A way to offset costs by adding some green?
The Toyota Arizona Proving Grounds (TAPG), Toyota’s proprietary U.S. vehicle development and testing facility, will become available to the broader industry as a vehicle testing resource as it officially launches the Arizona Mobility Test Center1 (AMTC) at TAPG in Wittmann. Toyota (NYSE:TM) has contracted with Intertek Transportation Technologies to operate the facility and provide tenant management and related services under a new multi-year agreement, while Toyota maintains ownership and continues its testing activities at TAPG. Intertek will also market AMTC to attract tenants and manage the leasing business.
This is an unusual move in AutoInformed’s view because testing grounds by their very definition are involved with the operation and testing of future products that are usually closely guarded secrets. It might be the latest example of the extreme demands on capital and resources that automakers are grappling with as the industry rushes headlong into the unknown future of mobility involving autonomous and electric vehicles. It is one way to offset some of enormous and ongoing costs involved.
Part of AMTC will include an area of land for tenants to construct their own office and garage spaces as part of their facility use. Toyota is also constructing its own new facilities, including expanded off road test facilities and a noise pass-by evaluation course at AMTC.
1 The Arizona Mobility Test Center at TAPG is located in the Sonoran Desert near Wittmann, Arizona, a town about 60 miles northwest of Phoenix. The facility covers approximately 11,650 acres and has 77 miles of testing surfaces with 25 miles of paved roads, 52 miles of dirt tracks and a high-speed oval. TAPG was established in 1993 and has been home to testing nearly 50 Toyota and Lexus brand vehicles for the North American market during that time.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
Toyota AZ Proving Grounds Now Accessible to Other Makers?
A way to offset costs by adding some green?
The Toyota Arizona Proving Grounds (TAPG), Toyota’s proprietary U.S. vehicle development and testing facility, will become available to the broader industry as a vehicle testing resource as it officially launches the Arizona Mobility Test Center1 (AMTC) at TAPG in Wittmann. Toyota (NYSE:TM) has contracted with Intertek Transportation Technologies to operate the facility and provide tenant management and related services under a new multi-year agreement, while Toyota maintains ownership and continues its testing activities at TAPG. Intertek will also market AMTC to attract tenants and manage the leasing business.
This is an unusual move in AutoInformed’s view because testing grounds by their very definition are involved with the operation and testing of future products that are usually closely guarded secrets. It might be the latest example of the extreme demands on capital and resources that automakers are grappling with as the industry rushes headlong into the unknown future of mobility involving autonomous and electric vehicles. It is one way to offset some of enormous and ongoing costs involved.
Part of AMTC will include an area of land for tenants to construct their own office and garage spaces as part of their facility use. Toyota is also constructing its own new facilities, including expanded off road test facilities and a noise pass-by evaluation course at AMTC.
1 The Arizona Mobility Test Center at TAPG is located in the Sonoran Desert near Wittmann, Arizona, a town about 60 miles northwest of Phoenix. The facility covers approximately 11,650 acres and has 77 miles of testing surfaces with 25 miles of paved roads, 52 miles of dirt tracks and a high-speed oval. TAPG was established in 1993 and has been home to testing nearly 50 Toyota and Lexus brand vehicles for the North American market during that time.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn. He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe. Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap. AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks. Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.