Moving on we come to a company we are all probably familiar with, Toyota. But we aren't familiar with all their cars, oh no. Toyota has absolute hordes of JDM variations on world cars, and vehicles which I believe are Japan-only.

One thing you'll notice about Japanese Toyotas as opposed to US models is that they come out with new ones and drop old ones very frequently, compared to how they do in the US. The Corolla has been sold since the 60s. The Camry for about 20 years, at least. They have these models in Japan. But they have a lot more that only sold for 2 or 3 years then were dropped. The platform may live on, and the engines are shared across many models, but the sheetmetal is never seen again.

This hasn't worked so well for GM over the last 30 years. But Toyota are getting away with it. I suppose that's a matter of reputation. People think "Toyota, it won't die." People see a GM brand, and they think "Well, some GMs are okay, but I'll wait till I know more about this model." Killing models every 5 years or whatever is a bad idea in that case.

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Just as Americans are into tall station wagons (AKA SUVs), Japanese people are into tall hatchbacks. Well, maybe not to the same extent. 1.5 and 1.8 liter engines were available.

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Just a big truck I don't think Toyota has ever released in the states (it's a crowded market over here.)

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Hino Dutro

Based on the same platform as the Toyoace, the Dutro is made by Hino, a subsidiary of Toyota. I think this was the only Hino truck pic I took, so I stuck it in with Toyota.

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This is the Japanese equivalent of the Scion xB. I only just now noticed the dent in this picture. The Japanese version is available with AWD, like just about every car in Japan. This picture was taken in Hokkaido, so it probably has it. Fuck you, Toyota. Fuck you.

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This is a ...err....pickup version of the bB. Same general idea as the Subaru Baja, except with less useable space in back.

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The Caldina is a station wagon (I do not believe a sedan version exists) which falls between the Corolla and Camry in their product lineup.

I've taken a bunch of pictures of this car inside and out, because I typically didn't get that opportunity. Also, they came standard with automatic, and this was a special-ordered manual. It belongs to my host family. The patriarch of the house uses it as a company car, thus the writing on the back.

He special-ordered the stick but I swear to any god you believe in that he should be driving automatic. He always has the RPMs like 500-1000 too low, causing the whole car to shudder most of the time he's driving it.


A couple other Caldinas at the Royce factory. (Unfortunately, Royce only ships to Japan)


That's the performance Caldina

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I think it's positioned above the Camry. Looks like it's usually a 2 liter. You can buy one in Japan with 50k miles on it for like 800 bucks. That's what the Japanese car market is like. A wagon is also available.

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Umm....what the fuck. I guess as part of their relationship with GM, GM got to rebadge Corollas, and Toyota got to sell Cavaliers in Japan. I think we know who got the short end of the stick there.

'Course, say what you will about the Cavalier...at no point in it's history has it NOT been a VERY nice looking car. But do you care how it looks when it's having it's 5th or 6th major repair of the same item?


Non believers, take a look. What...the...hell.

See also: this (Japanese owners review their Cavaliers...a summary: "Price/Performance = good, but everything breaks"), and this (TRD Cavalier...Yes, there was a TRD Cavalier.)

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Maybe I should thank them for that. Actually, I'm not sure if these particular Corollas are 4WD, but a lot of them are.

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From the looks of others I see online, I'm guessing this is about a 1967 or 68.

Pretty nice, if you ask me.

This is a new Crown. I think it's mechanically identical to a few of the larger Lexuses. My friend's dad owns one. It's nice. Too big for me, though.

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It's in the shop. I hate to think what this thing costs to run, even just the fuel.

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Mid 90s. It's attractive, but pretty visually unremarkable. Some might say "well, that's Toyota for you," but I'm more inclined to say "reminds me of a T-bird" and "design philosophy-wise, reminds me of GM."

But when was the last time GM offered an AWD coupe with 4 wheel steering? Yes, that's right. This car was available with those options.

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What?

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I think this was intended to compete with the likes of the Nissan March. And the car next to it, the Honda Fit/Jazz. It had a 1 liter engine, but I think the body might qualify for Kei-status if if had a smaller engine. I'm not sure about that, but it's close. Ran till 2001.


Well, the Jazz came later. But you know what I mean. It was meant to compete with cars LIKE it.

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Being used in a political campaign. "There are more important matters" "Pensions, raising children, health care" and I can't make out that last character. I believe this was following one of those trucks with the speakers and the candidate or some of his staffers bellowing out his message to everyone in the neighborhood.

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IMO, this car has the best looking front fascia and hood of any car, ever. Too bad they're usually FWD (and pretty big, that's the problem). Nothing spectacular mechanically.


Also called the Toyota Corona Exiv. It was made from 1989 to 1996. This body style was from 1992 to 96. Engines include the 1.8 liter 4S-FE and 2 liter 3S-GE

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This is a type of people-mover we don't really see in the US. It's like the JDM Honda Oddysey (a different vehicle entirely from the US version.) Space-wise, it ought to be comparable to most wagons.

This just in, it's a variant of the Toyota Corolla. Hmm...I don't think this is the same, but I'm betting it shares a lot with the Toyota Matrix/Pontiac Vibe.

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I loved the commercials for this car. "FUN! CAR! GO! Funcargo!" It comes in AWD. It also holds it's value better than any other car I've seen in Japan.

This model and I have some history. Lets just say it has a spacious back seat.

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This is THE workhorse in Japan. It's a work vehicle...

This is someone's family-hauler.

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I don't know if this still has any relation to the Corolla.

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This is based on the Toyota Crown, but is much more...sporty looking. I think they're aiming at BMW with this one.

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This is one of the most ridiculous looking vehicles I have ever seen. It's like a giant version of the Mitsubishi Toppo.

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98-2000, seems to be replaced by the Toyota Wish and/or Fielder.

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Look familiar? Toyota Echo.

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Nissan Cube competitor? Regardless, Toyota has a lot of these things...boxy cars with weak engines and gobs of space. Same engine as the bB/Scion xB, I think.

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Looks to be late 80s. God it's sexy.

And another....what the hell have they done to it.

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Toyota makes up 45 percent of the Japanese car market. They don't hold any one niche, they have something for every niche, and every sub-niche. This is what you'd buy if a Camry wasn't big enough I guess. Maybe a successor to the Corona. This is also known to us as the Lexus ES300.

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This is the replacement for the Fielder. It was introduced in 2003. Not terribly remarkable I guess. It looks nice in gray.

Well, those are all the Toyotas I took. Lets move on to the Hondas.