Toyota Corolla 10th generation (E140/E150)

Around the time concept studies for the tenth generation began, Yasui moved to Corolla product planning, and chief engineer Takeshi Yoshida sent him on a trip abroad, telling him that since he didn't know the Corolla, he should go and take a good look overseas. He had thought of it in Japan as a car for older people, but in one country it was popular with families with children, and in another with young people. There, he felt he finally understood what Tatsuo Hasegawa meant by "a Corolla for the happiness and welfare of the people of the earth."

When he was put in charge of developing the tenth generation, the Corolla was selling more than 1.4 million units a year in over 140 countries. Explaining the plan to hundreds of people involved at the start of development, Okudaira declared that, for the Corolla to stay number one, he would build the best-selling car. It was also meant to fire himself up.

With the ninth generation, it had taken two years for Corollas around the world to switch to the new model. The tenth generation took on the task of starting it simultaneously worldwide. Issues to discuss piled up, starting with the procurement layout, and he clashed many times with members from production engineering, the plants and procurement, and argued countless times with plant managers.