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02
Barcelona Ljubljana
Thinking for yourself and making decisions.
The role of TME’ s Miwa-san in the
project is first and foremost managing
safe ty. Following that, i t ’ s forging
connections between the European and
Japanese project members, who all
ha v e di f f e r en t back gr ounds . F or
Miwa-san, the key to success fully
per forming these two roles is the
principle of “thinking for yourself and
making decisions.” Roads in Japan
are controlled by traffic lights, while
those in Europe require the driver to
react according to the conditions at
t he momen t . T he c oun t r y r o a ds
connecting Barcelona and France are
t w o - w a y r oads w i thou t a c en t er
dividing line, and yet oncoming cars
pass at 90 kph. Yagi-san of the CV
Chassis Engineer ing Div ision said
driving on the unfamiliar roads made
him sense f irs t -hand how steering
accuracy could spell the dif ference
between life and death.
In Eur ope , c ar s dr i v ing a t high
speed need to slow down to about
30 kph when entering a roundabout,
and then quickly speed up again once
out of it. It’ s of ten one roundabout
a f ter another on European roads.
A c c o r d in g t o Mi w a - s an , c a r s in
Europe need to be able to quickly
accelerate to 100 kph from 30 kph.
“This driving speed range is hardly
a factor in Japan, where cars go
from a complete stop to fifty kph,”
he no t e s . The di f f er en t r ange o f
accelerat ion and decelerat ion will
likely be a key point in the European
l e g . G o t o - s a n f r o m t h e V e h i c l e
Technology Development Div ision
comments, “We haven’ t imagined
this kind of reality in tests we’ ve
planned in Japan. Now when we
decide whether something passes
our test or not, I’ ll be thinking of
the roads we’ ve driven on today.”
Turning sensations into data to give them visible shape.
TME’ s Christopher RAYMAEKERS
k indl y i l lus t r a ted the meaning o f
“thinking for yourself and making
decisions.” He gets the cars’ driving
data on challenging roads like the
winding roads called special stages,
and then shows the team ways to
analyze the data. Just how much does
turning the steering wheel actually turn
the car? Or, how much do you press
down on the accelerator on an incline?
He also gets vibration and other data
from the roads to share in meetings.
He makes driving sensations a topic for
discussion by depicting through data
what the body feels when dr iv ing.
Gr aphing wha t the t eam ac tual l y
exper ienced the day be fore when
driving on ordinary roads has great
v a lue f or pe op le in v o l v e d in c ar
development, even when it comes to
the most basic processes, by creating
shar ed t opic s o f discuss ion. Pu t
ano ther w a y , c r ea t ing da t a f r om
sensations also gives visible shape to
cus tomer feedback. He is able to
communicate European feedback to
the Japanese pro jec t members in
concrete detail.
A visit to the offices of the influential
Italian car magazine Quattroroute also
helped give visible shape to customer
feedback. With a test course clocking a
total distance of 8 km, Quattroroute’ s
c our se goe s be y ond wha t y ou’ d
e x p e c t a p ub l i s h e r t o h a v e f o r
reviewing car performance. For Rafael
SCINICARIELLO, who’ s driven the
length and breadth of Italy over his
seven years in sales, communicating
the customer feedback he’ s received
is one of his goals for the European
leg. For example, Milan’ s cobblestone
streets become slick and treacherous
in the rain, and Italians place great
importance on instant torque when
choosing a car. He explains Italian
preferences and road conditions while
driving on the local roads in Italy. These
conversations veer away from the
topics of cars and roads to touch on
road bicycle racing, for example, when
driving over a long stretch of mountain
road. Cars and people and culture—
perhaps these topics are meant to be
taken up together. The team traverses
the Passo dello S telv io, the most
punishing stage of the Giro d’ Italia
bicycle race, consisting of a relentless
series of serpentine switchbacks. With
the thin air at the high elevation, even
the Land Cruiser felt like it lacked
power on the road due to the change in
fuel compression ratio. The team went
from sweltering heat in Barcelona to
almos t 0 ° C a t their ho tel in the
mountains. During the morning check,
they found tha t the t ires had los t
pressure, too.
Step to becoming a car aficionado.
Making the most of his proficiency in
English, Kou-san from Labor Relations
Division asked the European project
members a barrage of questions while
riding with them. In this environment, he
can ask people the ne x t da y the
questions he’ s been thinking about, and
then put what he learns into practice.
He says he can feel himself becoming a
car aficionado little by little during the
leg. Being aware of this step will surely
serve him well in the future.
The team went from Italy , through
Austria, and into Ljubljana, Slovenia.
F r o m h e r e s o m e o f t he p r o j e c t
Reporter◯Toshiya Muraoka
members with the exception of the
TMC technicians are returning to their
h o m e c o u n t r i e s . H o w w i l l t h e y
incorporate what they learned in the
5 C o n t i n e n t s D r i v e i n t o t h e i r
day- to-day work? The approach of
“thinking for yourself and making
d e c i s i o n s” c o u l d i t s e l f b e t h e
greatest takeaway of the experience.
Distance : 2,067km
Duration : September.4-
September.8,2017
Days : 5days
Vehicles : C-HR HV,Yaris HV,
Prius PHV,Land Cruiser 200,
Corolla,GT86,PROACE
9.5
9.4
9.6
9.7 9.8
Lisbon
Barcelona