Toyota Motor Corporation is one of Japan's leading manufacturers of automobiles, leading the world's manufacturing industry. TheToyota Commemorative Museum of Industry and Technology is a museum where visitors can learn about the history and technology of the Toyota Group, including Toyota Motor Corporation.

Although a "memorial museum" may sounds a bit stuffy, this facility is very popular as a museum that can be enjoyed by children and adults alike! The popularity of the museum is so great that it has been ranked No. 1 for 4 consecutive years in the TripAdvisor's "Travelers' Choice: Factory Tours & Social Studies Tours Ranking"! In recent years, many people from overseas have also visited. Let's take a closer look at the Toyota Commemorative Museum of Industry and Technology, which attracts people from all over the world!

In part 2, we will focus on the Automobile Pavilion, where you can learn about Toyota's automobile manufacturing from various angles.

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Toyota Commemorative Museum of Industry and Technology [Part 1]: TripAdvisor's No.1 Factory & Social Studies Tours!

As one of Japan's largest automobile manufacturers, Toyota Motor Corporation leads the world in manufacturing. The Toyota Toyota Commemorative Museum of Industry and Technology you can learn about the history and technology of the Toyota Group, including Toyota Motor Corporation. The memorial hall has a slightly stiff image, but the facility is a child...

2019.07.08

https://life-designs.jp

Introducing Toyota's Automobile Manufacturing from Various Angles 
"Automobile Pavilion"

The 7,900 square meters Automobile Pavilion introduces various aspects of Toyota's automobile manufacturing. Visitors can learn about the history and technological progress of the company from its founding period to the present day, from the footsteps of Kiichiro Toyoda, the eldest son of Sakichi Toyoda, who led the company to begin production of domestically produced automobiles.

Take a look into the world of Toyota Motor Corporation, a world leader in manufacturing.

From Textile Machinery to Automobile

Why did the Toyota Group, which had been primarily engaged in textile machinery, embark on the automobile business?

This was triggered by Kiichiro Toyoda's visit to the textile industry in Europe and the United States in 1921. Kiichiro was struck by the development of the automobile, which was already becoming a popular means of transportation for the masses. Another trigger was the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923. The railroad network, which was the center of logistics in Japan at the time, was destroyed, and imported trucks and the "Entaro Bus（円太郎バス）," an improved version of the Model T Ford, were very active in the recovery effort.

Entaro Bus

After the earthquake, automobiles began to become popular in Japan, and the number of cars produced in Japan increased rapidly as U.S. manufacturers such as Ford Motor Company in 1925 and GM in 1927 established plants in Japan. As a result, about 99% of the Japanese automobile market was dominated by foreign cars.

Kiichiro Toyoda, eldest son of Sakichi Toyoda, founder of the Toyota Group

Smith Motor Wheel

"The future is the age of the automobile"! Kiichiro Toyoda, together with a group of young engineers, set out to create a domestically produced automobile that would be the brain and arm of the Japanese people. They started with a prototype of a small gasoline engine based on the "Smith Motor Wheel," a small engine that could be attached to a bicycle.

There was strong opposition from both inside and outside the company to entering the automobile business because of the huge amount of money required. However, Kiichiro persuaded President Risaburo Toyoda to open the Automobile Department in 1933. This marked the beginning of full-scale prototype production of automobiles.

Starting from Scratch to Create Automobiles

Opening Materials Testing Center

"Materials Testing Center" Part of the actual building has been relocated to recreate the Materials Testing Center of the time.

The experimental machines that were actually used are arranged in a manner similar to the way they were used at the time.

In automobile production, the first challenge was to secure materials.

At the time, the Japanese steel industry did not have the capacity to provide a stable supply of steel materials for automobiles. Therefore, Kiichiro decided it was necessary to conduct his own research on steel materials for automobiles with a view to mass production. He established the "Materials Testing Center," which was equipped with the latest research equipment, almost equivalent to that of the Imperial University of Japan at that time.

Struggling to Create the Engine Prototype

Casting

When Kiichiro started engine development, he first attempted to make a prototype of the "cylinder block," the heart of an automobile. Cylinder blocks are made by a process called "casting," in which iron is poured into a mold made of sand, cooled and hardened, and then the mold is broken to produce the product.

Cylinder block of Type A engine (reproduction)

Kiichiro and his colleagues were confident in the casting technology they had developed through their spinning and weaving machines. However, because of the complicated shape and thin castings, they could not produce it with their conventional know-how. They wasted 500 to 600 cylinder blocks in the three months before the successful trial production.

After overcoming these days of struggle, Toyota's first mass-produced engine, named the "A-type engine," was born.

Streamlined and All-Steel Body

Reconstructed prototype factory

The body panels of the "A1 prototype passenger car" were all made by hand-pounding sheet metal.

After the engine, it is time for manufacturing the body.

At that time, wooden frameworks were the most common type of vehicle frame. The streamlined design was also state-of-the-art in the United States. Considering the need for a style that was ahead of its time and enduring, a streamlined design and all-steel body structure were adopted.

Thus, in May 1935, a year and a half after the Automobile Department was established, the first prototype "A1 prototype passenger car" was finally completed.

Origin of After-Sales Service
"The Birth of the G1 Truck"

Beyond the prototype plant, in the section up the escalator, the "Birth of the G1 Truck," which is also the origin of the current after-sales service, is introduced.

Model G1 truck 1/35 scale

At the request of the government of the time, Kiichiro and his team temporarily halted development of passenger cars and hurriedly began manufacturing trucks, starting design work in March 1935. They used the already-developed A-type engine and diverted supply parts from Ford and Chevrolet for parts that could not be manufactured in time. The first prototype of the "G1 truck" was completed in August of the same year.

However, due to the short development and manufacturing time, the "G1-type trucks" had a series of breakdowns. The quality of the product became stable after more than 800 improvements were made in one year by improving each defective part.