Toyota corolla history

Toyota corolla

he Toyota Corolla is a line of subcompact/compact cars manufactured by the Japaneseautomaker Toyota, which has become very popular throughout the world since the nameplate was first introduced in 1966. In 1997, the Corolla became the best selling nameplate in the world, with over 35 million sold as of 2007. Over the past 40 years, one Corolla car has been sold on average every 40 seconds. The series has undergone several major redesigns.

The name Corolla is part of Toyota's naming tradition of using the name Crown for primary models: the Corona, for example, gets its name from the Latin for crown; Corolla is Latin for small crown; and Camry is an Anglicized pronunciation of the Japanese for crown,kanmuri.

Corollas are manufactured in Japan and in Brazil (Indaiatuba, São Paulo), Canada(Cambridge, Ontario), China (Tianjin), India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines,South Africa, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, the United Kingdom (Derbyshire) and Venezuela. Production has previously been made in Australia (Victoria). Production in the United States (Fremont, California) ended in March 2010.

The Corolla's chassis designation code is "E", as described in Toyota's chassis and engine codes.

1st Generation Corollas

KE10, KE11, KE15, KE16, KE17, KE18

Japan's growing middle class thought the Publica (Toyota's entry level car in the early 1960's) was too boring while the Crown and Corona were too expensive for them. At this time, a Toyota engineer called Tatsuo Hasegawa had noticed that the Opel Kadett was doing very well in Germany. The Kadett was a very light car that looked good, was fun to drive and was replacing the VW beetle as the car to have in Germany. Hasegawa designed the Corolla around the same ideas as the Kadett. It was sized between the Publica (700cc) and Corona (1500cc), looked classy, had modest power, yet was economical and inexpensive.

Management originally wanted to use an existing 1000cc engine but it was heavy and low powered. Management only let them design a new engine as long as they could find a use for the old engine in another product - so they put it in a truck. The Nissan Sunny (also called the Datsun 1000) was to be released a few months earlier than the Corolla with a new1000cc A10 engine, so Toyota ordered the engineers to increase the engine by 100cc. This was hard to do so late in the design scedule but it was done. It also raised the Corolla into the next tax class but this gave it more prestige with Japan's growing middle class. It was advertised as "the 100cc advantage" and "the extra 100cc gives extra comfort".

At the time, Japanese owners prefered a 3 speed column shift - more gears meant more gear changing (a sign of a weak engine) and floor shifts were for trucks. But America was going to 4 speed floor shifts, so Toyota decided to go with the new trend before other Japanese companies did.

The new factory was built with the latest automated and computerised facilities. Lower production costs reduced its selling price to Y432,000 - 5% lower than the Sunny (Datsun 1000). Combined with disc brakes, 4 speed floor shift and MacPherson suspension, it outsold the Sunny by 35%.

The Corolla was sold under 2 names - "Corolla" and "Sprinter". The Corolla was offered as a 4 door sedan, a 2 door sedan and a 2 door van but not as a fastback coupe. The Sprinter (never called a Corolla but sharing most parts) was offered only as a fastback coupe.

Corolla's first export destination was Australia in November 1966.

By March 1968 more than 3000 cars were being exported to many countries every month. In April 1968 the Corolla was introduced to America. Its selling price of US$1800 catapulted total US sales to 71,000 that year, 130,000 in 1969 and 208,000 in 1970.

10 Series 1100cc Sedan - 1966
(1966 Corolla 2DR Sedan KE10)	Name: Corolla Engine: 1K Chassis Code: KE10 Style: 2DR/4DR Sedan Production Start Date: Nov. 1966 Production End Date: Aug. 1969 Market:

11 Series 1200cc Sedan - 1969
(1969 Corolla 2DR Sedan KE11)	Name: Corolla Engine: 3K Chassis Code: KE11 Style: 2DR/4DR Sedan Production Start Date: Sep. 1969 Production End Date: Apr. 1970 Market:

15 Series 1100cc Sprinter Coupe - 1968
(1966 Sprinter Coupe KE15)	Name: Sprinter Engine: 1K Chassis Code: KE15 Style: Coupe Production Start Date: Mar. 1968 Production End Date: Aug. 1969 Market:

16 Series 1100cc Wagon, Delivery Van - 1967
(1969 Corolla Wagon KE16)	Name: Corolla Engine: 1K Chassis Code: KE16 Style: 2DR/Wagon Production Start Date: May. 1967 Production End Date: Aug. 1969 Market:

17 Series 1200cc Sprinter Coupe - 1969
(1970 Sprinter Coupe KE17)	Name: Sprinter Engine: 3K Chassis Code: KE17 Style: Coupe Production Start Date: Sep. 1969 Production End Date: Apr. 1970 Market:

18 Series 1200cc Wagon, Delivery Van - 1969
(1969 Corolla Wagon KE18)	Name: Corolla Engine: 3K Chassis Code: KE18 Style: 2DR Wagon Production Start Date: Sep. 1969 Production End Date: Apr. 1970 Market:

19

Second generation (E20)

In May 1970, the E20 was restyled with a more rounded body and the 1400 cc T and 1600 cc 2TOHV engines were added to the range. The now mutually exclusive Corolla and Sprinter names were used to differentiate between two slightly different treatments of sheet metal and trim. The Corolla Levin and Sprinter Trueno names were introduced as the twincam version of the Corolla and Sprinter respectively.

While the original Corolla was a very good, solid and reliable car, many considered it a little too small and underpowered for Australian roads.

Toyota quickly recognised the need to make the Corolla larger and endow it with more power. Thus the second generation Corolla arrived in 1970, with its wheelbase stretched to 91.9 inches and power coming from a new 1.2 litre version of the OHV four making 73 horsepower.

The strut front and leaf spring rear suspension carried forward. Slight though the nearly two-inch wheelbase stretch may seem, and with minimal styling changes, the 1970 Corolla was a significantly more comfortable and confident machine than the '69 version.

Importantly, the car was finding favour from young women, and so Toyota introduced a new 3 speed automatic transmission to help widen its appeal. While the Corolla could never expect to usurp to Kingswood and Falcon mad Australian public, in global terms the Corolla became the second best selling car!

In 1971 the engine capacity was increased to 1.6 litres and output expanded to 102 horsepower. The grille was redesigned for the 1972 model year, becoming fussier while giving little aesthetic advantage - although it was an attempt by the designers to give the car a classier more up-market look.

There were few changes for either 1973 or 1974 other than larger bumpers to accommodate US federal regulations and the introduction of sporty SR5 models with five-speed manual transmissions.

Third generation 

(E30, E40, E50, E60)

Main article: Toyota Corolla (E30)

April 1974 brought rounder, bigger and heavier Corollas and Sprinters. The range was rounded out with the addition of a 2 door liftback. The Corollas were given E30 codes while the Sprinters were given E40 codes. A facelift in March 1976 saw most Corolla E30 models replaced by equivalent E50 models and most Sprinter E40 models were replaced by equivalent E60 models.

Fourth generation (E70)

A major restyle in March 1979 brought a square edged design. The Corollas had a simpler treatment of the grill, head lights and tail lights while the Sprinter used a slightly more complex, sculptured treatment. The new A series engines were added to the range as a running change. This was the last model to use the K "hicam" and T series engines.

Fifth generation (E80)

A sloping front bonnet and a contemporary sharp-edged, no-frills style was brought in during May 1983. The new 1839 cc 1C diesel engine was added to the range with the E80 Series. From 1985, re-badged E80 Corollas were sold in the U.S. as the fifth generation Chevrolet Nova.

Most models now used the front wheel drive layout except the AE85 and AE86, which were to be the last Corollas offered in the rear wheel drive or FR layout. The AE85 and AE86 chassis codes were also used for the Sprinter (including the Sprinter Trueno). The Sprinter was nearly identical to the Corolla, differing only by minor body styling changes such as pop-up headlights.

Sixth generation (E90)

A somewhat more rounded and aerodynamic style was used for the E90 introduced in May 1987. Overall this generation has a more refined feel than older Corollas and other older subcompacts. Most models were now front wheel drive, along with a few 4WD All-Trac models. Many engines were used on a wide array of trim levels and models, ranging from the 1.3 liter 2E to the 165 horsepower (123 kW) supercharged 4A-GZE. The E90 Corolla was also rebadged and sold as the Geo Prizm (US) or Holden Nova (Australia).

Seventh generation (E100)

In June 1991 Corollas received a redesign to be larger, heavier, and have the completely rounded, aerodynamic shape of the 1990s. The Corolla was now in the compact class, rather than subcompact, and the coupe still available known as Corolla Levin AE101. Refinement reached new levels, as development chief Dr. Akihiko Saito strove to create a "mini-Lexus"[citation needed].

Eighth generation (E110)

May 1995 saw a complete redesign for the Corolla. External differences from the E100 series were obvious. Evolutionary technological improvements continued, however, and in 1998, for the first time, some non-Japanese Corollas received the new 1ZZ-FE engine. The new engine was the first in a Toyota to have an aluminum engine block and aluminum cylinder heads, which made this generation lighter than the E100 Corolla. The model range began to change as Toyota decided styling differences would improve sales in different markets. In North America, the E110 had front and rear styling unique to its home country, while Europe and Australasia received versions of their own as well.

Ninth generation (E120, E130)

In November 2000 the ninth generation Corolla was introduced in Japan, with edgier styling and more technology to bring the nameplate into the 21st century. It is also called the Corolla Altis in the ASEAN region. The station wagon model is called the (Japanese: Corolla Fielder) in Japan.

Tenth generation (E140, E150)

The tenth generation of the Corolla was introduced in October 2006. Japanese markets called it the Corolla Axio, with the ASEAN markets retaining the Altis branding. The station wagon retains the Corolla Fielder name. The Corolla Altis and Corolla Axio have a different appearance.