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Show 1 1 C-16 41 ZZD By MALCOLM GUNN WHEEIBASE COMMUNICATIONS Through NINE generations, the Corolla's simplicity, superb build quality and Datsun (later Nissan) and Mazda would become the standards by which all others were compared. The few Toyota dealerships in existence at tne time could Tf Toyota is the goose, then ttiA 3fi millinn fWnllac built over the last four constant improvement helped barely kecp their aUotmcnts of decades are the compa- make it the most Successful Corollas in stock, as its practical, ny's golden eggs. . , . . With the number of automo- , yawe.iyc. wu ui maiuiy tiveieplatesJmcieasing at. a its-; " v- nearly exponential rate and the battle for market share among manufacturers becoming tougher, the rock-steady Corolla (the name means 'crown of a flower') just keeps rolling along. Toyota's world-wide star per- brmer lays claim to being the most popular car ever made, easi ly trumping such milestone mar ques as the Ford Model T and the recently retired Volkswagen Beetle. In North America, the Corolla has stared down Chevrolet's Vega and Chevette, the Ford Pinto and Escort, Chrysler's ubiquitous K-car variants vari-ants and AMC's Gremlin and 'acer models, to name just a few. Those long-ago attempts, along with a string of imported hopefuls, have all melted (or rust ed) away, leaving the Corolla as the winner and undisputed champion cham-pion in the brand-loyalty department. depart-ment. And don't look for a retire ment announcement any time soon. First introduced on Japanese soil in 1966, 30 years after the aunch of the very first 'Toyoda , Corollas were shipped across the acific Ocean two years later. Unlike Toyota s larger Crown and Corona models, the sub-compact Corolla represented Toyota's irst serious attempt at capturing a significant slice of the automotive pie . on our shores. Instead of copying existing British or American shapes, the stylists styl-ists and design engineers struck out on their own. The result, although simple enough with its front-engine, front-engine, rear-wheel-drive propulsion, was a thoroughly thor-oughly contemporary automobile auto-mobile with plenty of mass appeal for young and old alike. The Corolla was also the first serious challenger to the popular, but behind- the-times, Volkswagen Beetle. The little Toyota 1 V 1 .1 was not omy sugnuy cheaper than the Bug, but included numerous fea- F I N E LINES FOUR DECADES OF TOYOTA COROLLA tures and innovations with its modest price. Although the first models arrived with a 60-horsepower 1.1-liter 1.1-liter OHV four-cylinder engine, the frisky little motor loved to be revved to the limit, which gave at least the sensation of brisk acceleration. accel-eration. The fully synchronized four-speed gearbox was far superior supe-rior to most sports cars of that era and was a big improvement over the Vee-Dub's rubbery stick. The Corolla's interior was an especially hospitable environment, environ-ment, with fully reclining vinyl-coated vinyl-coated bucket seats and heatingventilation controls that actually did what they were supposed sup-posed to do. As if that wasn't enough, Corolla buyers back in 1968 had their pick from three distinct body-styles: body-styles: base two-door sedan; sporty fastback coupe (called the Sprinter); or practical two-door wagon models. The Corolla's arrival also erased once and for all the notion that Japanese cars lacked the same level of quality offered by domestic or other import manufacturers. manu-facturers. In fact, both it and similar sim-ilar entry-level compacts from Corolla chronology A look back at nearly 40 years of the best-selling model of all time 1966: Introduced during CY 1966 in Japan. 1968: Introduced in U.S. as sub-compact replacement lor Crown. Originally equipped with 1 .Miter four-cylinder SOHC engine. 1970: Roomier second generation introduced, available 1 .2-liter engine. Dunng calendar year 1970, became second best-selling import. ' 1971: 1.6-liter engine introduced. 1974: Third-generation introduced. 1976: Five-millionth Corolla produced in June. , 1979: Fourth generation introduced 1963: Ten-millionth Corolla produced in March. 1984: Filth-generation introduced. Toyota enters joint venture with General Motors. 1988: Corolla's 20th Anniversary in United States., sixth generation. During calendar year 1968, Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada opened. 1966-1994: Included in J.O. Power Top-10 Quality Survey. 1990: Fifteen-millionth Corolla produced in June. 1993: Seventh generation introduced, moves to compact size. 1996: Minor front and rear styling update. 1997: Wagon discontinued. Production for all U.S. units moved to North America. 1S53: Eighth generation introduced 2003: Larger, more power ninth generation released. yet iun-to-dnve reputation quickly spread. With a wide array of body styles and options,: the car appealed to nearly every demographic group, including students, young marrieds, women and established households requiring more than one vehicle. By 1970, Corollas came with a stronger 73-horsepower 1.2-liter powerplant, a slightly longer wheelbase (that resulted in more rear-seat leg room) and an automatic auto-matic transmission option. The Toyota was by then solidly entrenched in second place among imports and rapidly gaining gain-ing ground on the Beetle. The following fol-lowing year, an optional 1.6 liter engine, rated at 102 horses, was made available. The pattern established in those early years of regularly updating the Corolla became one of the major reasons for its continuing con-tinuing success. Rather than standing still for extended periods as other manufacturers had done, the company introduced regular updates every four or five years. Whether it was the addition of a hatchback model in 1976, the conversion to front-wheel drive in 1984, the availability of a powerful power-ful 16-valve DOHC motor that same year or the optional four-wheel-drive wagon in 1989, Corollas have never lacked for almost constant change and improvement. Currentlythe ninth-generation ninth-generation Corolla, now approaching mid-size cars in Doth room and power, remains as popular popu-lar as ever, with several Toyota plants around the world churning out models mod-els as fast as possible. At this rate, Toyota, as well as the world's most successful model, will remain a hard act for any manufacturer to follow. D Malcolm Gunn is Wheelbase Communications' historic his-toric writer. Wheelbase is a world-wide supplier of automobile news, reviews and features. The Park Record SatSunMonTues. December 20-23, 2003 f t Per Month' i a Pickup 2004 Toyota Corolla rC (- !T - -. , 1 i . iW $'r& $ " ',ttS vrme&Hf&t&t U csA y;'J s ( T "'" mtMmmM-lw"wt imtmumm. mmmmm " - I Per Month v mz3 2004 Toyota Camry Per Month' 2004 Toyota Highlander Per Month tz m mis 2004 Toyota Tundra r if J V V s) Per Month ITT j i,- 5300 S. iOO Sautf, 8 S'XSBS k A I APPV U Mil I PB WW . rv-ovv wi c i. a OAC, Payments baud on 60 month Uait, plut tax, title, lictnie and fwi, OAC. Ptiotoi For illuitrotion only, actvd modtii may vary. U on nitd moatlt only. a f |