The big news of the day yesterday was a report on Toyota bringing an SUV-ified version of the Crown to the US market. It sounds like an abomination. However, buried deep in the report was a separate item, one that was largely glossed over by the mainstream automotive press, and it shines a ray of hope into our crossover-filled world. Reportedly, the Crown sedan will live on as its own model, alongside the Crown SUV.
The report comes from Reuters in Tokyo, who spoke with three unnamed sources about the matter. Most of the article is dedicated to the Crown SUV, but among the discussion of its various drivetrains was this little nugget:
As part of the overhaul, Toyota will also roll out a fully remodelled sedan version of the Crown from this summer, the people said.
Both the SUV and the sedan will be manufactured at factories in Toyota City, Japan.
If true, that is some great news. The Crown is not just Toyota’s longest-running nameplate, but it’s one of the oldest continuously sold models in the automotive world. The original Crown debuted in 1955 and has spanned 67 years and 15 generations. It’s a mainstay of Japanese automotive culture, having served as everything from government vehicles to taxis to shakotan sleds. It was present at the dawn of Japan’s era of motorization and has seen the highs of the Bubble Era as well as the lows of the Lost Decade. It’s really the car that’s done it all.
As for the Crown SUV, some possible images have already leaked from the Chinese market, where it appears that it will be a lightly restyled Highlander. Reuters says the Crown SUV will come in hybrid and fully electric variants, with the latter debuting in early 2024, a year after the former. The report also says the Crown SUV will be coming to the US, which seems to corroborate an earlier dealer calendar leak. If this comes to fruition, it would mark the first time the Crown was sold in stateside in over 50 years. The last Crown to be sold here was the 1972 Kujira.
The expansion of the Crown name to an SUV (and possibly a minivan) is a bit easier to swallow than a wholesale replacement of the Crown sedan. However, none of this was confirmed by Toyota so disappointment may still loom. Nevertheless, the report offers a glimmer of hope that Toyota won’t completely abandon nearly 70 decades of tradition.
I don’t think anyone is surprised they won’t be bringing the sedan to the US. Or that they’d be bringing another soft road capable crossover instead.
I would love to see a near luxury RWD full sized sedan as much as the next JNC fan. But none of us can admit it would be a smart move to bring it here while everyone is buying crossovers. If people refused to buy the Chevy SS when it was new (and cheaper than used ones sell for today) why would Toyota think they could make it work?
Either way, I’m glad I’ll still be able to see new ones when I visit Japan – whenever they open their freakin’ doors to tourists again!
There’s been a push by manufacturers lately to offer luxury vehicles in the States. The Jeep Wagoneer has gotten a lot of press lately, and Kia & Hyundai’s offerings look pretty “upscale” regardless of price. A really nice Highlander-ish vehicle called the Crown could be a hit. Then again, why wouldn’t they just buy a Lexus?
To be honest, they marketed the Wagoneer all wrong. They should have released it as a Chrysler, since luxury vehicles are right up Chrysler’s alley. Whereas Jeep is known for being an off-roader nameplate. Not a lot of people are going to go off-roading in a 70,000-116,00 dollar luxury vehicle. What I think they should’ve done is made the Pacifica minivan the Town & Country’s new body style, then maybe released the Wagoneer as the new Pacifica or something, but NOT as a Jeep.
We need $8 per gallon gas to get people out of their huge vehicles here in the States. There is so much money still that people can afford $8 though, that it may not even get people to downsize.