Mr. Masaomi Yoshii Born June, 1938

< The 70-series was the turning point >

The biggest change was made in the transition from the 40-series to the 70-series. Considering that the 40-series itself had continued for about 30 years, it was not an easy change to make. The market still demanded heavy-duty vehicles, but RV type users were on the increase, and both had to be satisfied. Some people in Japan thought that the Land Cruiser was still too heavy and built to over-quality, while people in the GCC complained that the Land Cruiser was becoming too soft. We caught criticism from both directions. But thanks to this experience the Land Cruiser was able to diversify in the directions it has today.

< The too-heavy Land Cruiser >

When doing development work on the Carib, a Land Cruiser was used as the support car on the snow road tests. However, the Land Cruiser was so heavy it easily got stuck. The Carib was light enough to run circles around it. It is hard work trying to dig out a stuck Land Cruiser with just a shovel. Of course at that time I had no idea that someday I would be put in charge of Land Cruiser development! My experience at that time definitely helped me form my thoughts later on.