03
Highways in Brazil and
Japan are two different
things.
Hattori from Legal Affairs joined the
team in Ubatuba. He couldn’ t help but
ask Luiz from TDB, who was riding in
the same car, if they were really driving
on a high w a y . T he r e w e r e p e ople
waiting in the center median to cross
the road and stray dogs walking along
t h e s h o ul d e r . W hil e t e c hni c a ll y a
hi gh w a y , t h e r o a d h a d b e e n b uil t
following the natural shape of the land
and had almost no flat sections. The
team members adapted their senses to
Br azil lit tle b y lit tle on the 400-km
driv e to São Pedro, braking sharply
before speed cameras, following trucks
that slow to a crawl on uphill slopes,
and dr i v ing on s tr aigh t r o ads tha t
Ubatuba
traverse hills and ex tend out to the
horizon. The project team drove across
Br azil in a c ar a v an—an e xperienc e
Japanese people would normally never
get to have. Counting themselves lucky
t o ge t sp e c ial p e r mi s sion f or t he
pr o je c t in t his Ol y mpic y e ar , t he y
gradually became acclimated to the
highways of Brazil.
Driving on roads that defy
imagination in a car he
helped design.
Yamamoto, from the Chassis Design
Division, was involved in designing the
Etios Hatchback, a leading model in
Brazil. He’ d been to São Paulo once
before, but it was his first time driving
there. He looked excited as he got in
Miranda
the car that he had helped design to
drive from São Pedro to São José do
Rio Pre to. He dr o v e a w a y fr om the
coast, heading toward Brazil’ s border
w i t h P ar a gua y . I t r aine d f r om t he
morning, and the red dust of the dirt
r oad turned t o mud. It w as a Prius
tha t go t s tuck in it. Jus t a f t er
changing drivers, a TDB7 member not
used to the Prius’ low body swerved
t o a v oid an onc oming c ar and go t
stuck in the mud. A Hilux wasted no
time in pulling it out with it s cable.
The road is a lifeline, and the team
w as r eminded tha t passenger
vehicles need to drive on it. The team
had been w orried that the E tios
Ha t c hb a c k w ouldn’ t ha v e e nough
power, but it had no problem climbing
the hills and driving through mud while
carrying four adult men.
Even though they were told that the
road conditions were not a problem,
the y s till de fied the Japane se
imagination. Japanese people would
never think to drive a passenger car
on a mudd y dir t r o a d. If ther e’ s a
pothole on a paved street, Japanese
p e o p l e dr i v e a r o un d i t , b u t s o m e
Brazilians drive right over it. Can the
suspension withstand this repeated
stress? This is why Yamamoto says
he’ s in Br azil— t o e xperienc e w a y s
tha t pe ople use their c ar s tha t go
above and beyond what he imagines
when he’ s designing.
A long drive punctuated by
avoiding potholes.
It was a long drive of more than 600
km to Campo Grande, which means
“great field.” The roads changed once
the t e am le f t São P aulo s t a t e and
entered Mato Grosso state,
pr e sumably due t o s t a t e financ e s.
There were definitely more potholes,
and wha t had been a s tr aight r oad
extending forever and a boring drive
was now a road that forced drivers to
s t a y on aler t. T he t e am arri v e d a t
C amp o Gr ande an hour la t er t han
scheduled, and the sun was se t ting
when the y r e ache d the cit y, which
suddenly rose up from the road after
a ranch by the name of Fazende. A t
the debrie f ing, the t e am member s
ga v e their impr e ssions o f the c ar s
and truck s. Slight vibration coming
from the Corolla’ s steering wheel was
an is sue, as w as r oad noise in the
E tios, although the E tios w as v er y
well balanced. Driving for long periods
sharpens the senses and allows the
body to store up these perceptions.
Daniel, a TDB member who was on his
last day of the project, expressed his
gr a t i t u d e f o r t h e o p p o r t uni t y t h e
projec t gave him to e xperience the
true Toyota Way of genchi genbutsu
firsthand. He also encouraged team
member s t o k e ep in t ouch and
intended use the friendships he had
made on the journey to make future
cars. The TDB members take a lot of
pride in Toyota.
Everyday scenes feel
special.
ISoon af ter leaving Campo Grande,
the team hit dirt roads again. Umetsu
from the Customer Quality
D e p ar t me n t , w ho ha d har dl y e v e r
dr i v e n on le ng t h y dir t r o a d s , w a s
s ur p r i s e d a t t h e l o s s o f v i s ib ili t y
caused by the dry dust.
He quickly adjusted his distance from
the c ar in fr ont o f him and s t ar t ed
driving slow and steady, muttering, “I
can’ t see anything in front of me.”
He continued, “If you showed people
in Japan a photo of this road, they’ d
assume it w as some wher e special.
But all this dust flying up in the air is
really just from driving down one dirt
road. And this road is a lifeline so to
speak. To experience this firsthand is
the r e ason I’ m par ticipa ting in the
project.”
A bus appeared from out of the dust
jus t a f t er he s aid this. Har dl y an y
hous e s w er e v isible, bu t p e ople
ar ound her e mus t t ak e this bus t o
c ommute to w ork and school.
Nagayama from TDB, who was riding
in the same RA V4, was familiar with
the dir t roads around São Paulo but
hadn’ t driven almost anywhere else in
Brazil. The Drive Projec t also gives
TDB members a valuable chance to
get to know their own country better.
A f ter ge t ting back on the highw a y,
the team r eached Pantanal, a
protected wetland area. They spotted
a caiman about 50 cm long lurking in
a pond near their hotel.
Reporter⃝Toshiya Muraoka
Fortaleza
Sinop
Sao Paulo
9.9
9.8
9.6
9.5
Distance: 1,723Km
Duration: September.5September.5,2016
Days :
6days
Vehicles: LC200、Hilux Wcab
Hilux Scab w/canopy
SW4/Fortuner、Corolla
（Pres）
Corolla（ Armoured）
Etios SD、Etios HB、Prius
Lexus NX200 armoured
RAV4 4X4、RAV4
（armoured）
Etios S/D、Etios HB