Envisioning the Future by Design: Toyota’s Show Cars at the 1969 and 1970 Tokyo Motor Shows

Abstract Toward the end of the 1960s, the car industry in Japan was reaching its maturity, and it seemed increasingly certain that Japan’s future was firmly linked to cars. At the 16th and 17th Tokyo Motor Shows, in 1969 and 1970, an unprecedented number of show cars made by Japanese car manufacturers were introduced. At these shows, Toyota introduced a series of show cars, the EX-I, EX-II, EX-III, and EX-7, as well as the Commuter. The end of the 1960s was not just a turning point for the Japanese car industry but also for Japanese society as a whole. Through rapid (re)modernization, the country had attained economic wealth and power, but the consequences of modernization were becoming increasingly devastating. The anticipated and endorsed future was under revision when the news about pollution and political turmoil reached the nation’s media. Focusing on Toyota Motors, this article examines early Japanese “show cars” by approaching them from the viewpoint of the anticipated but complex and uncertain future at the turn of the 1960s to the 1970s. The purpose of this article is to analyze and summarize the future vision(s) of Toyota by applying a close analysis of the design objects.