Tag Archives: corona
Baseball legend Shigeo Nagashima was synonymous with the X60 Toyota Mark II
On June 3 baseball star Shigeo Nagashima passed away from lung cancer in a Tokyo hospital. Voted 1958’s Rookie of the Year, he was instrumental in establishing the Yomiuri Giants as Japan’s greatest baseball dynasty. By the time Nagashima retired … Continue reading
Vintage ANA livery with matching service vehicles
Here’s a Showa Snap taken by our friend Yoshida-san at Haneda Airport near Tokyo. The Boeing B727 is still finished in the old Mohican Blue livery of All Nippon Airways. Matching service cars include what appears to be a T130 … Continue reading
Toyota Corona ads like this helped establish the brand in the US
Toyota’s entry into the US market was famously disastrous. The Toyopet Crown was built for crowded Japanese alleys, not wide American highways, and its troubled launch almost sent Toyota back to Japan entirely. What redeemed the company was the introduction … Continue reading
Mini Kenmeri Skyline, Corona lowrider, slammed Jimny: the wild Tokyo Auto Salon customs by NATS
One of the most reliably entertaining booths at the Tokyo Auto Salon is that of NATS, the Nihon Automobile Technical School. The college teaches auto repair, but each year students get to indulge several far-out projects that end up on … Continue reading
Posted in Tokyo Auto Salon
Tagged c110, corona, escudo, JA11, JA21, jimny, kenmeri, luce, mazda, mighty boy, NATS, nissan, skyline, suzuki, T20, tokyo auto salon, toyota
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Follow vintage Toyotas from factory to family in this 1973 promotional film
In 1973 Toyota released a 20-minute promotional film called “In Small Packages”. It was created to introduce the company and its various models to Americans. Not only is it filled with beautiful footage of Corollas, Celicas, Coronas, and Land Cruisers, … Continue reading
Posted in Showa Snap
Tagged a10, a20, carina, celica, corolla, corona, Corona MkII, e20, ex-III, fj40, hilux, land cruiser, te27, toyota
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Cruise through the streets of Tokyo circa 1970
Seeing old cars is one thing, but how about an entire city-full of what are today rare classics? A portable video camera would have been very expensive back in 1970, but luckily someone had the foresight to get one and … Continue reading
Nissan Skyline tops Japanese survey about dream cars
Monday, September 19, was Respect for the Aged Day in Japan. To mark the occasion Kinto, a car sharing service, held a survey to ask drivers of three generations about their motoring habits, including what their dream cars were when … Continue reading
A Toyota Corona runs from the law in Assassin
Almost exactly 40 years ago, on September 15, 1982, the movie Assassin was released in Japan. The plot was loosely based on the Setouchi Seajack Incident of 1970, one of the country’s most notorious hostage situations at the time. In … Continue reading
In its 26th year, Toyotafest is still going strong — a brief history of TORC, the Toyota Owners and Restorers Club
We’ve been attending Toyotafest every year since JNC started in 2006, and it’s consistently one of our favorite events. Last year was the 25th Toyotafest, which means the show itself is now old enough to wear historic plates, buy collector … Continue reading
Posted in News
Tagged 4runner, a20, a60, a70, A80, ae86, aw11, cabe toyota, celica, corolla, corona, e20, e70, fj40, fj60, GR86, hilux, J70, kp61, L10, land cruiser, lexus, lexus is, Lexus LS, mr2, N60, RAV4, scion, sports 800, st185, st205, starlet, stout, supra, sw20, t40, tacoma, tercel, toyota, toyotafest, W30, xb
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Toyota South Africa celebrates 60th anniversary
Toyota South Africa is celebrating its 60th anniversary today. The subsidiary was established in 1961, just four years after Toyota got a small foothold in California with the S30 Toyopet Crown. It shows just how rapidly — and perhaps optimistically … Continue reading
Japan brought out its best cars for the Tokyo Olympics in 1964
The 1964 Summer Games in Tokyo was a turning point for Japan. They were the first Olympics to be held in Asia, and Japan was ready to rejoin the world as a symbol of modernity. As a show of its … Continue reading
Posted in Nihon Life
Tagged cedric, colt, corona, crown, crown eight, debonair, dyna, fuso, gloria, mitsubishi, nissan, Olympics, prince, s30, s40, shinkansen, t40, toyota
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VIDEO: Behold, a loop of Tokyo’s Shuto Expressway in 1986
While most people are downing large quantities of Netflix right now, here’s something a bit more relevant to our interests: Home videos of driving through Tokyo in the Showa Era. It’s a clockwise loop of Tokyo’s Shuto, and speaking of … Continue reading
SHOWA SNAP: Kawaramachi-Sanjo, Kyoto, 1972
Kawaramachi-Sanjo, a shopping and nightlife district just northeast of the historic Gion section of Kyoto, was a lively spot after the sun went down. Sharp cars would cruise down Kawaramachi street, past a Fujiya Grill. On this particular 1972 evening, … Continue reading
The new Corona Pandem kit is here
The widebody masters at Rocket Bunny are preparing to launch a new kit for the T40/T50 Toyota Corona. The latest subject for their popular line of Pandem-branded kits may seem like an odd choice, but we think it’s one that … Continue reading
Toyota closes museums, Megaweb, for coronavirus
COVID-19 is no laughing matter, but sometimes the jokes write themselves. Toyota has closed several of its facilities in Japan, including the Toyota Automobile Museum and Megaweb showroom, due to the coronavirus.
Tan Toyota Corona Liftbacks are the car of choice for broke lawyers trying to do the right thing
Recently Patrick sent me a link to the trailer for Dark Waters and wrote, “The magic happens at 0:08.” That magic, it turns out, was Mark Ruffalo’s character driving a tan T130 Toyota Corona Liftback. I didn’t really think anything … Continue reading
RIP Syd Mead, 1933 — 2019
On December 30, 2019, Syd Mead passed away at the age of 86. The legendary concept artist almost single-handedly shaped our visions of tomorrow, having designed the futures seen in films such as Blade Runner, Alien, Tron, and the Star … Continue reading
Posted in Legends
Tagged Akira, ballade, camry, corona, Gundam, honda, hot wheels, motorcycles, prelude, quint, Rays Wheels, SV40, Syd Mead, t80, toyota, Vigor
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