Just as the backlash against the so-called Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) was reaching a crescendo in the US and Paris, councillors prepared to ban them from the city limits it might seem odd to think that Toyota's senior engineers were preparing to use the growing anti-SUV feeling to their advantage.
Much has been written, in these pages and others, about the astute business practice of the Japanese marque in the last few years. It's the sort of shrewd awareness of trends that has seen them rise to the top three car firms in the world, creeping up on the likes of General Motors and Ford.
Now, as the American marques struggle to get their house in order, weighed down by enormous financial commitments and over-capacity, the Japanese take one step further to not only an ever-increasing slice of the Americans' home market, but they also seem more flexible and prepared for the whimsical opinions of the general public.
Toyota could not have chosen a better time to introduce the second generation of the Prius hybrid. The petrol-electric car hit our roads in Europe and those in the US just as events in the Middle East and poor political relations with the likes of Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez were forcing fuel prices ever higher.
It may not have become the best-selling car since the Model T, but it has done far better than even Toyota's number crunchers expected and it has won accolades from both European and American motoring panels. But that wasn't the end of their moves. Toyota has been flying the flag for hybrid vehicles as the best medium-term route to fuel efficiency.
The 400h has been an open secret for some years now, and the rapid introduction of Ford's hybrid Escape, powered essentially using technology licensed from Toyota, must have come as something of a kick up the rear bumper to those holding out at Lexus.
But it could take comfort from the fact that yet another big firm was coming on board the hybrid wagon train.
Others, particularly the Germans, have been rather condescending about the whole business, with the likes of premium brands BMW and Mercedes instead putting all their stock in hydrogen and fuel cell technology, which even the most optimist advocate predicts is at least 15 years away.
If nothing else, the lack of a hydrogen distribution network will stall all efforts at selling such vehicles.
However, while some saw it as a showdown between the two future sources of power, Lexus engineers were keen to highlight that the hybrid model was more than just a short term fad. Just as you can have a petrol-electric model, so to you can have a hydrogen-electric model. With the advent of fuel cells, hybrid technology would not die off.
Finally, as Lexus prepared to launch the RX400h, two arch-rivals, General Motors and DaimlerChrysler announced a co-operative venture on hybrid technology. It seems the Japanese have stolen a march on their competitors once again.
