Toyota's Hire A Hero Program Debuts at Richmond

                        HIRE*A*HERO JOB PROGRAM FOR VETERANS
                                 TO GET NASCAR TREATMENT


       RICHMOND, Va., (Sept. 8, 2004)  - Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc., and Bill Davis

Racing announced today the No. 22 Toyota Tundra of Bill Lester will carry a special

"Hire*A*Hero" logo at the Kroger 200 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Richmond

International Raceway on Sept. 9.   The new Hire*A*Hero program will help the men and

women of the various military branches search a special Web site for job opportunities at

Toyota and Lexus dealerships throughout the U.S.

       Hire*A*Hero is open to all of the service branches, including the Army, Navy, Air

Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and National Guard.  It allows members of the military to

search specific areas of the country for employment information at more than 1,400 Toyota

and Lexus dealerships, and both corporate and manufacturing facilities.  The Hire*A*Hero

Web site is accessible from both www.toyota.com/hero and www.lexus.com/hero, and it will

be linked from various member-support Web sites associated with the military branches.

Nearly 600 jobs were listed at the Hire*A*Hero Web site when it launched.

       "NASCAR racing is very popular among our military forces all over the world, and we

want to do everything we can to get the word out to our veterans about this great program,"

Lester said.  "All of these men and women are heroes to me, and it's an honor to help inform

them about Toyota and Lexus job opportunities when they decide to return to civilian life."

                                           
       Among the positions listed for the Toyota and Lexus dealership include sales

consultants, service technicians and front-office support staff.  With the auto industry

currently facing a shortage of highly skilled automotive technicians - as many as 60,000 by

some estimates - military veterans often have technical experience and training that can

translate into the civilian workplace.

              "Our dealers have found that the men and women of the U.S. military make up

one of the best talent pools in America," said Don Esmond, senior vice president of Toyota

Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc., who was a Marine Corps helicopter pilot in Vietnam.  "Toyota and

Lexus dealerships employ more than 100,000 people across the nation, and at any one time

there are more than 1,000 job openings.  It can be difficult transitioning back into the civilian

workplace, and we want to make sure veterans are aware of what's available at Toyota and

Lexus."

       Lester's No. 22 Toyota Tundra race truck also will carry the Hire*A*Hero logo at the

Las Vegas 350 NCTS race on Sept. 25.  Both races are near large military bases.  Lester

led 19 laps earlier season at the Charlotte race.

       "It would be great to put the Hire*A*Hero Tundra out front in those events and help

reach as many in the men and women of the armed forces as possible," Lester said.

       Toyota also recently announced the introduction of a five-year, $1.25-million

endowment to the Marine Scholarship Foundation.  The scholarships are earmarked for the

children of current and former Marines, with special attention to children whose parents

were killed or wounded in action.

       Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. (TMS) is the sales, marketing distribution and

customer service arm of Toyota, Lexus and Scion in the United States, marketing products

and services through a network of 1,417 Toyota and Lexus dealers in 49 states.

Established October 31, 1957, TMS and its subsidiaries are also involved in logistics,

motorsports, R&D and general aviation.