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Toyota Corolla
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1968 - 1969 |
Country: |
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Engine: |
4 cyl. |
Capacity: |
1100cc |
Power: |
60 bhp |
Transmission: |
4 spd. man |
Top Speed: |
n/a |
Number Built: |
n/a |
Collectability: |
|
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When Nick S wrote to us about our
mentioning the Corolla in our "Lemon List", he was quite justified
in levelling his criticism - as many Australians have
owned one at some stage in their lives. And although they
now have a reputation as being the "Nana-mobile",
they remain as popular as ever.
Indeed Toyota's reputation for building reliability and
quality into an affordable car today goes without saying.
But that reputation took a lot of hard work to achieve
- and maintain - and if there is one model in its line
up that's responsible it is the humble Corolla.
The Corolla name is the second oldest in their stable,
following the "Land Cruiser", and while never
an "exciting" drive, with over 30 million Corollas
sold worldwide, it has become the most popular car line
in history. Since 1968 there have been some 9 "Generations"
of Corolla.
Simplicity was at the core of the first Corolla's engineering.
Introduced during 1966 in Japan, the first Corolla debuted
in the US and Australia in 1968. The original car had
a 90-inch wheelbase and was available as a two door coupe,
four door sedan and two door wagon.
The Corolla was powered by a 60bhp 1.1liter OHV 4 cylinder
motor, mated to a 4 speed floor mounted manual transmission.
The unibody structure had a strut front suspension and
mounted the rear axle on a pair of leaf springs.
The car was a lesson in engineering simplicity - and by
using as few parts as possible the chances of breakdown
were reduced, thus ensuring a level of quality at a price
point few believed possible.
Toyota worked hard through the '60s to overcome the then
common perception that Japanese products were second rate.
Today it is extremely rare to see Corolla's from the first
and second generations, and they are not particularly
collectable. However, these early models were an important
part in creating the huge success that Toyota is today. |