2020 Winners of Toyota Dream Car USA Art Contest Announced

PLANO, Texas, March 18, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Protecting our environment and imagining a better world are among the themes of the award-winning futuristic car designs by nine young artists selected as the U.S. Winners of the 2020 Toyota Dream Car USA Art Contest.

This year's nine U.S. Winners were chosen by a national panel of judges who assessed artwork by 41 U.S. finalists; the latter of which had been selected by Toyota team members and dealer employees nationwide from a pool of 97 U.S. semi-finalists. At 1,700, the contest received a record number of artwork submissions this year, reflecting nearly a 100% increase over last year. All artwork submissions were entered in one of three categories (4-7 years; 8-11 years; 12-15 years) and judged within their age group for artistry, uniqueness, and execution of concept.

"The brilliance of all the youth who submitted this year is astounding. Their art integrated several of Toyota's strategic focus areas including mobility, environmentalism, and diversity, with an unrestrained, youthful lens," said Mike Goss, General Manager, Social Innovation, Toyota Motor North America & President, Toyota USA Foundation.

"I'm so honored and excited to help judge for the Toyota Dream Car USA Art Contest. It's deeply inspirational to see the dreams and ideas created by this amazing young talent," said Jay Ward, Creative Director of Franchise, Pixar Animation Studios.

While the geographic reach and demographics of the contest are quite diverse, this year's winners are all girls from one of four states: California, Michigan, New Jersey and Washington. For a full list of U.S. winners, U.S. finalists, and U.S. semi-finalists for the FY20 Toyota Dream Car Art Contest organized by state and award level, click here.

U.S. WINNERS – Age Category 1 (4-7 Years)
Gold Award: Bubble Water Car by Khloe Wang, age 7, South El Monte, CA
Silver Award: Toyota Magical Puzzle Car by Vera So, age 7, Irvine, CA
Bronze Award: Toyota Phoenix Car by Olivia L. Foh, age 7, San Jose, CA

U.S. WINNERS – Age Category 2 (8-11 Years)
Gold Award: The Jellyfish Car by Grace Sun, age 9, Livingston, NJ
Silver Award: Surrealism Car by Ashley Han, age 11, Ann Arbor, MI
Bronze Award: The Eco Car by Lynn Sun, age 11, Livingston, NJ

U.S. WINNERS – Age Category 3 (12-15 Years)
Gold Award: Flourish and Rebloom by Celine Lee Min, age 15, Bellevue, WA
Silver Award: Memory Car by Jennie Mingzhen Wei, age 14, Novi, MI
Bronze Award: Phoenix Dream Car by Katherine Wang, age 15, Mercer Island, WA

Toyota Motor Corporation in Japan held the first worldwide contest in 2004. Nearly 90 countries now host their own national contests under the same rules but with varying artwork submission periods. To learn more about the world contest, visit www.Toyota-DreamCarArt.com. For information about the U.S. Contest, visit www.ToyotaDreamCarUSA.com.

About Toyota: Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in the U.S. and North America for more than 60 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands. During that time, Toyota has created a tremendous value chain as our teams have contributed to world-class design, engineering, and assembly of more than 40 million cars and trucks in North America, where we have 14 manufacturing plants, 15 including our joint venture in Alabama (10 in the U.S.), and directly employ more than 47,000 people (over 36,000 in the U.S.). Our 1,800 North American dealerships (nearly 1,500 in the U.S.) sold nearly 2.8 million cars and trucks (nearly 2.4 million in the U.S.) in 2019.

Through the Start Your Impossible campaign, Toyota highlights the way it partners with community, civic, academic and governmental organizations to address our society's most pressing mobility challenges. We believe that when people are free to move, anything is possible. For more information about Toyota, visit www.pressroom.toyota.com.

Media Contact: Ryan Hines
ryan.hines@toyota.com (469) 486-5382

SOURCE Toyota Motor North America