TORRANCE, Calif., March 20, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- In the
future, there is nowhere cars won't go. From underwater to outer
space, cars will not only provide transportation, they can help
people in need, they can monitor air quality, and they can provide
entertainment. Those are the visions for cars of the future by nine
U.S. youth announced today as the national winners of the annual
Toyota Dream Car Art Contest.
Now World Contest Semi-Finalists, the artwork by these nine
youth advances to represent the United
States in competing against entrants from over 80 countries.
In August 2017, the top 30 World
Winners will win an all-expenses-paid trip to Toyota City,
Japan, and participate in an
awards ceremony, which includes a tour of a Toyota manufacturing
plant. The nine 2017 U.S. Winners were chosen by a national panel
of nine judges who viewed artwork by 35 U.S. finalists; the latter
of which had been selected by nearly 1,000 Toyota team members
nationwide from a pool of 90 U.S. semi-finalists. The judges
were:
Cheech Marin,Actor, Comedian, Director, and Art
Collector
Karen Ideno,Vice President of Product and Marketing, Toyota
Financial Services
James McKeone and Kyle Hyatt, automotive journalists and
co-hosts, CarStories.com podcast for Petersen Automotive Museum
Susan Sanborn,Curator & Director, Toyota USA Automobile Museum
Dave Kunz, Eyewitness News Automotive Specialist, KABC 7
Mark Simmons, Corporate Mgr., Communications,
Government Affairs and Community Relations,TFS
Chung Lee, Sr. Lead Designer, Calty Design Research,
Inc.
Patti Lou Richardson, Artist and retired school teacher
"As a collector, when I view art, in addition to noticing
artistic quality and techniques, I am often drawn to the emotions
conveyed by the artist, which stir my own feelings," said actor and
art collector Cheech Marin. "With artwork themes ranging
from global warming to world hunger, it's evident that these kids
are keenly aware of what's happening around them everywhere
today."
"These young people have given me so much hope for the future in
our profession," said automotive designer Chung Lee. "I was
not only blown away by the talent and creativity of their artwork,
but the awareness of social responsibility in these young
kids."
"After six years of hosting the Toyota Dream Car Art Contest in
the United States, I'm still
amazed by these kids," said Mike Groff, President and CEO of
Toyota Financial Services. "It's so inspiring to see children
from diverse backgrounds construct such an array of beautiful works
of art. These young artists put an incredible amount of
thought, creativity, and talent into their visions of what the car
of the future will look like. They make me optimistic about
the future – and how we can change in the world for the
better."
The Toyota Dream Car Art Contest is a worldwide contest
presented annually, designed to inspire creativity in youth and
imagine the future of mobility. Winners of the Toyota Dream Car Art
Contest in participating countries worldwide are chosen from three
age categories (under 8 years old; 8-11 years old; and 12-15 years
old), with judging based on three criteria: artistry, uniqueness,
and execution of concept. The first international contest was held
in 2004 by Toyota Motor Corporation in Japan. This is the 6th year of the U.S.
contest.
Here are the nine U.S. winners of this year's
national contest:
U.S. WINNERS - CATEGORY 1 (Under 8 Years of
Age)
Gold: The Hope Car by
Caleb Joshua Kuo, age 7;
Montclair, CA
Silver: Our Adventure Car by
Leon L. Du, age 7; Holmdel, NJ
Bronze: Toyota: World Food Truck by
Grace Sun, age 6; Livingston, NJ
U.S. WINNERS - CATEGORY 2 (8-11 Years of Age)
Gold: Toyota-Stop Global Warming
Car by Lynn
Sun, age 8; Livingston,
NJ
Silver: Gift from Sky by
Leah Choi, age 10; Los Angeles, CA
Bronze: Multipurpose Space Car by
Xiang Han Rocia Han, age 9;
Rowland Heights, CA
U.S. WINNERS - CATEGORY 3 (12-15 Years of Age)
Gold: All-in-One Car by Timothy H. Kim, age 13; Glendale, CA
Silver: Without Music, the World Would be
Flat by Christina Marie
DeRosa, age 15; Tonawanda,
NY
Bronze: Imagination Rabbit Car by
Molly Alicia McBride, age 15;
Reedsburg, WI
VIEW or DOWNLOAD ARTWORK IMAGES USING THESE LINKS (more at
www.TFSintheCommunity.com):
FY17 U.S. Winners
(9)
|
FY17
U.S. Finalists (35)
|
FY17
U.S. Semi-Finalists (90)
|
PHOTO CAPTIONS (all photos should be credited to
Rick Mendoza)
PHOTO #1: National judges show their favorite artworks
after voting for U.S. winners of the 11th Toyota Dream Car Art
Contest: (l to r) Mark Simmons of Toyota Financial
Services (TFS), Chung Lee of Calty
Design, James McKeone of
NoBraking.com, Susan Sanborn of
Toyota USA Automobile Museum,
Kyle Hyatt of CarStories.com,
Cheech Marin, Dave Kunz of KABC7, Karen Ideno of Toyota Financial Services
(TFS)
PHOTO #2: Cheech Marin
with museum director Susan Sanborn
and automotive designer Chung Lee
were among the judges who chose the U.S. winners of this year's
Toyota Dream Car Art Contest.
PHOTO #3: Journalist Dave
Kunz interviews Toyota Financial Services executive
Karen Ideno at the national judging
event for the U.S. presentation of Toyota Dream Car Art
Contest.
ABOUT TOYOTA: Toyota (NYSE:TM), creator of the Prius and
the Mirai fuel cell vehicle, is committed to advancing mobility
through our Toyota and Lexus brands. Over the past 60 years,
we've produced more than 30 million cars and trucks in North America, where we operate 14
manufacturing plants (10 in the U.S.) and directly employ more than
44,000 people (more than 34,000 in the U.S.). Our 1,800 North
American dealerships (nearly 1,500 in the U.S.) sold almost 2.6
million cars and trucks (2.45 million in the U.S.) in 2016 – and
about 85 percent of all Toyota vehicles sold over the past 15 years
are still on the road today. Toyota partners with community,
civic, academic, and governmental organizations to address our
society's most pressing mobility challenges. We share company
resources and extensive know-how to support non-profits to help
expand their ability to assist more people move more places. For
more information about Toyota,
visit www.toyotanewsroom.com.
TOYOTA DREAM CAR ART CONTEST
TOP 35 U.S. FINALISTS
BY STATE
CALIFORNIA
GOLD AWARD – Category 1
The Hope
Car
Caleb Joshua Kuo, age
7
Montclair, CA
GOLD AWARD – Category
3
All-in-One
Car
Timothy H.
Kim, age 13
Glendale, CA
SILVER AWARD – Category 2
Gift From
Sky
Leah Choi, age 10
Los Angeles, CA
BRONZE AWARD – Category 2
Multipurpose
Space Car
Xiang Han Rocia
Han, age 9
Rowland Heights, CA
U.S. Finalist – Category 1
Unicorn Dream
Car
Elaina Choi, age
6
Los Angeles, CA
U.S. Finalist – Category 1
Rescues
Car
Seowon Choi, age 7
San Jose, CA
U.S. Finalist – Category 1
Camouflage Camping
Car
Matthew Jaemin Hong,
age 6
Menlo Park, CA
U.S. Finalist – Category 1
Jube
Car
Emily Tran, age 7
Arcadia, CA
U.S. Finalist – Category 1
Park Inside
Car
Jessie Zhou, age
7
Arcadia, CA
U.S. Finalist – Category 2
Homework
Car
Olivia Yelin Kong,
age 10
Los Angeles, CA
U.S. Finalist – Category 2
Toyota Dream Car
Hopping, Running and Walking Through Nature
Anika Ahyoung Chung
age 10
Los Angeles, CA
U.S. Finalist – Category 2
Fast as
Lightning
Tamur Chen, age
9
West Covina, CA
U.S. Finalist – Category 2
Toyota Omni Gen
Sun Power
David Ha, age 8
Los Angeles, CA
U.S. Finalist – Category 2
Peace Dream
Car
Heather Choi, age
9
Los Angeles, CA
U.S. Finalist – Category 2
Home
Car
Tiger Hua Ji, age 9
Arcadia, CA
U.S. Finalist – Category 3
My Dream
Car
Christopher Hayden
Wu
age 15
Chino Hills, CA
U.S. Finalist – Category 3
Accessible
Car
Sarah Arim Kong, age
14
Los Angeles, CA
U.S. Finalist – Category 3
Doggie Car!? Pet
Car!
Kristy Lee, age
13
Los Angeles, CA
FLORIDA
U.S.
Finalist – Category 2
The Dream
Guardian
Elizabet Davarachvili, age 11
Orlando, FL
MICHIGAN
U.S.
Finalist – Category 3
Tactical Biorefinery in
Motion
Charla Tang, age
13
Northville, MI
NEW YORK
SILVER
AWARD – Category 3
Without
Music,
The World Would be
Flat
Christina M. DeRosa,
age 15
Tonawanda, NY
NORTH
CAROLINA
U.S. Finalist – Category
1
Toyota Kingdom
Avni Choudepally, age
6
Morrisville, NC
TEXAS
U.S.
Finalist – Category 3
The Peace
Maker
Anya Ive Chai, age
13
Plano, TX
WISCONSIN
BRONZE
AWARD – Category 3
Imagination Rabbit
Car
Molly Alicia McBride,
age 15
Reedsburg, WI
VIRGINIA
U.S.
Finalist – Category 2
Flying Vacation
Car
Ryan Jae-suh Chun ,
age 10
Vienna, VA
U.S. Finalist – Category 3
Next Gen Mobile
Hospital
Jaden Youngwoo
Yun
age 12
Leesburg, VA
WASHINGTON
U.S.
Finalist – Category 1
Space
Travel
Katie An, age
6
Mukilteo, WA
U.S. Finalist – Category 3
Spreading Love to the
World
Celine Lee Min, age 12
Bellevue, WA
NEW
JERSEY
GOLD AWARD – Category
2
Toyota: Stop Global
Warming
Car
Lynn Sun, age 8
Livingston, NJ
SILVER AWARD – Category 1
Our Adventure
Car
Leon L. Du, age 7
Holmdel, NJ
BRONZE AWARD – Category 1
Toyota: World
Food Truck
Grace Sun, age
6
Livingston, NJ
U.S. Finalist – Category 1
Community Helper
Car
Evan A. Wang, age
7
Edison, NJ
U.S. Finalist – Category 2
The
Timelines
Andy Chen, age 11
East Brunswick, NJ
U.S. Finalist – Category 3
Magnetic Solar
Car
Anni Yi, age 13
Plainsboro, NJ
U.S. Finalist – Category 3
Wish Giver
Car
Eden Quan, age 14
Livingston, NJ
For details on the contest, please visit
www.TFSintheCommunity.com.
To view the original version on PR Newswire,
visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/us-winners-of-toyota-dream-car-art-contest-announced-300426236.html
SOURCE Toyota Financial Services