Toyota Official Behind the Prius Dies in Air Crash [NYT]
By LANDON THOMAS Jr.
A senior executive at the Toyota Motor Corporation who oversaw its successful hybrid vehicle program died Saturday when a small aircraft he was piloting crashed into the Pacific Ocean near San Pedro, Calif.
David W. Hermance, 59, was the executive engineer for environment engineering at the Toyota Technical Center USA near Los Angeles, and was credited for the sweeping success in the United States of the Toyota Prius, the best-selling gas-electric hybrid vehicle.
Sales of hybrid vehicles, which have more fuel-efficient engines and lower emissions of exhaust than regular vehicles, have surged in popularity in recent years as gasoline prices increased, and Toyota has been at the forefront with the Prius.
A Toyota spokesman could not be reached for comment yesterday. It was unclear how Mr. Hermance’s death might affect the company’s hybrid program, which has had some American automakers scrambling to catch up.
Mr. Hermance, an avid pilot, crashed while undertaking a series of loops in his Interavia E-3, a small aircraft designed for such midair stunts. He was the only person in the plane and he died on impact, according to a local fire department official quoted in The Los Angeles Times.
Mr. Hermance, who had an engineering degree from the General Motors Institute, joined Toyota from G.M. in 1991 and was charged with ensuring that Toyota engines were in compliance with federal standards governing emissions. In recent years he had become a strong advocate for the hybrid vehicle, arguing that the fuel efficiency of the cars could go a long way toward making the United States less dependent on oil.
In testimony before Congress in July, Mr. Hermance said Toyota’s hybrid engine “has the ability to reduce fuel consumption, reduce criteria pollutants and increase the ‘fun to drive’ factor.”
Toyota has taken market share away from the leading United States automakers, Ford Motor Company and General Motors, whose larger, more fuel-dependent vehicles have fallen out of favor with many American drivers. |
