In a parallel universe, this would be a 1978 Chevy III, Ford Dearborn, Plymouth Cranbrook or Studebaker Larkette. It’s more “American” than the American cars of its time, trying so hard to look like a miniature Oldsmobile or Dodge sedan from ten years earlier. Toyota has always been the most “American” of the Japanese car makers, as well as the most conservative. Of course, both of those concepts are part of an image Toyota was eager to cultivate here, since it seemed like the way to be acceptable. But it also repeatedly threatened to leave it behind, in terms of the state of design and technology. There had been a time when the Corona was the brash new kid on the block. Some ten years later, it was already suffering from “Camry Syndrome”: dull, boring, out-of-date, conventional, and of course, dead reliable. Well, amidst a sea of self-destructing Vegas and Volares, that did have its charms. How un-American was that?
We’ll take a look at the earlier Coronas sometime, but this green 1978 with its vinyl roof so epitomizes the era when the Corona became an American household word. Look! It even has a bench seat and column-mounted shifter for its Toyoglide automatic transmission. Not that three corn-fed Iowans were ever going to sit there; all at the same time. The Corona was still a fairly narrow car, unable to belie its Japanese roots that way, despite the facade its all-American wheel covers.
Yes, the Corona initially made its inroads in California, and by 1967 or so, they started popping up in big East Coast cities. Perfect example: my high school art teacher in Baltimore drove on of the first ones I got a close look at that same year. But the Japanese invasion was unstoppable, and the first energy crisis was the biggest boon for them since the death of Studebaker. By the time of this Corona, there were few places in the country left where you got a weird look if you told them you drove a Corona. More likely they wanted to out and check it out for themselves.
Lots of former Studebaker dealers became Toyota dealers, to their heirs eternal gratefulness. And the highly conventional Corona certainly wasn’t going to challenge the sensibilities of mid westerners. If anybody was having their sensibilities challenged, it was Californians. Always ready to embrace the next big thing, the Audi Fox (80) and Saab 99 made the dowdy Corona look like Aunt Mildred’s old Dart. Would any of my cohort of up-and coming youthful Los Angelelanos in 1978 have even given the Corona a moment’s consideration? No way.
The parking lot at the tv station near Westwood was a tantalizing plate of sushi and pasta, along with a dollop of American ketchup. Hondas, Fiats, Datsuns, Alfa Romeo, a new downsized F-41 Caprice, my Peugeot 404, a stunning DS-21 even. Yes, a Toyota pickup and a Corolla or two, and an “old” gen 1 Corona that was getting its engine rebuilt in a corner of the set storage area. But a new Corona?
Maybe if you were one of the early adopters of the married lifestyle. Or maybe a Corona wagon if you were going to ditch the rat race and drive it to Alaska. Now that I’ve put myself back in that time frame, a Corona wagon would have been ok; it clearly identified you as working in the engineering or tech department, but ok. The sedan? With a vinyl roof, no less? If you were going to go down that road, it wouldn’t have been on a Corona. You’d stretch, and get a Seville, a used one, if need be.
Sure, everyone appreciated the Corona’s indestructible R-series engine and otherwise all-round solidity. Well, these cars (or some variation thereof) proved their mettle daily for decades as the taxicab of choice in Tokyo. As good a proving ground as it got. The Corona was a Toyota Hi-Lux pickup with a different body, at least as far as the running gear goes. Whoever bought this daily driver probably hasn’t regretted it, even if it was uncool at the time.
Toyota managed to keep the old RWD Corona hot-dish-alcohol-free Sunday after church get-together going for a while longer, but eventually the risk of being left too far behind compared to those bold European, American and Honda FWD cars had to be addressed. The Camry was quite the great leap forward, and one that took Toyota to the top before too long. Toyota lovers were relieved; the Corona was reminding too much of the Lark’s glacial evolution. Maybe all those former Studebaker dealers were exerting their influence?
Nice find again! And my, what an ugly duckling design… but, back then it must have blended in (in its segment), much like today’s Corolla blends in. There’s much to be said for the great sales success of the bland, dead reliable, boring, gray mouse, I’m invisible and loving it, A to B appliance, grocery getter, yes – BEATER Japanese 4-doors. In all decades, starting with the 70s. I never got it. But then, I’ve never been much for blending in or trying to fit in. And that’s just not what really sells, people need reliable, beater appliances, styling be damned (although Hyundai is attempting to take the “appliance” market by styling as we speak). And that’s why Toyota is what it is to the day.
This Corona in its duckling glory epitomizes that so, so well.
That Westwood parking lot of Fiats, Alfa’s, F41 Caprice, Datsuns sounds great!
The garage in my building, in Westwood, consists of BMW’s, BMW’s and more BMW’s. And my Xterra. Rather dull.
My first new car purchase was a 1980 Corolla. It’s dead on reliability resulted in subsequent purchases of another Toyota and 3 Nissan’s. With 2 VW’s and a Volvo in between.
My generation came of age during the Detroit implosion and to this day, the big 3 aren’t even on the radar for when car shopping.
Too bad, I know those bad old days are long gone, but still…old habits die hard.
Well I Wasnt too far away on the clue these old Coronas are tough cars they stand up to all sort of abuse and lack of maintenance far more durable than the crappy datsuns which rusted out early or blew headgaskets just to keep your mechanical skills in tune Coronas were plentiful here and in OZ all floorshift or Tbar auto no bench seats here The Corona evolved into a FWD car simply by putting a FWD subframe in and equally as tough as the earlier models I only recently sold a 90 Corona Diesel auto to a mate he loves it cheap as on fuel and goes well I prefer French turbo diesels which go well handle brilliantly and are quiet hence the change but that old 2c diesel just kept going it burned oil and since the odometer is only a myth it probably has in excess of 400,000kms on it Our diesel tax is levied by distance travelled so ;lots of people disconnect the speedo Ive done the same in my Citroen dieso is only $1.50 per litre gas is $2 easy math on why its popular The best JAP cars by far but rare in NZ now the tide of used imports drowned the old ones.
All over the world, millions of buyers went for the dead reliable and put up with the dull, boring, out-of-date, and conventional. They were/are the manufacturer’s bread and butter.
Toyota chipped away at Holden’s Australian dominance when it jumped the >60% tariff wall and assembled cars like this Corona in Australia. I remember being a passenger as a kid in numerous Corona’s like this one being driven by friends’ mothers. The dads would have a big Falcon or Kingswood, and the mothers would ferry the kids around in the Corona. Women drivers liked that reliability.
They were also desired by the obsessive, resourceful tight-wad male. In the mid-1990′s I knew a bloke who drove one of these. He had a couple of spare engines just in case he ever needed to swap one out. He eventually acquired a spare car, in case some hoon t-boned him at an intersection, or he hit a kangaroo on the drive home – he lived in the bush.
I took out 2 chain of 7wire fence in a 71 model, with another radiator and some bush repairs it made from Dorrigo to Sydney before I fixed it properly they were nowhere near as tinny as first thought The worst Coronas were themodel fitted with Holden Starfire engines car was ok but that motor WTF was Toyota thinking
Toyotas and Datsuns were starting to become part of the landscape in the midwest by 1968 or so, and were quite common by the 70s. Oh the things we didn’t know we were going to miss, like rear drive Coronas and 6 cylinder Fairmonts.
I muffed that 1969 date; it was actually 1967, and that was when they started appearing with some degree of regularity in Baltimore. By 1969, they were very common already, and the Corolla was making very quick headway in its explosive jump to the #2 position.
I knew cars like this had made it when I started to see them parked, all dusty and definitely retired, beside little houses in small Nevada towns.
My folks’ first new car was an ’80 model. White with red vinyl interior. Dad’s years of GM loyalty were being severely tested by a series of crap company cars and my mom never had traditional taste in cars. It was a total impulse buy – Mom’s aging Hornet was in for service at the local AMC-Toyota dealer and she was smitten the moment she saw the Corona on the showroom floor. They got thoroughly screwed on the deal, given that 15%+ interest rates and “Additional Dealer Markup” stickers on Japanese cars was the norm in 1980, but my parents never looked back.
The Corona was dull (Of course the pathetic Fairmont was about as sophisticated as Detroit got at the time), but it was such a jewel of a car. It was so precisely put together, with quality materials. It had major rust problems after five years – Japan’s Achilles heal – but it still felt as tight as the day it left the showroom. Contrast that with my dad’s last GM – a brand new Skylark that drove like a five year old car.
It may have been old hat on the West Coast, but the Corona was still a novelty in Midwest in the early ’80s. Today my extended family drives imports almost exclusively, but my folks were the first and the car raised a lot of eyebrows. Even into the ’90s, we were one of the only import owners on our somewhat blue-collar, middle-class street.
Toyota being the company it was used to take critisism of its cars quite seriously to the point where a NZ motoring writer who constantly rubbished the mediocre handling FWD Coronas have was employed to improve them The guy is called Cris Amon an ex grand prix driver and his reworking ot the Japanese Corona was a marvel they actually held the road well and were completely controllable when the traction evaporated he based his upgrades on the Peugeot 405 which was at the time the worlds best handling FWD car he got close too. FYI NZ Toyotas are fitted with the stiffest suspensions as new, Aussie are one grade softer and JDM and US cars have the marshmallow setting.
I always thought Mazda was the most “westernized” of Japanese automakers.
It even made the “Roadpacer” which was a Wankel-engined Holden Kingswood.
The 1977 Corona is still being made, in a way, as the Toyota Crown Comfort, Mr. Akio Toyoda’s favorite car.
http://blogs.wsj.com/japanrealtime/2011/03/10/toyota-chief-ill-take-the-taxi/
Almost exactly the same boxy shape. Same JDM tax-friendly 1,695mm width.
http://toyota.jp/crownsedan/exterior/garally/index.html
OMG it does look the same Im surprised a few used ones havent ended up here
I want one!
Thanks for reminding us; I knew that, but it slipped my aging mind. Truly the Checker of Japan.
Do they even sell these Crown Comfort to the public? I think they’re for taxi or fleet only, kinda like the London cab. The “Toyota Crown” that they sell to the public is unrelated, related to the Lexus LS instead. The Crown Comfort is also found here in Indonesia as a premium taxi.
The Crown Comfort is the taxi. The almost identical Crown Sedan is sold to the public. They share nothing except the “Crown” name with the other Lexus-like Crowns.
With the imminent demise of the Ford Panther, the Toyota Crown Comfort is the only 4-door rear-drive sedan in the world with a live axle, other than the ancient Hindustan Ambassador (which is an automotive living fossil, being based on the 1946 Morris Oxford)
“Luxury Edition”…rich velour-type upholstery. Did they use the same ad agency as Chrysler back then? Yes, very “American” indeed.
the way i remember it, within three years of the first 70s oil crisis, every chevy, ford & mopar in new jersey was traded for a honda, toyota & datsun in that order. everyone in my home town was astounded at how much better built they were than that crap coming from detroit.
A neighbor of ours in Nashville had one of these (the wagon version) for hauling the kids around–this was during the late-’70s gas price spike, and she traded a Colonnade wagon (Buick, I think) for it. At that time, the Japanese wagons were thought of as family cars in an era of expensive gas. Another neighbor had an ’82 Civic wagon as the car for a family of four, even for long trips, the dad’s commuter being a ’73 Beetle that he drove into the late ’80s, at least. Important to remember that as expensive as fuel is right now, it’s actually just comparable to the ’80-’81 price, perhaps a little less given the recent drop below $4/gallon. (Don’t have the inflation-adjusted price handy.)
Both wagons mentioned above were that “Japanese Car Chocolate Brown” you don’t see anymore, BTW.
I learned to drive in one of those things- never got laid in one (go figure LOL). Oh well. I still have always thought that was one of the neatest little cars my family ever had. My dad even taught me how to tow and maneuver a trailer in it. We had a little Coleman camper that we towed with it.