Toyota America's 3rd "Most Admired" Company

Washington DC March 6, 2007; The AIADA newsletter reported to determine the most admired companies here in the U.S., Fortune magazine asked 3,322 executives, directors, and securities analysts to select the 10 companies they admired most.

This year's winners are notable for their environmentally-friendly policies, with the Japanese automaker Toyota ranked 3rd on the list.

Its Camry has been the best-selling car in the U.S. since 2002, and the Lexus LS 430 has been the leading luxury-car brand for seven straight years. Sales of the Prius, which runs on a gas-electric hybrid engine, passed 100,000 units in 2006.

The Prius is today as de rigueur in Hollywood as the hydrocarbon-swilling Hummer used to be.

Toyota's American plants generate hundreds of millions of dollars in investments and create hundreds of jobs at suppliers and support businesses. In 2006, Toyota built more than 1.55 million vehicles and 1.4 million engines at its 14 plants in North America.