1st gen Corolla

The world’s all-time best-selling automobile, the Toyota Corolla, was introduced in Japan in 1966 and the U.S. in 1968. Forty years later, this popular economy car is still attracting a million customers a year. Cumulative U.S. sales surpassed 7 million Corollas; worldwide, the total exceeds 30 million.

 

Car Company Chart

Pumpkin Contest

There is going to be a pumpkin carving contest at work for Halloween. I carved this one, of my daughter with a wizard hat. We will see how well I do.

Update. I did not win the carving contest.
Winner was a painted like a clown, I repet PAINTED like a clown.
There where other pumkins that that could have beat me, but a painted pumkin winning a carving competition is slightly urksome.
Oh well.

Update

It has been a few days since the last blog, I have been very busy with the baby and moving in to the new house. The garage is almost ready to start some projects. I do have some new things in the works. I will be starting some interveiws with other owners and there car. If you have a Toyota and would like to share it email me.

Indian Day West Pamona,CA Oct.15 2011

Yesterday there was an Indian motorcycle show at the NHRA Museum in Pomona California. Indian motorcycle is one of the oldest motorcycle companies from the united state. Featured was the Burt Munro record breaking bike. This was the bike that was featured in the move “The world’s fastest Indian” with Anthony Hopkins. Here is a video of the bike running and it really does not do it justice to how loud it really was.

For more pictures check out my dad’s blot classicmoto-cycles.blogspot.com. We are making plans to do the Cannon Ball coast to coast run next September. This race is done on pre 1930’s motorcycles.  If  we can pull it off it will be quite the adventure.

First Gen MR-2

In 1984 Toyota introduced the MR-2 which was a designed with help from Lotus and it looks the part. This car was a light mid-engine (in the back) with the Ae-86’s well known 4Ag-e. The MR-2 also came with a more economical engine but who cares about that one.

AE86 Levin Corolla

AE-86’s Levin’s you can tell by the head light that don’t flip up. This model was not available in the states. Oh and they are right hand drive also a give away.

nice 280 z

you know the side mainly focus is on toyota I have to give credit where credit is due nice japanese car is a nice japanese car. I seen this car by my job and have it stop and take a picture of it I left a note on the guys window to call me so I can get a interview but I haven't heard from him.

The Toyota Logo

Toyota Motor Corporation’s guiding principle is to ‘create and develop advanced technologies and provide outstanding products and services that fulfill the needs of customers worldwide’. Since it was founded, the company has been aiming to enrich society through making cars. It is now, one of the world’s leading auto, truck, bus and robot manufacturer and financial services provider.

The Toyota logo, like the company, is widely recognized for its creativity and simplicity. It has become a symbol of pioneering automotive and non-automotive products and services. The Toyota logo bears a meaningful visual identity with strong visual impact. It symbolizes the energetic transition of the company from a family business to the expansion of a worldwide company.

In 1936, when Toyoda Automatic Loom Works Ltd. was launching its first passenger car, it needed a new trademark to commemorate the launch. For that purpose, a competition was held to establish a logo that would promote the company’s vehicles. The design requirement of the company was to create something that will express ‘the feeling of speed’. Thus, the winning logo resulted in the change of the name from ‘Toyoda’ to ‘Toyota’. This was as the Japanese lettering of ‘Toyota’ gave the logo a sleek look and was also chosen because the number of strokes in the Japanese word ‘Toyota’ (eight) was considered to bring luck and prosperity. Although no longer used on products, the original Toyota logo is still used as the company’s emblem and is given to the employees of the company upon joining.

The current Toyota logo consists of the name “TOYOTA” in roman type with three ovals in red and white color scheme. ‘The two perpendicular center ovals represent a relationship of mutual trust between the customer and Toyota.  These ovals combine to symbolize the letter "T" for Toyota.  The space in the background implies a global expansion of Toyota's technology and unlimited potential for the future’.

Visual identity of any brand does not only raise effective awareness of the product, but also assist in expressing the company’s mission and philosophy to the customers. As you can see the Toyota logo brilliantly and perfectly fulfills these qualities.

FT-86 set for Australian Release

The FT-86 the redesign of the classic AE-86 has been set for late 2012 or early 2013 in Australia, this date has changed a few times already due to redesign. This will be the first sportish car Toyota has released in almost 10 years, if you do not count the Scion and Lexus names.

Some have said that this Subaru Toyota collaboration will breath some new life in to the old brand I hope so. I miss all the cool Toyota sports cars. It’s been to long.

Original AE-86

2012 US Grand Prix

As you may or may not know there has not been a Formula 1 race in the states since 2007 and that was in Indianapolis. Well there is one set for November 2012 at the brand new track in Austin TX. Ill have to get my cable back so I can watch Mark Webber of team Red Bull on the speed channel. Here is the lay out of the track.

I want to see this climb to turn one it intreges me. looks like a steap hill.

Mark Webber left, Sebastian Vettel Right

Gen 2 Supra Ad

Here is an ad for the second generation Celica Supra.

1981 Celica-Supra TRD Turbo

I lifted these picture from a site I just found oldparkedcars.com. It a really cool site I recomend it, and I hope he does mind me useing them.

Toyopet Part 3

Praise and press for Toyopet
In Chicago on Thursday, January 7th, 1960, the Toyopet was driven for 12 hours straight, sustaining an average 34.59 miles per gallon. An automotive technician and a field editor by for an automotive publication performed this experiment in downtown Chicago, ultimately covering 211 miles of city driving.
Car expert James E. Potter wrote enthusiastically about the four-door Toyopet sedan upon its arrival, “Close examination of the Toyopet, furnished to the magazine for a road test by the distributor, revealed that here is a family machine that is extremely well-built, and there is a considerable emphasis on clever and handy little details.”–November 29, 1959: Denver Post.


Pierre Hardy, of San Francisco Motors, drove the Toyopet 180 times, in reverse, around the public library to promote its display at the importedcar show in Brooks Hall. That’s 15 trips per hour, six hours per day with six 10-minute coffee breaks. Friday, November 20, 1959: San Francisco Examiner.

Stephanie, Gracie and Dutch

So as I mentioned the other day we are moving in to a new house. I started thinking I told you all about my cars and not my family. This is my wife Stephanie will have been married for a year and a half now maybe a little over.

On one of our first dates I took her to JCCS as I mentioned before this is a car show. Now my wife know very little about cars and often said to me I like that one because it shiny or pretty. But she hung in there for 2 hours listing to me talk about car and to the owners; I guess I was testing her. Well as it so happens she passed the test.

Here is Dutch he is a cha-hua-hua mixed with mini pincher. We got him in the April after we got married so we are very attached to him. He is a lovable little puppa-wapa.

That brings me to out Daughter Katelyn Grace or “Gracie” she will be 3 month tomorrow. She has been a major change in our life but as you can see she is a beautiful little girl, and when she smiles its all worth if. So Ill have to teacher all about cars and grandpa will teach her about motorcycles; you know to make her well rounded.



New House

Well here is a really cool up date. We are moving!! From a small cramped 1 bed room apartment filled with baby stuff to a 3 bed 2 bath houses for only a one hundred more. I did not think it was going to happen but we will be moving in on the 20^th.

Here is the really cool thing original the land lord was very firm on no pets. Now we have a 2 year old puppa named Dutch. So we thought we would have to give him away right before we signed the lease I asked again, and to our surprise she said yes.

Now for the coolest part my garage

I’m going from this

To this!!

Also really cool my daughter Grace will have her own room. YEAH!! So I will not have to trip over her things all day and tip toe around my bed room trying to wake her up.

We are so lucky we really did not think that this was going to happen.

Toyota Cressida (RX30) - 1979

Here is a good example I found of how to do a Cressida. Super clean and extremely low, I think I may have drooled a little.

The Toyopet Part 2

Redesigned
The Toyopet was offered in:
1959: Toyopet Crown4-Door Custom Sedan$1,999
1960: Toyopet Crown4-Door Custom Sedan$1,999
4-Door Sedan $1,995
4-Door Custom Wagon$2,211
2-Door Custom Wagon$2,111
1961: Toyopet Crown4-Door Custom Sedan$1,830
4-Door Custom Wagon$2,080
1962: 1900 Series 4-Door Sedan $1,615
Toyopet Crown 4-Door Custom Sedan$1,830
4-Door Custom Wagon$2,080
Toyopet Crown Tiara4-Door Sedan $1,638
1963: Toyopet Crown4-Door Custom Wagon$2,080
4-Door Custom Sedan$1,830
1964: Toyopet Crown4-Door Custom Sedan$1,830
4-Door Custom Wagon$2,080
Toyopet Tiara4-Door Sedan $1,638
The 1960 model year Toyopet was officially renamed the Toyota Crown, but the name Toyopet was still used.
In 1965 the Toyopet Crown was completely redesigned and reintroduced, becoming Toyota’s first big hit, the Toyota Corona.


WAGON
Station wagons were offered in the fall of 1959.
Features of the wagon included a double steel reinforced chassis, washable vinyl upholstery, and a unique “one handed”rear window and tailgate operation.

CROWN CUSTOM SEDAN
The Toyopet Crown Custom vehicles were offered in a 2 or 4-door edition and a 2 or 4-door station wagon.
The 4-door Toyopet Crown Custom Sedan was slated to aim for the luxurymarket of importers. A special feature was a door safety light mounted on the dash that would flash if any doors were ajar. It fit six people.
Other features included deep pile carpets, foam rubber seats, electric outlets for trouble lights, and a speedometer which showed green until the needle topped 50 mph, after that it glowed red. The top speed was 80 mph.
It had courtesy lights in the glove compartment, under the hood,and in the trunk. The back passenger doors were suicide doors, opening to a full 90 degrees. It boasted 117 custom features. It had white wall tires, a heater, undercoating, and gas tank locks.
The Toyopet Crown Custom sold for between $2,300 and $2,900.

DEALERS
By the end of 1958, Toyota’s 45 dealers sold 287Toyopets.
By the end of 1960, when Toyota decided to stop exportingToyopetsto the US, they had sold a total of 1,913Toyopets.
By 1965, when the Corona was exported to the US to replace the Toyopet, sales of Toyota’s introductory passenger car reached a cumulative 2,314 vehicles.

The ToyoPet Part 1

Toyopet

Going on sale in July of 1958, the Toyopet was the first Toyota vehicle sold in America. Chrome-laden with a distinct American look, the modified 1959 Toyopet was praised for its ruggedness, durability, and small size. However, it was overpriced, underpowered, forthe U.S. market, and lacked the “creature comforts”of other vehicles. After stumbling in sales the first two yearsToyota halted passenger car exports to the US altogether in December 1960, until a new car, better suited to America, could be designed. In 1965 Toyota introduced the completely redesigned Toyopet Crown, renamed the Corona.

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In September 1957 the first two ToyotaToyopetswere unloaded at the port of Los Angeles, representing some of the first Japanese passenger cars ever to be exported to America.

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Confident in their product, Toyota extended the warranties against defective parts and workmanship for 1959Toyopetsto six months or 6000 miles compared to customary automotive warrantiesat the time of 4000 miles or four months.

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Testing Phase

When road testing the Toyopet engineers discovered that it did not have enough horsepower to pull the vehicle over the hills near Los Angeles. Under these mountainous conditions, the engine overheated, power plummeted and loud, threatening noises radiated from under the hood.

It was quickly realized that the Toyopet was not engineered for American roads or American drivers. Used as taxis in Tokyo, the Toyopet was ideal for duty on the rough and bumpy roads of post World War II Japan, but unsuited for high speeds and easy steering, weighing over 3,000 lbs and powered by a mere 58 horsepower engine.

As one American executive later observed, the Toyopet was "underpowered, overpriced ($700 more than the number one import Volkswagen) andbuilt like a tank." Additionally, it was plain, uncomfortable and had seriousmechanical shortcomings.

American Sales Administrator James F. McGraw, hired by Toyota for their US division, had issues with the name “Toyopet.”He claimed that the name was all wrong, stating that “Toy”sounded like a toy, and toys break, and “pet”sounded like a dog. Other American executives concurred.

Seeing the light

This year I went to JCCS (Japanese Classic Car Show) for second time. The first time I went with my now wife as a date and the fact that she went through the experience gracefully I know I found the one. But back on topic, this year I went with my father.

My dad is always asking me out of the entire car which one is “the one”. The end all be all of cool that if you could only have one car it would be this car. I could never decide there is the Celica-Supra, the Ae86 Corolla, the Gen IV Supra, and The MR-2 who can pick. So as we walked thought the show I came to a realization.

I am not sure that it gets cooler that this. The 1^st Generation Celica is an absolute classic with lines. It is an iconic sports car from the 70’s that put Toyota on the map. The only problem is it came with a 20R engine. Now they are a great engine but lack in the power that a modern car has. So if I can ever get my hand on one I think I would put in a 7mge  (that is if I would fit). I would have it  carbureted to avoid the hassle of the onboard CPU. Also I would have to change out the transmission and tweak the suspension some.

Out of all the cars in the world this is my dream car and the next one on the list, after I finish the Cressida. I think I would make it more of a track car than a show car, with flat paint and race seat a sleeper. But until then it will have to stay in my dreams.

TRD Where is the love.

The hardest thing to me about owning earlier model Toyotas is the lack of after market support, from either TRD (Toyota Racing Development) or other companies. Unless you own an Ae86 Corolla you find you self in a futile search of the internet that will most likely take you to Australia. The Aussies seem to have a large following of Toyota fans. One company to check out if you are in the hunt for parts is King Springs.com. I have found more then a few models they make lowering kits for. I have never ordered from them so I don’t know how well the international transaction would work out. But my point is if you look at Nissan any of their 80-present Sports cars have a ton of after market support. You can find page after page of any part you can imaging from suspension to engine performance.  Maybe they should make more cartoons about other Toyota platforms then they would get some help. If you don’t make it your self it probably doesn’t exist.

The Latest Project

which would be boring. So until I can put it on air bags I fitted it will s14 240sx Nissan stock springs. I did a ton of research about this project one forum said “oh yeah that will work for sure” and the next one would say “only an idiot would do that, it will never work”, as forums often do. So I looked and looked till I found some one who actually did it for them self. After that I was all in. Again to the Craig list to find spring, of which I had a set the next day for cheap and on they went. I got a 2” drop and stiffer ride and the joy of scraping my exhaust on every speed bump in Southern California.

Before


After

Still to come on this project is new wheels, a fender roll and flare,tint and a paint job. And like I said before maybe air bag suspension.

83 celica

After my supra I got a 83 Celica very under rated car, But very fun.