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Toyota auto parts at DIYautoparts.com
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The History of Toyota
Kiichiro Toyoda, founder of the Toyota Motor Corporation was born in 1894. His father Sakichi Toyoda became famous as the inventorof the automatic loom. Inheriting the spirit of research and creation from his father, Kiichiro devoted his entire life to the manufacturing of cars, which was an unknown frontier at the time. After years of hard work. he finally succeeded in completing the A1 prototype vehicle in 1935. That was the beginning of the history of the Toyota Motor Corporation.
The first Toyota truck was roughly a one-ton to one and a half-ton design, conventional in nature, using an overhead valve six-cylinder engine that appears to have been a clone of the Chevrolet engine of the time: indeed, a large number of parts were interchangeable, and Toyota trucks captured in the war were serviced by the Allies with Chevrolet components. There was also a forty-horsepower four cylinder model, very similar to the six cylinder in design but rather underpowered for a truck with a full ton of capacity.
Toyota’s Post War History
After World War II, Toyota was kept busy making trucks, but by 1947 it began making the Model SA, called the Toyopet, a name to stay with Toyota for decades, albeit attached to different cars. The Toyopet was not powerful and had a low top speed - 55 mph from a 27 horsepower engine - but it was designed to be cheap, and to handle the rough roads of postwar Japan. In the five years the SA Toyopet was made, 215 were manufactured. The SD may have been more successful; this taxi version saw 194 copies in just two years. The SF Toyopet was the first truly popular Toyota car, with a modified engine (still putting out 27 horsepower) and a taxi version. An RH model with a 48 horsepower engine came out shortly after. By 1955, Toyota was making 8,400 cars per year; by 1965, 600,000 cars per year.
In addition to all these cars, Toyota started producing a civilian truck named the Land Cruiser. Styled like Jeeps, the original Land Cruisers were based heavily on the legendary Dodge half-ton weapons carrier. They used a bigger engine than the Jeep (their Chevrolet-clone six) and a size and configuration more like the Dodge weapons carrier, whose capacity it shares (one half ton).
Toyota’s Entry Into The United States
Toyota started selling cars in the United States in 1958, importing the Land Cruiser and Toyopet. While neither sold well, the margins on the Land Cruiser were better, and the Toyopet was withdrawn as Toyota designed a car specifically modified for the American market - a strategy which later gave us the Avalon and Camry. This first Americanized Toyota came out in 1964: the Tiara, otherwise known as the Toyota Corona PT20. The six-passenger car had a 90 horsepower engine, it could reach 90 miles per hour, and was comfortable inside. One year later, the Corona was added at under $2,000; it offered an automatic and factory air as options, very unusual in imported small cars at the time. Sales hit 6,400 in 1965, and reached 71,000 by 1968, nearly doubling each year until by 1971 Toyota was selling over 300,000 vehicles per year, a far cry from 1964’s 2,000. Toyota itself was very small in the late 1950s by world standards, and in 1963 was the 93rd largest non-American corporation in the world - but in 1966 was already 47th. In 1967, the Corona sold for a reasonable $1,760 - a little below the smallest Big Three sedans - with a good balance of performance, gas mileage, and comfort.
By 1967, Toyota had become well established in the United States. The Corona four-door sedan was seen as competing mainly against the Volkswagen Beetle, though this was hardly fair to the modern Corona, with its relatively large interior space and relatively comfortable ride. The Corona was known from its early days for quality as well as a low price. Toyota introduced another new car to the US in 1967: the Crown, available as a wagon or a sedan. The semi-luxury car boasted a brand new 137 cubic inch in-line six-cylinder engine delivering 115 horsepower at 5,200 rpm; that is a bit more than the biggest Plymouth slant six but less than the smallest American V8. The engine was small but had seven main bearings, tuned induction, semi-hemispherical heads, and was built with lightweight alloys. The Crown came with a four-speed manual or a two-speed automatic. One unusual feature was standard three-point seat belts, not to mention reclining bucket seats. The Crown was never a big seller but it certainly did better than many foreign cars in the segment; the sedan sold for $2,635, the wagon for $2,785. The Crown was noted for its road manners, smooth ride, and quiet interior.
Soon, Toyota brought to the US the famous but rare 2000GT, which resembled a British sports car with a massive hood and nearly no cabin or trunk. The car had set 16 world speed and endurance records by 1966, with a dual overhead cam six-cylinder engine and five-speed manual transmission. The 2000 GT had surprisingly slow 0-60 times of over 10 seconds, but cornering apparently made up for it, and the quarter-mile went by in a decent enough 15.9 seconds. Not quite a muscle car, but it probably handled better than the best Detroit had to offer.
Luxury Cars Join The Toyota Stable
While Toyota built good near-luxury cars, sales of the Cressida and Crown were not especially strong. In the 1980s, when Toyota seriously looked at its lagging luxury sales, Lincoln and Cadillac had both fallen from grace; Lincoln was relegated to the limousine and car-service trade, and Cadillac had destroyed its reputation with the 4-6-8 engine and the barely-disguised Cavalier clone, the Cimarron. Chrysler had moved downmarket with the popular but still premium Cordoba; but Lee Iaccoca was already erasing any prestige the brand had by making Chrysler versions of entry-level Plymouths, with just a grille change and minor interior details. Mercedes’ quality was not at a high point, Audi was suffering from the "unintended acceleration" debacle, and, in short, the competition was in tatters all around. It was high time for Toyota to create both a luxury car and a luxury brand to sell it with.
Market research for the Lexus name in the United States started in 1985. The first running prototype appeared in July 1985, with an astounding 450 running prototypes built as Lexus spared no expense to beat Mercedes and other luxury marques - which it did, decisively. In 1986, tests were conducted on public roads in the US and Germany. Finally, in 1987, the final design was approved after eight presentations to management.
The LS400, the first Lexus, finally appeared in 1989. It was an immediate hit thanks to its high levels of luxury and reliability, at a lower cost than Mercedes. Lexus would remain the leader in passenger car comfort and reliability through to the 21st century, though sales of other models - particularly the IS300 lagged.
Modern Toyota
Toyota instituted a three year, 36,000 mile bumper to bumper warranty starting in 1988. Scion was begin in the early 2000s, starting with three cars based off the platform of the old Echo, with two engines - a small one for the XA and XB, and a 2.4 with an added 50 or so horsepower for the sporty TC. Scion sales were immediately strong in the early-introduction states, leading to a nationwide (United States) launch that, with very little advertising, was still remarkably successful. Like most cars aimed at younger people, the Scions did not attract the younger buyers Toyota was hoping for, at least not in as large numbers as they wanted; but it still brought in a more youthful mix than Toyota or Lexus.
Today, Toyota is the world’s third largest manufacturer of automobiles in both unit sales and in net sales. In the United States, Toyota has roughly double the sales of Honda, and is edging out Chrysler Group to be the #3 seller. It produces over 5.5 million vehicles per year, equivalent to one every six seconds.
It is worth noting that, while German automakers tend to use symbols and numbers, and Americans tend to throw away names frequently, Toyota sticks by a name as long as a car is successful, and doesn’t toss names onto cars that don’t fit them. The Land Cruiser started in 1950; the Corolla in 1966; the Celica in 1970; the Camry in 1983; the 4Runner in 1984. Notable "dropped" names include the Corona, Cressida, T100 Truck, Hilux Compact Truck and the Previa Mini Van.
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