Toyota
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also found recent success with its smaller models—the Corolla and Yaris—as gas prices have risen rapidly in the last few years. In 1936, Toyota entered the passenger car market with its Model AA and held a competition to establish a new logo emphasizing speed for its new product line. After receiving 27,000 entries, one was selected that additionally resulted in a change of its monikor to "Toyota" from the family name "Toyoda." It was believed that the new name sounded better and its eight-stroke count in the Japanese language was associated with wealth and good fortune. The original logo no longer is found on its vehicles but remains the corporate emblem used in Japan.
Logo and branding
Still, there were no guidelines for the use of the brand name, "TOYOTA", which was used throughout most of the world, which led to inconsistencies in its worldwide marketing campaigns. To remedy this, Toyota introduced a new worldwide logo in 1989 in conjunction with and to differentiate it from the newly released luxury Lexus brand. There are three ovals in the new logo that combine to form the letter "T", which stands for Toyota. The overlapping of the two perpendicular ovals inside the larger oval represent the mutually beneficial relationship and trust that is placed between the customer and the company while the larger oval that surrounds both of these inner ovals represent the "global expansion of Toyota's technology and unlimited potential for the future." The logo started appearing on all printed material, advertisements, and dealer signage starting in 1990 and on the cars themselves in 1991. 1957 is the year the first Toyota vehicles were exported to the United States by the Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. However, it wasn't until Friday, June 9, 1967 that the first trademark application with the USPTO for TOYOTA was filed by Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Gaisha. The trademark application was filed for Automobiles and motor trucks in Class 19, Non-metallic Building Materials. It also indicates the first use of the trademark name was on March 29, 1958. The application also includes a reference that, "Toyota" translates in English to, "Richfield." This is likely a variation of the
Toyota Trademarks