Torrance Honors Toyota, Renaming Street 'Toyota Way'
TORRANCE, Calif., June 7 -- The City of Torrance honored Toyota in ceremonies at the automaker's U.S. sales and marketing headquarters here today marking the name change of 195th Street to "Toyota Way."
City officials, community leaders and Toyota executives gathered on 195th Street at Gramercy Place, on the Toyota headquarters campus, for the event.
Bob Pitts, Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc., group vice president for administrative services, thanked the city, calling its action "a powerful testimonial to the enduring partnership between Toyota and the City of Torrance."
"We're proud of what the company has achieved," he said. "And we're grateful to the city for its friendship and support over four decades of robust growth."
Toyota chose Torrance as the site of its national sales headquarters in 1966. Since then, Toyota's annual U.S. sales have swelled 100-fold to 2 million vehicles and its Torrance campus has grown to 16 buildings and 4,000 workers.
On behalf of the city, Torrance Mayor Dan Walker said, "Through all economic climates, Toyota has remained innovative and successful, enhancing the city's economic vitality. Together with its exemplary corporate citizenship initiatives, Toyota makes the city of Torrance proud to say, 'Toyota chose Torrance for its national headquarters.'"
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