Toyota seeking sex appeal

Yeah, I know it's a bit of a stretch, but now that it's become the nation's third-largest automaker, Toyota seems to be taking things up a notch. BW reports that it will be introducing a concept sports car at next week's Detroit auto show - a model about the size of a Nissan 350z sports car but with an edgier look. They're talking about a 400 horsepower hybrid for a target sticker price of around $35,000. The car was designed at Toyota's Newport Beach studio.

By the way, Toyota Motor North America has reorganized its corporate-advertising duties, sending Steve Sturm, who had worked out of the company's Torrance offices as vice president of planning, to NY. His new title is vice president of strategic research and he'll be responsible for corporate advertising, marketing communications, media and corporate strategy. Sturm told Ad Age that part of his job will be corporate-image research on "how we play to the American public." The NY office of Dentsu America handles Toyota's advertising.