Toyota Breaks Ground in Texas

Craig Cole
by Craig Cole

Maybe you haven’t heard the news: Toyota is closing up shop in Southern California and moving to the Lone Star State.

More specifically the Japanese automaker is building its new North American headquarters in Plano, Texas, which is located near Dallas. Yesterday the company broke ground on this facility. Auspiciously a 2015 Tundra TRD Pro Series pickup started turning soil with a large bulldozer attached to its prow.

Aside from this bright-red pickup bringing a little arctic chill to the Texas air, company officials also unveiled a gigantic Toyota sign. Each letter stands 10-feet tall and overall the brandmark is some 64 feet long. Apparently everything is bigger in Texas.

Contained within each letter is a yaupon holly, a plant native to the state. Students from a nearby high school participated in this portion of the ground breaking ceremony, attaching hand-written notes to these “wish trees,” a Japanese cultural tradition.

SEE ALSO: 2015 Toyota Camry Review

Not surprisingly the company is building an environmentally sustainable campus, though it’s still a long way off. The facility is expected to open its doors late next year or early in 2017.

GALLERY: Toyota TRD Pro Series Live Photos

GALLERY: Toyota TRD Pro Series

Discuss this story on our Toyota Forum.

Craig Cole
Craig Cole

Born and raised in metro Detroit, Craig was steeped in mechanics from childhood. He feels as much at home with a wrench or welding gun in his hand as he does behind the wheel or in front of a camera. Putting his Bachelor's Degree in Journalism to good use, he's always pumping out videos, reviews, and features for AutoGuide.com. When the workday is over, he can be found out driving his fully restored 1936 Ford V8 sedan. Craig has covered the automotive industry full time for more than 10 years and is a member of the Automotive Press Association (APA) and Midwest Automotive Media Association (MAMA).

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