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AUTO ANTON
FEBRUARY 12 - 18, 2020
5 Best Toyotas To Ever Hit The Road BY JOSEPH WOLKIN
jwolkin@antonmediagroup.com
Toyota is known across the globe for its incredible reliability, endurance and power.
The Japanese automaker took America by storm in the 1960s, forcing the competition to step up their game thanks to the creation of the Toyopet Crown. The Crown made its debut in 1958, with just 287 sold in America out of the company’s new Hollywood, CA headquarters. To make the car appealing to Americans, Toyota designed the Crown to look just like the average sedan, but a drop smaller and somehow or another, sleeker. Consumers had the option of firetruck red, sky blue, forest green, black, iron gray or pearl. Founder Kiichiro Toyoda never imagined his vision would escalate to create a powerhouse amongst car manufacturers, but that’s exactly what happened. However, his father, Sakichi Toyoda, actually started producing cars as early as 1936, coining it the Toyota AA. Though the manufacturer debuted in Japan by the Japanese, the Toyopet Crown was an American innovation, one ahead of its time. It took on many obstacles, such as developing more horsepower compared to the Japanese version, which rarely saw high speeds. Its competition was faster, sturdier and cheaper. Eventually, through trial and error, Toyota became a staple in the American market. They pulled the Crown from American roads in 1960, returning in 1965 with the Corona, a small, boxy
see 5 BEST on page 18A
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