Toyota’s U.S. Chief Says Firm Is En Route to Big-Four Ranks

Toyota is the nation’s top-selling import automotive brand, known for the quality and dependability of its vehicles. But the company has lost some of its sizzle.

The Japanese maker’s cars are no longer considered style leaders, and it has seemed in recent years to have ceded the youth market to brands such as Honda, Volkswagen, Ford, Chevrolet and Dodge. The average Toyota or Lexus buyer has been a lot more familiar with the Beach Boys than the Backstreet Boys.

James Press intends to change all that.

Press, the former Lexus division general manager who on July 1 became Toyota Motor Sales of America’s executive vice president--the top American official at Toyota Motor Corp.’s U.S. import, distribution and sales arm--sat down with Times staff writer John O’Dell last week for his first interview since assuming his new post.

Toyota, he says, should not just be the country’s biggest import company. It should be part of a new American “Big Four”--after General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and DaimlerChrysler--that recognizes the globalization of the industry.

The company must double its U.S. sales to catch up to No. 3 DaimlerChrysler, but Press says Toyota is capable and is launching several new vehicles this year that will help point the way.

Question: The reins are in your hands now. What do you do with them?

Answer: We’ve already built the foundation to fully enter every segment of the U.S. automobile market. We’ve spent years building the organization, the dealer body and the product lineup. Now it’s time for action, to put these tools to use.

Q: Meaning . . . ?

A: That we will begin a new period of growth for Toyota and our dealers. We have had three initiatives. First was the introduction of Tundra, our full-size pickup. We did that last month. We also have achieved the full introduction of our luxury brand: Lexus has achieved the status of being the No. 1-selling luxury brand in the U.S. The third thing is to recapture the youth market and create the same love affair with Toyota in the current youth generation as the boomer generation had 20 years ago.

Q: You are talking about the Echo, your new entry-level car?

A: About three cars, really. The Echo, the new Celica sports coupe and the MR2 Spyder [convertible]. We’ll be turning back the clock on pricing with all of them, but they are not retro designs like some companies are doing. They are all [cars] of today.

We’ve tried to hit the ideal youth-emotion car. The Echo [which goes on sale in September] is the sensible car; the Celica [set for an October release] and the MR Spyder [out next year] are exciting.

Q: What kind of year are you anticipating?

A: We’ll sell in excess of 1.4 million cars and trucks this year, a record for us. And it will increase next year. Our priority now is to reestablish the emotional excitement of automobile ownership. The Camry and Corolla buyers are seeking dependability and quality. They are looking for good transportation. But those cars are not image leaders for the enthusiast.

Developing image cars has been a lower priority [in the last decade] as we got our bread-and-butter lineup in order. Now, with cars like Echo and Celica, you will see a new direction coming.

Q: And then?

A: My objective is to see Toyota through the threshold. We now produce 1.2 million cars and trucks a year in North America, and we have a full product line. There will be a Big Four in this country, and Toyota will be part of it.