Friday Press Conference to Provide Details on New Creative Lounge in Chicago CHICAGO, Oct. 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) joins the City of Chicago to celebrate the one-year anniversary of a ground-breaking, cross-industrial collaboration between the world's largest car manufacturer and Chicago's fashion community. Scheduled for Friday, October 16, from 10 AM, in Room 329 of the Navy Pier, the event will feature the unveiling of a new entry into the Navy Pier Chicago Timeline, which marks the 2008 world premiere of the collaboration between four Chicago fashion designers and TOYOTA's cutting-edge personal mobility vehicle, the i-REAL concept. The timeline unveiling event will also mark the launching of a new pilot collaborative project featuring the opening of the creative lounge CHICAGO, a creative research space in the Windy City's famous Wicker Park neighborhood, where TOYOTA engineers plan to work with local creative talent from fashion and the arts. Chicago fashion designers Melissa Serpico Kamhout, Lidia Wachowska, Agga B. and Anna Fong will join representatives from TOYOTA and the City of Chicago at the picturesque Navy Pier to celebrate the collaboration and the next venture. The event will feature a mini-fashion show, including new works from guest designers who hail from Bangkok, Thailand and the four Chicago designers, as well as an i-REAL test-drive event, followed by an opening party to be held at the creative lounge CHICAGO location in Wicker Park. The amazing i-REAL concept will also be on display at Navy Pier's Gateway Park on Saturday, October 17, and Sunday, October 18, with an opportunity for the public to take a test ride. "I have many fond memories of the wonderful project we took part in last year and I am really looking forward to our continued creative collaboration with Chicago's fashion community and beyond with our new Wicker Park project," said Tetsuya Kaida, General Manager of TMC's Business Revolution Corporate Value Creation Department. "This is a great opportunity for these Chicago-based designers to continue their collaboration with TOYOTA and its innovative technology. These partnerships will lead to new design ideas for tomorrow across various industries," said Melissa Gamble, Director of Fashion Arts & Events for the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs. "Navy Pier is very excited and honored to host this event and to play a part in this important and timely collaboration which has already made its mark on Chicago's historical timeline," said Norine Smyth of Navy Pier. "The continued support, inspiration and generosity from Toyota on an international level is more than I could have ever imagined. I am extremely excited to see the results of the creative lounge this coming year!" commented Melissa Serpico Kamhout, designer of Serpico collection and one of the artists in residence at the Wicker Park creative research venue inspired by TOYOTA. About Toyota Supported by people around the world, Toyota Motor Corporation has endeavored since its establishment in 1937 to serve society by creating better products. Today, the Company manufactures vehicles and parts at 53 production sites in 27 countries and regions around the globe and is an active member in the communities it serves. In fiscal year ending March 31, 2008, the Toyota Group sold approximately 8.91 million vehicles in 170 countries and regions under the Toyota, Lexus, Daihatsu and Hino brands. In the United States, Toyota markets products and services though a network of more than 1,400 Toyota, Lexus and Scion dealers. Toyota directly employs nearly 34,000 people in the U.S. and sold more than 2.2 million vehicles in 2008. For more information about the company, please visit http://www.toyota.com/, http://www.lexus.com/, and http://www.scion.com/. DATASOURCE: Toyota Motor Corporation CONTACT: Curt McAllister of Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc., +1-313-259-4598, Web Site: http://www.toyota.com/

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