Every year Toyota runs a global contest where kids get to draw what they think the car of the future will look like. The contest is aimed at children ages 15 and under and has been running for 11 years. This year nine Canadian kids have been picked as Canadian finalists, and their drawings move on to the global competition.
In the contest, kids are encouraged to draw their dream cars, but to look forward to what they think the future of mobility will be.
The competition opened in October and closed February 3rd. The artwork was judged based on originality, creativity, and relevance to the dream car theme. The judges included Toyota Canada CEO Larry Hutchinson, who said that he was "inspired by our children’s creativity, artistic talent, and remarkable ability to envision such exciting, innovative and profound ideas."
The Canadian finalists win a 3D drawing pen, which will be awarded to them in a ceremony at their local Toyota dealer. The nine Canadian finalists will also be judged as part of the global competition. The 30 global competition finalists, 10 from each of three age groups, will be announced in August. The finalists and their families will be invited to an all-expenses-paid trip to an award ceremony in Japan.
In the last four years, five Canadian entries have been picked as global finalists. Two of those won bronze medals at last year's contest. An impressive result, considering Toyota received over 855,000 entries from 80 countries for 2016's contest.
2017 Canadian Finalists:
Under 8 years:
Food Saver (Aidan, age 6, Ontario)
The Planting & Cleaning Air Car (Nancy, age 7, Ontario)
Melody’s Bunny School Car (Melody, age 7, British Columbia)
8-11 years:
The Suitcase Car (Ryan, age 8, British Columbia)
Plastic Reducer (Sherry, age 11, British Columbia)
Save the Lives (Sara, age 10, Ontario)
12-15 years:
Toyota Mobile Library (Noelle, age 13, British Columbia)
Food Bank Car (Ruolin, age 13, British Columbia)
Traveling Oasis (Zhiyu, age 13, British Columbia)
