Toyota Sponsors Crash Course for Teens

The parking lot of Paramount's Kings Island was swarmed by hundreds of teenagers with their parents to get a free crash course offered by one of today's auto giants - Toyota Motor Corp. The 4-hour program by the automaker entitled Driving Expectations featured manifold driving courses and interactive classroom sessions. The highlights of which include the talk about the dangers on the road.

"Toyota hosts the program five times a year in different parts of the country as a way to create a safer driving community," said Michael Rouse, corporate manager in philanthropy and community affairs. "We make some of the safest cars on the road. But cars are only as safe as the drivers behind the wheel."

The hands-on portion of the crash course lets the teens and their parents to have a driving experience behind the wheel of brand new Toyota cars such as Prius and Scion. The participants experienced skidding with anti-lock brakes while being disturbed by the passenger as well as surprise elements.

The 2006 Toyota Prius parts have undergone several minor cosmetic changes. To make the new model more desirable, it was given optional features like advanced airbags, an upgraded audio system, a rear-view camera, and a higher-resolution LCD display. Consequently, a Touring Edition is made available in the most recent model. The latter features larger rear spoiler, 7-spoke 16" alloy wheels with plastic hub cab cover, and a firmer European tuned suspension, standard high-intensity-discharged (HID) headlights and integrated foglights. Further, advanced side-curtain airbags were made standard on all models.

Scion (pronounced SY-en), on the other hand, is designed to be dependent and distinctive. Yet, Scion performance parts deliver a link to Toyota heritage. "Toyota's formation of genesis in 1998 marked the beginning of a quest to connect with an emerging new buyer group in the marketplace," says Jim Lentz, TMS vice president, Scion. "Scion will act as a complement to the Toyota-brand banner by targeting an important portion of this consumer group who actively seek out the newest trends in style and innovation. Scion will target consumers who are well aware of, and may even covet, Toyota's strong heritage of quality."

The crash course also featured local residents who are car accident survivors. They talked about their past experiences to inspire teens and parents instill safety and precaution in driving. "The Toyota program not only gives teenagers valuable experience in various driving situations, but gives parents the tools they need to become better driving coaches," says Elizabeth Perry, Toyota's spokeswoman.