U.S. Winners of Toyota Dream Car Art Contest Announced

PLANO, Texas, March 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The solutions to our world's current challenges just might reside somewhere in the space where automotive technology and visual art intersect.  Nine talented young artists certainly believe so – their visions of cars of the future earned them recognition today as 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 2018, 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 2018 U.S. Winners were chosen by a national panel of thirteen judges who viewed artwork by 39 U.S. finalists; the latter of which had been selected by 1,107 Toyota team members nationwide from a pool of 103 U.S. semi-finalists. The judges were:

Cheech Marin, Actor, Comedian, Director, and Art Collector
Mike Groff, President and Chief Executive Officer, Toyota Financial Services Americas Region
Yeongmin Kong, Lead Designer at Toyota's CALTY Design Research, Inc. 
Lynn Beckwith, Host, That Car Lady and Co-Host, Auto MOJO Radio - CBS Sports 650AM
Bryan Benedict, Design Manager, Mattel's Hot Wheels
Pete Carey, Group Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Product, Toyota Financial Services 
Karen Ideno, Vice President, Product, Marketing, Brand, Corporate Social Responsibility & Communications, Toyota Financial Services
Benito Huerta, Artist, Curator & Writer + Art Professor & Gallery at University of Texas-Arlington
Laura Grundler, Visual Art Coordinator, Plano Independent School District
Margie Johnson Reese, Executive Director, Wichita Falls Alliance for Arts and Culture + Arts Management Professional
Kara Brinley, Vice President & General Manager, Longo Toyota of Prosper
Suzy Sloan Jones, Executive Director, ArtCentre of Plano
Lynette Wallace, Executive Director, Orange Show Center for Visionary Art & Houston Art Car Parade

"Since 2013, I've had the privilege of serving as a national judge for this contest, and I continue to be amazed by the artistic talent and unique concepts expressed by the young artists who participate," said comedian and art collector Cheech Marin. "Each year, their artwork themes reveal how keenly aware they are of the world around them, and their creative solutions give me hope for our future."

"The fact that eight of our winners this year are girls is great news for our profession," said Bryan Benedict, Senior Staff Design with Mattel's Hot Wheels. "Their design concepts were incredible, and now if we can keep these girls interested in automotive design as a career option, we're golden."

"We truly look forward to this contest every year," said Mike Groff, President & CEO of Toyota Financial Services. "With so much going on in the world, there's a great deal for a young mind to process and understand. So, it's particularly encouraging to see these kids channel their thought, creativity, and talent into beautiful works of art that express their visions, hopes, and dreams of a brighter future and a better world."

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 7th year of the U.S. contest presented by Toyota Financial Services.

Here are the nine U.S. winners of this year's national contest:

U.S. WINNERS - CATEGORY 1 (Under 8 Years of Age)
Gold: Toyota Dream Car Of Fun by Avni Choudepally, age 7; Morrisville, NC
Silver: Toyota Homeless Helper by Wesley Lam, age 6; Jackson Heights, NY
Bronze: Toyota Science Car by Grace Sun, age 7; Livingston, NJ

U.S. WINNERS - CATEGORY 2 (8-11 Years of Age)
Gold: Toyota - Make The World A Better Place by Lynn Sun, age 9; Livingston, NJ
Silver: The Rebuilding Car by Zia Yewon Lee, age 8; Medina, WA
Bronze: Where to Next? by Nicole X. Zhong, age 11; Northville, MI

U.S. WINNERS - CATEGORY 3 (12-15 Years of Age)
Gold: The Dragon Dream Car by Audrey Tianyu Zhang, age 14; Levittown, NY
Silver: Race Through Time Car by Jia Y. Zhu, age 13; San Diego, CA
Bronze: Making A Difference Through Art by Eden Quan, age 15; Livingston, NJ

VIEW or DOWNLOAD ARTWORK IMAGES USING THESE LINKS (more at www.TFSintheCommunity.com):

CAPTIONS (all photos should be credited to Ryan Hines)

PHOTO #1: National judges after voting for U.S. winners of the 12th Toyota Dream Car Art Contest: (l to r: Laura Grundler, Suzy Jones, Lynette Wallace, Kara Brinley, Karen Ideno, Bryan Benedict, Cheech Marin, Mike Groff, Margie Reese, Benito Huerta, Yeongmin Kong, Pete Carey, Lynn Beckwith)

PHOTO #2: Mike Groff displays his selection for the "President's Choice" award given to his favorite artwork "Race Through Time Car" by Jia Y. Zhu.

PHOTO #3: Bryan Benedict was among the judges who chose the U.S. Winners of this year's Toyota Dream Car Art Contest.

PHOTO #4: Pete Carey and Mike Groff of Toyota Financial Services inspect artwork with Cheech Marin to select the U.S. Winners of the Toyota Dream Car Art Contest.

For details on the contest, please visit www.TFSintheCommunity.com.

About Toyota Motor North America
Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in the U.S. and North America for 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 33 million cars and trucks in North America, where we operate 14 manufacturing plants (10 in the U.S.) and directly employ more than 46,000 people (more than 36,000 in the U.S.).  Our 1,800 North American dealerships (nearly 1,500 in the U.S.) sold more than 2.6 million cars and trucks (2.4 million in the U.S.) in 2017 – 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. 

CALIFORNIA

U.S. Finalist - Category 1
Dino Tech
Nathan Lee, age 7
Cypress, CA

U.S. Finalist - Category 1
Nature Bee Explorer Vehicle
Daniel Chia, age 6
Alhambra, CA

U.S. Finalist - Category 1
Toyota Bring Dreams for World Kids
Angeline Ruofei Su, age 8
San Jose, CA

U.S. Finalist - Category 1
Back To Nature Car
Yuemu Li, age 7
San Gabriel, CA

U.S. Finalist - Category 2
Negative Energy Purification Car
Xiaochan Zhang, age 10
Irvine, CA

U.S. Finalist - Category 2
The Plant Car
Heather Choi, age 10
Los Angeles, CA

U.S. Finalist - Category 2
The Giver
David Ha, age 9
Los Angeles, CA

U.S. Finalist - Category 2
The Path To Success
Emma Dorla Keas, age 11
San Jose, CA

U.S. Finalist - Category 2
Plant Purified Oxygen Vehicle
Kathleen Qinyi Li, age 10
Sunnyvale, CA

U.S. Finalist - Category 2
Draw Your Future Car
Anika Jingchen Huang, age 11
San Jose, CA

U.S. Finalist - Category 3
Toyota Life Saver
Kayla H. Jang, age 13
Los Angeles, CA

U.S. Finalist - Category 3
The Fire Rescuer
Yingshu Zhu, age 13
San Jose, CA

U.S. Finalist - Category 3
Imaginativan
Neha Vinjapuri, age 14
San Ramon, CA

U.S. Finalist - Category 3
Toyota Underwater Explorer
Ashley Haewon Chon, age 15
Palos Verdes Estates, CA

SILVER AWARD - Category 3
Race Through Time Car
Jia Y. Zhu, age 13
San Diego, CA

U.S. Finalist - Category 3
Back to The Roots
Jillian Alyssa McCombs, age 14
Riverside, CA

CONNECTICUT

U.S. Finalist - Category 1
Solar-Powered Day Trip Around the World
Bruce Rui Elvin, age 7
New Canaan, CT

HAWAII

U.S. Finalist - Category 1
The Harmonizer
Elan Kanae Dela Cruz, age 7
Honolulu, HI

U.S. Finalist - Category 3
Toyota Voyager! (Let's Go Places)
Laie K. Akana, age 13\
Kapolei, HI

U.S. Finalist - Category 3
Toyota Helios
Camille Kanani Quindica, age 13
Kapolei, HI

MICHIGAN

U.S. Finalist - Category 1
Super Snow Car
Marcus Yi Zheng, age 6
Troy, MI

BRONZE AWARD - Category 2
Where to Next?
Nicole X. Zhong, age 11
Northville, MI

U.S. Finalist - Category 2
The Flying Toyota Car
Iris Sue-er Cao, age 8
Novi, MI

NORTH CAROLINA

GOLD AWARD - Category 1
Toyota Dream Car Of Fun
Avni Choudepally, age 7
Morrisville, NC

NEW JERSEY

U.S. Finalist - Category 1
Toyota - The Art Wagon
Anika Kuntal Dave, age 6
Woodbridge, NJ

BRONZE AWARD - Category 1
Toyota Science Car
Grace Sun, age 7
Livingston, NJ

U.S. Finalist - Category 1
All-in-One Dream Car
Jayden Zhang, age 6
Basking Ridge, NJ

GOLD AWARD - Category 2
Toyota - Make The World A Better Place
Lynn Sun, age 9
Livingston, NJ

U.S. Finalist - Category 2
Toyota Biocar
Aaron Yu Pan, age 10
Edison, NJ

BRONZE AWARD - Category 3
Making A Difference Through Art
Eden Quan, age 15
Livingston, NJ

NEW YORK

SILVER AWARD - Category 1
Toyota Homeless Helper
Wesley Lam, age 6
Jackson Heights, NY

U.S. Finalist - Category 3
The Dragon Dream Car
Audrey Tianyu Zhang, age 14
Levittown, NY

U.S. Finalist - Category 3
Exploring The Universe
Olivia Octavia Zackey, age 15
Akron, NY

OHIO

U.S. Finalist - Category 2
Planets in Space
Anya Sawnani, age 10
Cincinnati, OH

PENNSYLVANIA

U.S. Finalist - Category 3
Fly to the Wilderness
Julian Shu, age 14
Coopersburg, PA

TEXAS

U.S. Finalist - Category 1
Super Veggie-Fruit Car
Caitlyn T. Wijatno, age 7
Houston, TX

VIRGINIA

U.S. Finalist - Category 2
Magic Car
Jennifer Choi, age 10
Centreville, VA

WASHINGTON

SILVER AWARD - Category 2
The Rebuilding Car
Zia Yewon Lee, age 8
Medina, WA

Media Contact: Justin Leach (469) 486-9065

SOURCE Toyota Motor North America