TOYOTA CITY — Toyota Motor is looking to cast off a reputation for making reliable, but often dull, cars in a wide-ranging review of its designs, technologies, factories and supply deals — a full makeover aimed at staying on top in a cut-throat industry.For decades, the Japanese car maker carved out global leadership by using common parts across many of its models. This was efficient, but made for uniform styling. A one-size-fits-all layout for the engine’s surrounding parts, for example, gave its cars a boxy front end.Under its Toyota New Global Architecture (TNGA) initiative, the car maker will standardise vehicle engineering, such as the optimal "hip point" seating position for different vehicles, from sedans and sports cars to SUVs and trucks. This cuts the number of air-bag variations needed and allows air-bag modules to be installed from just one side of the assembly line rather than both, making plants more efficient.Redesigning cars from the ground up, Toyota plans to lower ...
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