Canadian Kids Design Vehicles of the Future as Part of Global Innovation Contest

TORONTO, ON – JUNE 25, 2020 – Could the vehicles of the future help solve some of the world’s health, social injustice and environmental issues? Young Canadians certainly think so – and they’ve shared their inspirational visions in the 2020 Toyota Dream Car Art Contest.

Canadians up to 15 years of age were invited to share their dreams for the vehicles of the future as part of the 2020 Toyota Dream Car Art Contest. First held in 2004, the global contest invites future artists, designers and engineers to share their ideas about the future of mobility. Many of them, of course, think beyond transportation as they look to improve the world they know.

A panel of distinguished Canadian judges were tasked with evaluating the many entries from kids across Canada. Three finalists were chosen in each of three age categories: Under 8, 8 to 11, and 12 to 15. The finalists are listed here by age category:
 

Under 8 Years Old

• Max Lee (age 7, Calgary, AB) Max’s entry is “Toyota Makes the World a Better Place” is a vacuum car designed to clean out all the air pollution and viruses in the air.
   
• Maya Maksymenko (age 5, Vancouver, BC) Maya’s “Magic School Bus” will be able to take kids into space, dive underwater and take them on the field trips of their dreams.
   
• Juan Miguel Gallermo (age 7, Scarborough, ON) Juan Miguel’s “Earth Saver” is 100% solar powered, recycles paper and it has built-in brush that sweeps the street.

8 to 11 Years Old

• Thomas Qiu (age 11, Vancouver, BC) Thomas’ “Safari Rescue Unit” saves animals from wildfires by driving through the forest, finding animals that have been trapped by the fire, self-loading them and then hovering out of the fire to let them escape.
   
• Raphaël Beaulieu (age 11, Quebec, QC) Raphaël’s “Urbi et orbi” brings to life the concept “all together, moving forward.”
   
• Abraham Pramanik (age 8, East York, ON) Abraham’s “ My Bee Car” will build a beehive to ensure than bees can continue to pollinate, so crops can continue to grow and people around the world will continue to have enough food.

12 to 15 Years Old

• Lucy Qian (age 12, Vancouver, BC) Lucy’s entry – “The Elephant” - is a car in the shape of an elephant, traveling through jungles and forests, allowing sick or injured animals to board to be treated. The elephant is a symbol of peace, so animals would not be afraid.
   
• Jaelie Young (age 13, Calgary, AB) Jaelie’s “Moon Planter” is a moon buggy that’s able to plant and prepare the surface of the moon for the growth of trees. It’s powered by solar panels and will help humans start new life on the moon’s rocky surface.
   
• Isabella Pan (age 14, Richmond Hill, ON) Isabella’s octopus-shaped “Tentacles of Hope” vehicle dives into the ocean to transport children across the sea. The tentacles act as wheels and the suckers grasp the sea floor and suck up pollution in the ocean.
   

“Now, perhaps more than ever, we’re looking to the world’s young people to inspire change with their creative and insightful expressions of the future,” said Larry Hutchinson, President and CEO of Toyota Canada and one of this year’s judges. “These young Canadians are the engineers, creators and designers of the future – and they’re already impressing us with their innovative approaches to solving our planet’s health, social and environmental challenges.”

In addition to Hutchinson, this year’s Canadian judging panel included:

• Petrina Gentile (Canadian automotive journalist, children’s book author and publisher)
   
• Genevieve Godbout (Canadian children’s book illustrator)
   
• Buzz Bishop (journalist, broadcaster and blogger at CyberBuzz Media)
   
• Brian Sheppard (EVP, Executive Creative Director at Saatchi & Saatchi)
   

Here’s what the judges had to say about the 2020 Toyota Dream Car Art Contest submissions: 

I’m so impressed with the 2020 Toyota Dream Car Art Contest entries. Once again, the children of Canada have used their imagination to dream of a world that is cleaner, more empathetic, and supportive of each other. This year’s entries tackled everything from forest fires to homelessness to interdimensional travel to planting seeds on the moon. Whatever the future brings, we need to keep feeding the big dreams of our children and encouraging them to achieve them. - Buzz Bishop, Journalist, Broadcaster, Dad Blogger 

Judging this year’s contest was extremely difficult. There were so many unique and talented pieces to choose from, in all age categories. I’m so impressed with the amount of ingenuity, thoughtfulness and talent that went into every submission. - Petrina Gentile, Canadian Automotive Journalist, Children’s Book Author and Publisher

For the third year in a row, I’ve been lucky to witness the amazing talent of the young and beautiful human beings who participated in this contest. I was touched by the messages behind many pieces and truly impressed by the creativity of the concepts. A few of these kids even managed to come up with innovative ideas I’ve never seen before! - Genevieve Godbout (Canadian children’s book illustrator)

This year’s contest launched on November 14, 2019 and ran until February 28, 2020. Children across Canada took part in the contest, creating submissions with a variety of traditional media such as paint, markers and crayons. The finalists will each receive a $250 online retail gift card to DeSerres.

For more about the Toyota Dream Car Art Contest, visit www.toyota.ca/dreamcarartcontest 

About Toyota Canada Inc.
Toyota Canada Inc. (TCI) is the exclusive Canadian distributor of Toyota and Lexus vehicles. Toyota has sold over five million vehicles in Canada through a national network of 287 Toyota and Lexus dealerships. Toyota is dedicated to bringing safety, quality, dependability and reliability to the vehicles Canadians drive and the service they receive. TCI’s head office is located in Toronto, with regional offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal and Halifax, and parts distribution centres in Toronto and Vancouver. Toyota operates two manufacturing facilities in Canada. Having produced more than nine million vehicles, popular Canadian models built at these facilities include Toyota RAV4, Toyota RAV4 Hybrid, Lexus RX 350 and RX 450h hybrid. Recent investments at its facilities in Ontario will allow for increased production of the top-selling Toyota RAV4 and RAV4 Hybrid models.

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