar Is Word]

Replica of the Toyota Model AA, the first production model of Toyota in 1936
This pic is from:
http://www.speedace.info/automotive_directory/toyota.htm
Lots of nice vintage photos here:
http://forum.ih8mud.com/fj25-owners-group/241941-toyota-historical-pictures.html

[SilverBack]

Then that must explain why we've been copying Japan in more recent times. We're just getting our payback from some 70 years ago lol.

[GeneW]

I was looking for spare parts online on this website http://www.findapart.com.au/toyota_parts.php and i found this quote about Toyota.

So in Japanese Toyota means abundance of rice?

Is this why people call Toyota's rice?

Don't think so. In the old days, when Japanese bikes started coming onto the scene in the US, folks referred them as "rice burners".

Gene

[GeneW]

Why westerners pronounce "karaoke" as ka-ree-O-kee baffles me.

There aren't many Japanese words that westerners know well. One of them is "Hara-Kiri", which is pronounced "Hairy Carry" by many Americans. Unfortunately Americans came to know that term because our Veterans from the Pacific theater got to witness this act being carried out, when motivated members of the Imperial Japanese Army exercised their perversion of Budo and killed themselves rather than go home and help lead Japan's recovery.

Could also be that Americans first heard the word "Karaoke" being spoken by drunk folks and the mispronunciation "stuck".

I think this goes both ways.... I've heard some Japanese pronounce "McDonald's", it comes out sounding like "Mac Don-Al-Da". A little patience and respect for the speaker's dignity goes a long way in communicating.

Gene

[GeneW]

The original company name was the family name, "Toyoda". It was changed shortly after they started marketing cars in the USA, but there are a few vintage Toyodas still around.

http://www.toyota.co.jp/Museum/data_e/images/a03_08_1_1_2.jpg

I think that Toyota still makes Looms and Automated Weaving machines. That was how they got their start way back when.

Gene

[eTiMaGo]

I think this goes both ways.... I've heard some Japanese pronounce "McDonald's", it comes out sounding like "Mac Don-Al-Da". A little patience and respect for the speaker's dignity goes a long way in communicating.

Gene

Yep, but in this case that's to do with the limitations of their language, if there's no phonetic "DZ" kinda sound in Japanese, they have to approximate with the closest native sound. Same reason why it took me years to pronounce "the" properly (no TH sound in French)

seeing KARAOKE and pronouncing it KARI-OKIE is just... er... :iono:

[cali yaris]

There is a book about how they became the #1 car company in the world.

YarisHilton should read it.

[GeneW]

Yep, but in this case that's to do with the limitations of their language, if there's no phonetic "DZ" kinda sound in Japanese, they have to approximate with the closest native sound. Same reason why it took me years to pronounce "the" properly (no TH sound in French)

seeing KARAOKE and pronouncing it KARI-OKIE is just... er... :iono:

....seems kind of natural, ne c'est pas?

French is a great language in which to sneer or curse. It was also once the scientific language of Europe, especially at the turn of the 20th century, when Poincare and others were leaders in Math and Physics. I have two years of University French and two years of Spanish. The two together in one head with marginal fluency in both can cause amazing gaffes.

Gene

[GeneW]

There is a book about how they became the #1 car company in the world.

YarisHilton should read it.

Actually there are several books on Toyota and their methods. The philosophy that they use make perfectionism almost respectable.

Gene

[cali yaris]

their notion of "kaizen", where everyone is encouraged to contribute to improvement, is something I instituted in my own company.

[eTiMaGo]

I have two years of University French and two years of Spanish. The two together in one head with marginal fluency in both can cause amazing gaffes.

Gene

Haha yes I know what you mean, when I went to Italy last month and tried to use whatever limited vocabulary I had, I subconsciously fell back to trying to speak Thai :laugh:

[GeneW]

their notion of "kaizen", where everyone is encouraged to contribute to improvement, is something I instituted in my own company.

Kaizen is wonderful if it's promoted fairly and uniformly. Toyota has a MINIMUM QUOTA of suggestions, I think it's one every two weeks, for every worker.

Some companies make a mess out of Kaizen. One firm I once worked for used to demand a cost/benefit analysis of each suggestion. Another firm refused to give credit unless the suggestion netted the firm at least $1,000,000 profit per year. One group of pirates, a "name" manufacturer based in Japan, sometimes would steal suggestions from employees, develop them and then give the prize to the lead engineer.

The saddest part of suggestions is that really radical and market shaking suggestions will be the first ones tossed out as "useless". We keep hearing all sorts of asinine predictions by CEOs (like Watson of IBM claiming that there might be a market for five computers in the entire world) and must realize that sometimes if you want something new you have to go do it yourself.

Gene

[TLyttle]

Nothing new regarding suggestions. Quite a few firms profited handsomely from some of my suggestions, and they weren't Japanese. Not much you can do about it, just eat it....

And no one in North America is interested in market-shaking, no matter what the discipline. I spent a lot of time in the handicap transport business, a design for a tiedown system that we developed was, as you say, useless. 25+ years later, it is still superior to any other existing system, but no one wants to talk to me about it, unless I give over the patents for free. I ain't gonna make a pile of cash because I wasn't looking for the money in the first place, but I won't make some other clown rich, either.

[YarisPR]

Here in P.R. Hondas = Abundance of Rice!!!

[GeneW]

Haha yes I know what you mean, when I went to Italy last month and tried to use whatever limited vocabulary I had, I subconsciously fell back to trying to speak Thai :laugh:

Probably confused the hell out of the poor things. Some of the northerners I've met can speak French. Probably not a lot of them who can speak Thai.

Gene

[cali yaris]

LOL @ the survey results.

[anonymous user]

I didn't vote, but my last name means middle of ricefield. "naka" middle Ta or da= rice.

[anonymous user]

One more thing, mazda actually is a japanese last name, came from Matsuda. Same has honda, and toyota.

I don't know about nissan, i'mma bout to goggle it right now.

[highwaypass]

how about "toyo tyre"

[Crims0n5]

I was looking for spare parts online on this website http://www.findapart.com.au/toyota_parts.php and i found this quote about Toyota.



So in Japanese Toyota means abundance of rice?

Is this why people call Toyota's rice?

People call Toyota's (or any car for that matter) rice because of all the stupid crap people put on them. Just today at work I saw a Tercel on 24 inch rims, a big kanji character painted on the hood, with an eBay wing that was somehow mounted upside down.

All I could think was "Oh you poor Toyota..."