CarGene
Shiro Sasaki

Shiro Sasaki

ToyotaDevelopment lead

Supported the first Corolla as assistant to its chief engineer, then led development of the second and third generations

Timeline

  1. 1949

    Joined

    Toyota Motor Corporation Design Section, Engineering Department

  2. 1963

    Toyota Motor Corporation Shusa Office (later the Product Planning Office)

  3. 1969

    Chief engineer, Product Planning Office

  4. 1970
    Corolla 2nd generation
    Corolla 2nd generation

    1970–1977Development lead

    From Assistant Chief Engineer to Chief Engineer

    In the development of the first-generation Corolla, Sasaki served as the "shusa-zuki," the assistant supporting chief engineer Tatsuo Hasegawa. Hasegawa himself had played the coordinating role as Kenya Nakamura's assistant on the Crown. It was Sasaki who succeeded Hasegawa as chief engineer of the second generation, and from here it became customary for the assistant to become chief engineer of the next model. The second generation had a body a size larger than the first. Sasaki looks back that because the first generation's planning was so outstanding, the Corolla that inherited its DNA has lasted for 50 years.

  5. 1974
    Corolla 3rd generation
    Corolla 3rd generation

    1974–1979Development lead

    Studying the Third Shogun Iemitsu

    The third-generation Corolla came out the year after the oil shock struck, and emissions regulations had suddenly become stricter. What chief engineer Sasaki aimed for was the definitive popular car: one that improved fuel economy, met emissions regulations and safety concerns, raised owner satisfaction with a sense of quality, and made people think, "With this car, I don't need any other car." Believing the third generation would determine the course of the car's later development, Sasaki reportedly made a thorough study of Iemitsu, the third Tokugawa shogun, as an example of a successful third generation. Under difficult conditions, the third generation recorded the highest sales of any Corolla generation. Cumulative sales reached 3,755,030 units, and average monthly sales reached 63,645 units.

  6. 1977

    Deputy General Manager, Product Planning Office (Councillor)

  7. 1982

    General Manager, Product Planning Office

  8. 1984

    Managing Director

  9. 1986

    Senior Managing Director and General Manager, Audit and Improvement Office

  10. 1988

    Director and Executive Vice President

  11. 1990

    Chairman

  12. 1992

    Toyota Central R&D Labs.Representative Director

  13. 2016

    Advisor

Connections

Shiro Sasaki

Shiro Sasaki

  • Tatsuo Hasegawa

    Tatsuo Hasegawa

    Superior

    On the development of the first-generation Corolla, Sasaki helped chief engineer Hasegawa as his assistant, and later became chief engineer of the second- and third-generation Corolla.

Profile

From Kofu, Yamanashi Prefecture. Graduated from Hokkaido University, Faculty of Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering in 1949. Development lead for the second- and third-generation Corolla. On the third generation, to bring back the sense of quality that had been lost on the second generation, he focused on improving comfort, including vibration, noise and air conditioning.

Translated from Japanese sources.

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