Mr. Hiroshi Ohsawa Born February, 1926

< Influence also on the 4 Runner >

I had only served as Chief Engineer for about a year at that time, when we were faced with a major model change. We had been working on plans for the 60-series, when I came up with the basic plan. This was completed by my successor, Mr. Shingu. Later I worked on the 4 Runner 4WD transition, and fortunately this was a big success both in Japan and the United States, most likely because it was based on the Land Cruiser.

< On a different scale >

The Land Cruiser is built to drive offroad anywhere in the world. Market research was conducted around the world, and we found that where the Land Cruiser was being used, mountain slopes often rose for as long as 10km, where eventually the air would grow thin. Moreover, sometimes the road would disappear and you would have to cross a river. This was nothing like the mountain slopes and flooded roads that you might find in Japan. The developers of the Land Cruiser had to have a field of vision as big as the world itself.