The conservative Toyota you're describing is the Toyota that exists today, not the one that developed the Toyota Production System in the first place. Maybe the

The conservative Toyota you're describing is the Toyota that exists today, not the one that developed the Toyota Production System in the first place. Maybe they weren't bleeding edge but their engines had fuel injection, variable valve timing, and were computer controlled. Meanwhile the American automakers' idea of "futuristic" was putting LCD screens in the dash and making the cars talk when you left the door open. Through the 1980s and 1990s Toyota was putting out cars like the original LS 400 which embarrassed the German luxury automakers, the supercharged MR2, the turbocharged Supra, and high revving Celica, all while making cheap but great econoboxes. Its really in the 2000s where Toyota switches to an "only conservative cars" business model when the Toyota developed sports cars disappear, engines start staying mostly the same, and generations get longer.