Toyota Visit

So...way back in...mmm...sometime in the last 3 months of 2005...I just happenned upon an add for JET participants to have an all expenses paid visit to Toyota City as guests of the world BEST car manufacturer...Toyota Motor Corporation. I had to write some paragraphs for them and fill in an application form. Well....I got chosen and spent a fantastic two days as a guest of Toyota. I got to see the latest cars and ask questions of managers as well as some hands on training and visiting an actual production plant. It was amazing to see the the production plant in operation and especially to see the fully automated wielding room....all thoses robots...it was surreal and that image will stay with me for a very long time. The staff were ultra friendly and everything was well organised...as you would expect. We also got to test drive a Prius which was very cool! It was good to be able to talk openly with managers and to ask some difficult questions....whilst I admire what Toyotas has achieved over the past 30 years...I am still wary of the term "Corporation" and all the positive and negative connotations that term generates. I think that Toyota is one of the more enlightened Corporations I have researched and wish that other organisations would display the same committment to the environment and employee welfare that this company does. Thank-you Toyota on a great visit and ya never know I may even be driving one....one day......mmmm any reasonably priced Altezzas around?