Toyota Corona
The Toyota Corona is an automobile manufactured by the Japanese automaker Toyota across eleven generations between 1957 and 2001. On launch, the Corona was Toyota's second-highest product in their range, just below the Crown. The Corona was marketed in the JDM at Toyota's Toyopet Store dealership channels, and the Corona was one of Toyota's first models exported to other global markets, followed by the smaller Toyota Corolla.
The Corona played a key role in Toyota's North American success. Having previously entered the North American passenger car market in 1957 as Toyopet, the company met little success, withdrawing in 1961. The company re-entered the North American market in June 1964, rebranded as Toyota, introducing its third-generation Corona with more modern technology and numerous standard features. Toyota advertised the car prominently, with the company's first television commercial featuring the Corona. The car was well received, winning the 1969 Road Test Import Car of the Year. The Corona helped boost U.S. sales of Toyota vehicles to more than 20,000 units in 1966, making the company the third-best-selling import brand in the United States by 1967. In 2014, editors at Car and Driver called the Corona one of the best Toyotas ever made, arguing that Toyota survived long enough to thrive in America because of the Corona.
By 1968, the Corona name was used on a larger platform, marketed as the Corona Mark II. The Corona itself was marketed under numerous nameplates worldwide, including in European markets as Carinas, and a variant of the Corona was offered in various markets as the Carina. The Corona was ultimately replaced in Japan by the Toyota Premio; in Europe by the Toyota Avensis; and in Asia, Pacific markets, and the Americas by the Toyota Camry.
The nameplate corona derives from the Latin word for "crown", the sedan taking its place just below Toyota's similarly named flagship, the Toyota Crown.
First generation (T10; 1957)
The first-generation Corona, introduced in May 1957 and became available on the market two months later, was designed with parts from the previous-generation Crown and Master following a major restyle and enlargement of the Crown. The design of many of the body panels were cut down from the Master which had ceased production. Aside from the 4-door T10 sedan, the T16V 3-door van version was introduced in October 1958 as Toyopet Coronaline. Originally, the T10/16 Corona was fitted with the old sidevalve "S" engine, with. In April 1958 the Corona underwent a light facelift, with a new bonnet ornament and door handles. The tail light design of this generation is reminiscent of the 1949 Ford sedan.The OHV P series engine replaced the old S in October 1959, and offered substantially more power with at 5,000 rpm. The P-engined Corona sedan was capable of traveling at, higher than the old S-engined model. The car also underwent another facelift, including a mesh grille and a new rear seat which allowed seating for five rather than the previous four. As regulations regarding taxis at the time required engines no larger than, dealers restricted the power for taxi vehicles. Due to the upgrade in dimensions of the Crown, Toyota needed to continue manufacturing a vehicle with similar size dimensions to the first Crown, primarily to be used for taxi usage. This vehicle was also the first Toyota's car with a monocoque chassis structure, and an independent front suspension using double wishbones. Due to the monocoque chassis, Toyota was able to produce a vehicle under.
Second generation (T20, T30; 1960)
This generation of the Corona was also known as the Tiara when exported by Toyota Motor Corporation. It was introduced at a critical time for the company in North America. Their first flagship car, the Toyopet Crown, was unsuccessful in the US market, and the Corona was added to offer a choice along with the Land Cruiser. At the time, there was little market for an off-road vehicle like the Land Cruiser. The front mask of the T20 Corona is reminiscent of the 1955–1957 Ford Thunderbird, and shares its appearance with the entry-level offering, called the Toyota Publica.The Tiara was introduced to sell alongside the Crown, as a smaller companion. Introduced in March 1960, the car was powered by a 1.0 L "P" series motor. With a three-speed manual transmission, top speed was a mere. In March 1961, Toyota introduced a more powerful 1.5-litre "R" series motor, the same motor from the Crown, and an even larger 1.9-litre engine was added in 1964. Fortunately for Toyota, the problems with the Crown were not seen on the Tiara as the lighter body made the R series engine more sufficient. The Tiara station wagon was seemingly aimed at women, with many of the original brochures featuring only women in a dinner dress as well as playing golf. Nevertheless, it sold better than the Crown and had a lot fewer mechanical problems. The Tiara ended up being the only sedan sold by Toyota in the US until the reworked second-generation Crown appeared. By that time, the Tiara had been redesigned and given the Corona label from the Japanese domestic market. A total of only 318 of these vehicles were sold in the US.
In Australia the Tiara was produced in Port Melbourne, Victoria by Australian Motor Industries starting from 1963.
Two concept cars were shown at the 1963 Tokyo Motor Show – the Corona 1500S Convertible and the Corona 1900S Sporty Sedan. The Corona Sports Coupe was a concept car shown at the 1963 Tokyo Motor Show – it shared little with the Corona except the suspension and the name. The load carrying variants, Coronaline van and pickup were introduced in July and September 1960 with rigid axle semi-oval leaf spring rear suspension and 500 kg payload capacity, to fill commercial segment below the heavier capacity Toyota Stout.
Third generation (T40, T50; 1964)
The third generation was introduced September 1964, one month before the 1964 Summer Olympics. It was available in sedan, two-door hardtop, three-door van, five-door station wagon, two coupé utility variants and a five-door hatchback. The 40–43 series were reserved for sedans, while commercial vehicles were in the 46 and 47 series. Hardtops received 50–55 series model codes, while 56 was reserved for the five-door hatchback.The 1965 model marked a return of Toyota to the American market after withdrawing there temporarily in 1961.
Toyota conducted a public demonstration of the new Corona's performance on the Meishin Expressway, where the new model was tested to, and was able to sustain speeds of. Toyota released the Corona one year after the debut of the Corona's traditional competitor, the Nissan Bluebird. In November 1966, Toyota introduced the Corolla, a smaller vehicle to address the market that needed a more fuel efficient vehicle, allowing the Corona to increase in size. time was 15.1 seconds.
Originally, commercial models utilized the 1,198 cc 2P engine, with at 5,000 rpm. This allowed for a maximum load of for the two-seater versions and for the five-seaters. Heavier loads were better accommodated by the Toyota Stout, while larger commercial grade trucks became available at Toyota Diesel Store locations. 1967 also saw the debut of a cab over van equipped for both commercial and commuting duties using the Corona engines, called the Toyota HiAce, offering more payload than the Corona was suited for.
The coupé utility was produced by the former Central Motors between October 1964 and August 1968. In July 1965 the 2-door hardtop coupé body style was introduced.
Top speed for the 1.2-litre Corona is. In January 1967 this also became available as a five-door van. In April 1967, the larger and more powerful 3P and 2R engines became available, replacing the lesser 2P in most markets. Power of these were respectively.
The Toyota automatic transmission, marketed as Toyoglide, was introduced on this version of the Corona. The 4R engine that had a displacement of 1587 cc was equipped with a twin SU carburetor, and was capable of. Disc brakes were also introduced for the front wheels. Exports of this Corona proved popular in the US and Europe, with increased engine performance and durability improvements over previous versions. In September 1967 alone, Toyota produced 80,000 cars, with 30,000 being Coronas.
Toyota 1600GT (RT55)
In August 1967 Toyota installed the DOHC 9R engine in the RT55 1600GT. This engine used the 4R engine block borrowed from the Corona 1600S with a Yamaha built DOHC head derived from the 2.0 L 3M engine in the exotic 2000GT that was introduced May 1967, and produced. The 1600GT was offered as a more affordable junior version of the larger, more exclusive 2000GT. In production for only 13 months, 2,222 examples of the 1600GT were manufactured in Bellatrix Yellow, Pegasus White, Solar Red, and Thunder Silver metallic – all colours that were also offered on the 2000GT.The introduction of a two-door hardtop coupe reflected the growing prosperity of the Japanese economy. While the coupé offered some practical items like a spacious trunk and a rear seatback that folded down for additional items, it was offered as a single-occupant car that could accommodate three other passengers. A bench seat was not offered for front-seat passengers, and a console was blended into the dashboard, accommodating 4-speed or optional 5-speed. Due to its sporting nature, no automatic transmission was offered, and a limited slip differential was standard equipment. The interior only came in black, with reclining front bucket seats. The steering wheel matched the one used in the 2000GT, but the outer rim was wood-grained plastic. It was Toyota's answer to the Isuzu Bellet GT, the Nissan Bluebird SSS and the Prince Skyline 2000GTB. While it used the Corona hardtop coupé body, it was not known as the Corona 1600GT, sharing a naming convention to the larger 2000GT.
It inspired future generations of performance-oriented coupes and sports cars offered, to begin with the Crown hardtop coupé in October 1968, the Corona Mark II GSS, the Celica GT, and the Carina GT in 1970 and the Toyota Corolla Levin and Sprinter Trueno in 1972, while a 2.0-litre DOHC engine continued to be offered in subsequent Corona GT coupés until 1983. On the front fenders, grilles were installed, and the inverted triangle found on the grille of the 2000GT is also installed on the 1600GT's grille.