Amidst all that is going on with the auto industry lately, Toyota is going forward with the opening of it’s new technical center in Michigan. At 700 acres, the new tech center will employ 500 full-time staff. The center will handle vehicle engineering, development and safety testing for Toyota’s many world markets.

Toyota Motor Corp. Senior Managing Director Yasuhiko Ichihashi was quoted by the Detroit Free Press saying, “Since 1972, Toyota has grown step by step in Michigan.” He’s right, Toyota has grown up in Michigan. At least it’s U.S. operations have. It was a smart move by the company not only because it situated them in the epicenter of the american car world, but also because it helped employ many Americans and change their perspective of what a Japanese automaker could do for them. I once read an article where a factory worker was quoted as saying. ” I used to be an American, who drove nothing but American and I was proud. GM laid me off after 15 years with the company. Toyota came into the picture and gave me a job, period. Now ask me if I’d buy a Japanese car… ”

Toyota is doing something for Michigan’s econimic situation that GM and Ford are not. They are offering the folks of Michigan a great opportunity for economic growth in the region. After the recent dark years that have plagued that area, most folks will have no problem going Japanese.

-Source: Edmund’s Inside Line