????Much of his wheel time recently has been in a Lexus. Although it is intended to be a global brand, the Lexus has never caught on in Europe, and its aging designs were turning off U.S. buyers. Akio bypassed several layers of management to take direct responsibility for the brand and invested hours fine-tuning the ride and handling of the latest model, the 2013 GS. To give Lexus a sportier image, he also championed the development of the $375,000 LFA, a carbon fiber supercar, and personally tested the car on Germany's famed Nürburgring, where speeds top 180 mph.
????"It has a limited production run of 500 units," he said of the LFA. "It seems to be a very secret sauce."
????Does it make sense for the head of a company as large as Toyota to spend so much time evaluating its products and micromanaging small details? Well, it worked for Steve Jobs, and Akio believes it is an essential component of his leadership. "As you know, our cars are evaluated as good, not emotional," he said. "I think it's possible for Toyota to improve upon the emotion of cars. There are capable engineers who are about to do that. So what I think is needed is to really have a champion to encourage people to take action on that, to serve as a leader to address any problems after a challenge."
????The smooth functioning of his Tuesday morning group makes it possible for Akio to spend more time with product development. "Actually I was very uncomfortable since I was a little boy with so-called yes-men who were just obedient to what I said. These five executive vice presidents who support me are experts in their respective areas, with experience of more than 40 years. I am the ultimate person in charge of this company, [but] I found it is very important to ask them for their views."
????One topic on which advice is plentiful is how to deal with the strong yen, which has appreciated 35% since 2007 and is at a 65-year high. At 77 to the dollar, the currency cost Toyota $1 billion in profit during the quarter ended Sept. 30; Toyota needs an exchange rate of 80 yen to the dollar to remain profitable. It is working with its suppliers to reduce costs, but the currency imbalance threatens the future shape of the company. Already two-thirds of Toyota production comes from overseas, compared with half as recently as 2006. Akio has pledged to maintain a manufacturing base in Japan with a capacity of 3 million cars to protect parts makers and its skilled-labor supply, but Funo said that number "is not carved in stone" and that Toyota may shift more production to the U.S.
