U.S. Winners of Toyota Dream Car Art Contest Announced

Actor and comedian Cheech Marin joins judging panel to help select nine youths from across the U.S. to win a NOOK Tabletâ„¢ and a chance at a trip to Japan

TORRANCE, CA--March 20, 2013: Toyota Financial Services (TFS) announced today the nine winners of the U.S. segment of the worldwide Toyota Dream Car Art Contest. The U.S. winners will receive a NOOK Tablet plus an award certificate. The nine U.S. winners are now eligible to advance as World Contest Semi-Finalists to compete among entrants from 70 countries for a chance to win an all-expenses-paid trip to Toyota City, Japan, to participate in the World Contest awards ceremony and tour a Toyota plant in August 2013.

The nine eligible World Contest Semi-Finalists from the U.S. are: Anthony Forsythe (age 15), Jung Min Lee (age 15), Stephen Curtiss (age 15), Alyssa Duhart (age 12), Kacey Kim (age 10), Sarah Kong (age 10), Lynette Kim (age 9), Leah Choi (age 6), and William Lee (age 6).

Judges of the competition, held at Toyota headquarters in Torrance, Calif., included:

Cheech Marin, Actor, Comedian, Director, and Art Collector
Frank Romero, Artist
Olga Garay-English , General Manager, City of Los Angeles Dept. of Cultural Affairs
Jasmine Marin, Artist, Student at Art Institute of Chicago
Tom Rudnai , President/General Manager, Longo Toyota/Scion/Lexus
George Borst, President & CEO, Toyota Financial Services
Ian Cartabiano, Toyota's Studio Chief Designer, Calty Design Research
Karen Ideno, VP of Product and Marketing, Toyota Financial Services

"It was no easy task to choose just nine winners from the hundreds of submissions," said actor and avid art collector Cheech Marin. "To see the creativity, thoughtfulness, and sense of delight within each piece is truly inspirational. We had young artists share their vision of vehicles that would help their communities; others that would transition from land, to air, to sea; and others that would be simply exciting to drive!"

The Toyota Dream Car Art Contest is an annual contest designed to inspire creativity in youth and imagine the future of mobility. From Feb. 1 -- Feb. 28, youth across the U.S., ages 4-15, were invited to create and submit a drawing of their idea of a "Dream Car."

Winners of the worldwide Toyota Dream Car Art Contest are chosen from three age categories (4-9 years old; 10-12 years old; and 13-15 years old), and judging is based on three criteria: execution of concept; uniqueness; and artistry.

"As a designer, I'm always excited when Toyota fosters art and creativity in today's youth," said Ian Cartabiano, Chief Designer at Toyota's Calty Design Center in Newport Beach, Calif. "These young people are using their ideas through art to improve the world, and I feel privileged to witness our bright future coming up with the next big, new idea."

To view the artwork and to learn more about the contest, please visit TFS in the Community .

History: Last year, World Contest winners included two entrants from Thailand and one from Romania. The first international contest was held in 2004 by Toyota Motor Corporation in Japan, with the dual goals of inspiring children to understand the importance of having a dream while, at the same time, encouraging them to become interested in cars by designing "Dream Cars" of their imagination.

CUTLINE: Actor and avid art collector Cheech Marin along with Ian Cartabiano, Chief Designer at Toyota's Calty Design Studio, critique artwork submitted by youth from across the country for the Toyota Dream Car Art Contest, March 14, 2013, at Toyota's U.S. headquarters in Torrance, Calif. Nine winners were selected to compete in Japan as World Semi-Finalists, against entrants from 70 other countries. The grand prize winner will win an all-expense paid trip to Japan.