Toyota

The Corolla was launched in Japan as a two-door sedan in November 1966. Its development was largely influenced by the success and lessons learned from an earlier, smaller vehicle called the Toyota Publica, which used an air-cooled two-cylinder, boxer engine, inspired by the Citroën 2CV. The engine was originally meant to be for the under 1,000 cc tax class but was changed late in the design process to be 1,077 cc in order to beat the Datsun 1000, released a few months earlier. In May 1967, a three-door station wagon joined the lineup, as did the "Toyoglide" two-speed automatic. In March 1968, the range got a facelift, mostly safety upgrades to reflect new American legislation. In August 1969 the engine was upgraded to 1,166 cc.

In augustus 1974 kwam de derde generatie Corolla op de markt. De Corolla 30 was leverbaar als sedan, wagon, coupé en liftback. Van het voorgaande model bleef de tweedeurs sedan nog een tijdje leverbaar als goedkoop instapmodel. In het voorjaar van 1979 werd dit model in Europa opgevolgd door de vierde generatie Corolla.