History of Toyota Corolla and Corolla

1966～1969 The first generation of COROLLA Corolla October 1966·COROLLA Corolla KE10 model was launched in May 1967·COROLLA Corolla VAN model was launched in October 1967·COROLLA Corolla 4-door car was launched in February 1968 ·The COROLLA steering column shifter series was launched in October 1968·The COROLLA KE10-SF (4-door SL) was launched in February 1969·The COROLLA High Deluxe model was launched

The first generation of COROLLA Sprinter

In 1966, TOYOTA launched a new 1100cc two-door sedan called COROLLA (meaning "Crown of Flowers") for the rapidly growing Japanese mass market. This car was based on TOYOTA's original founding intention of "making cars accessible to everyone" and brought together TOYOTA's technological essence. It was an epoch-making "compact car" with the highest performance level and product appeal at the time.

At that time, family cars were still like flowers in the mountains for ordinary people, difficult to pick. However, the COROLLA Corolla, priced at 432,000 yen, was quite cheap. The dynamic body embodies the highest performance of a small car, making COROLLA very popular since its launch. The debut of COROLLA heralded the arrival of the era of popularization of family cars. Therefore, 1966 was later called "the first year of family cars".

Since then, the output of COROLLA has continued to rise, reaching 500,000 units in just 2 years and 5 months, making it unique in the general family car market and unrivaled. In 1969, COROLLA underwent partial transformation, and in the same year it won the top annual sales volume competition in the same industry for the first time. Since then, it has won the championship for 33 consecutive years.

Target monthly sales of 30,000 units

At the COROLLA press conference, Kamiya, then President of Toyota Motor Sales Company, said something that shocked all the reporters in the room-" Aiming to sell 30,000 vehicles per month." Chief Engineer Tatsuo Hasegawa (hereinafter referred to as CE), the head of development at the time, was responsible for monthly sales of 10,000 vehicles. He was incredible at the goal set by the president. When speaking at an internal company briefing, he said, "This is That's nonsense." But COROLLA achieved its monthly sales target of 30,000 units only two years after its launch. This confirms that President Kamiya's sonorous oath is definitely not "big talk", and also indicates that COROLLA has been accepted by the market.

The first-generation COROLLA (2-door sedan)

The idea of ??80-centism α

TOYOTA has the position of CE (Chief Engineer), and CE is responsible for The development of new models has the highest decision-making power, and all CEs have devoted their efforts to the development of past generations of COROLLA.

Hasegawa Tatsuo CE, the person in charge of the development of the first-generation COROLLA Corolla (called "Chief Inspector" at the time), proposed the idea of ??"80-point doctrine α" when conceiving the development concept of COROLLA Corolla. . That is, completing the work that should be done to produce a car can get 80 points. If you do it well, you may get 90 points. However, what we need to consider more is to better express the key points (α) that can move people's hearts. In TOYOTA's public information "10 million COROLLA Corolla produced", Hasegawa made the following statement

"The content of "α" is good sports power performance. Therefore, manufacturing under the guidance of this concept A car must be equipped with a powerful engine, a full-speed 4-speed transmission, a recessed divided seat, a round instrument panel, and a semi-jointed body using spherical glass. Moreover, it is particularly important to point out that. A car developed based on the α concept requires that every part of the car must be able to fully exude a sporty charm.

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The sporty appearance that everyone can see at a glance, the excellent drive system and responsiveness that can be felt when riding - this generation of new Corolla with extremely α charm has finally won the hearts of users who expect premium sedans. Fanatic support.

The first-generation COROLLA model

At the beginning of the new launch, three grades of ordinary/special/luxury coupes were launched. With the gradual development of the market Expanded, Corolla has also further expanded its models, including 4-door sedans, vans, sports models with two-cylinder engines, etc. The president has launched 24 models to expand the types of COROLLA Corolla, making COROLLA Corolla a series of models. The road to diversification. In order to welcome the advent of the highway era, COROLLA also increased the engine displacement, upgrading from the 1100cc K-type engine to the 1200cc 3K-type engine.

In 1970, COROLLA. The Corolla underwent its first comprehensive revision, and the second-generation COROLLA Corolla was officially born. She further improved its performance in response to the advent of the highway era, thus improving the comfort and safety of long-distance high-speed driving. Popular as a "more relaxed Corolla"

Soon after its launch, the COROLLA Corolla added a 1400cc displacement engine, and in 1973 a 1600cc displacement engine was added. The COROLLA Corolla series has a variety of models, ranging from 1200 cc displacement models that focus on economy to 1600 cc displacement models that focus on driving performance.

At the same time, COROLLA Corolla production also increased sharply in 1970. The annual cumulative sales reached 1 million units, and in 1972, the cumulative sales exceeded 2 million units. In addition, in 1972, the single-row two-door car "LEVIN", which was the pinnacle of the COROLLA series and equipped with a high-performance racing engine, debuted. "LEVIN"'s superior performance has made it shine in rallies and other car races, achieving brilliant results and making great contributions to Japanese motor sports.