ANN ARBOR – Toyota Technical Center, a division of Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing, has promoted promotion the fifth American Chief Engineer, Monte Kaehr of the Toyota Camry.
“At Toyota, we believe there is always a better way. Even though the Camry is the best-selling car in America, I wanted to make it better,” Kaehr said. “One area I wanted to improve was dynamic performance so we held dynamic clinics with over 100 standard-mid segment customers in three different locations across North America. I sat in the back seat with the team of engineers and observed as customers drove the Camry in a variety of conditions. This feedback guided key changes that make the Camry more stable, confident and fun to drive.”
Kaehr joined Toyota Motor Corporation in Toyota City, Japan in 1992 as a design engineer in the Body Design Division. In 1998, he transferred to TTC (Ann Arbor, MI), where he has progressed through a series of positions in Body Engineering and Product Development. In 2009, he moved to the Product Development Office as an Executive Program Manager, where he was a member of the Avalon project team. Most recently, Kaehr was responsible for the North American Camry’s overall design and engineering development for TTC. Kaehr began his automotive engineering career in 1988 at Borg Warner Automotive in the Automotive Development Engineering, responsible for drive-train transmission systems. Kaehr earned a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University.
“As chief engineer, my job is to guide and empower my team of engineers to create a better car,” said Kaehr. “We have a strong team of engineers that are always considering how to make the vehicle better. Harnessing these creative ideas and forming them into the new Camry was extremely rewarding”.
