Toyota

The Toyota Crown was Introduced in January 1955 as the Toyopet Crown. It was a conventional front-engine, rear-wheel-drive sedan, designed to meet Japan's growing demand for public transportation. In March 1959 a station wagon version was introduced, followed by the Crown diesel in October the same year, Japan's first diesel-engine passenger car. The Crown was the first Toyota being exported to the USA, as of 1958. Since the car was designed for the muddy, slow, unpaved Japanese roads, it failed in the mass urban landscape of the US because of its inability to keep up with traffic on the faster interstate highways, along with stability, noise and vibration concerns. By the end of 1960, Toyota Motor Sales USA had accumulated 1.42 million dollars in losses from lackluster sales of the Crown. To prevent any further loss, all passenger car imports were suspended until the development of a new car suitable for the US market.

The dramatically restyled and enlarged Series S40 was launched in 1962. Headlights were integrated within the boundaries of the greatly enlarged grill, providing a clean, modern appearance. A two-speed automatic transmission was introduced, with a column shift. A bigger and better car than the previous S30 series, it initially had four-cylinder engines before the addition of the six-cylinder engine in 1965. Exports to Europe began in 1964 with the first cars going to Finland. Other European countries which saw early imports of the Crown included the Netherlands and Belgium.

1964

The fifth generation Crown was launched in 1974 in Japan, exports began in 1975. It was offered as a four-door sedan, two-door hardtop coupé, four-door hardtop sedan, wagon and van. In Europe, the car was available with a four-cylinder 1,994 cc or six-cylinder 2,563 cc engine. A 2,188 cc diesel engine was introduced in October 1977. Minor change was given in 1978. This version of the Crown saw the introduction of disc brakes, speed sensitive power steering and a four-speed automatic transmission with overdrive.