 uto shows are known for their flash, but Toyota Motor Sales wanted the exhibit for its subsidiary line, dubbed Scion, to project high performance and elegance through sparseness and attention to detail. |
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| So even while Toyota presented an over-the-top glitzy display at the 2002 New York International Auto Show, offspring Scion offered a streamlined exhibit. This major shift in tactics did its job, clearly signaling to attendees: This is not your father’s Toyota. A fitting debut for the new player aimed at middle-income 20-somethings. Designer Chuck Bajnai and his team at The George P. Johnson Company delivered the goods with three 16-foot-high arches as the focal point of the sleek exhibit. Video footage of the new cars is shown on two 42-inch plasma screens, while eight computer stations offer visitors Web site access to learn more about the car. Bajnai says the exhibit space was small for an auto show display, so he used design tricks to create the bigger-than-life illusion. “That’s why we went clear to the edge of the booth, and one reason why we built straight up and made kind of a box,” Bajnai says. The exhibit’s pairing of industrial with upscale – stainless steel mesh walls coexist with embossed leather benches, for example – creates a unique environment that one judge compared to a car-painting factory, and left another judge exclaiming, “I wish this was my carport!” Summing up for all the judges, One concludes: “The simplicity is perfect.”  |
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| First-Time Exhibitor Scion The George P. Johnson Co., 248-475-8800, www.gpjco.com New York International Auto Show 2002 $1 Million 40 by 75 feet $333 |
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The exhibit’s aluminum arches span 35 feet across, but require no additional support – an amazing engineering feat. Each of the three arches is lit internally with 64 fluorescent tubes that illuminate the booth in a warm, inviting glow. |
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The simple elegance of the exhibit stands as a departure from the usual visual excess of many auto exhibits. The contrast reinforces the new car company’s image, touted as “representing a whole new and different culture.” |
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is a freelance writer based in Minneapolis
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