The Toyota Corolla is a line of subcompact/compact cars manufactured by the Japanese automaker 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) is scheduled to end in March 2010.
The Corolla's chassis designation code is "E", as described in Toyota's chassis and engine codes.
The Toyota Camry is a mid-size car, formerly a compact car, manufactured by Toyota since 1980. The name "Camry" is an Anglicized phonetic transcription of the Japanese word kanmuri (冠, かんむり), meaning "crown". This follows Toyota's naming tradition of using the crown name for primary models starting with the Toyota Crown in 1955, continuing with the Toyota Corona and Corolla; the Latin words for "crown" and "small crown", respectively. "Camry" is also an anagram for "my car".
In the United States, the Camry has been regularly the best selling car for the last decade, but has been outsold in some years. The Camry also sells very well in Australia, Canada, and a number of Asian markets—in particular Cambodia where the vast majority of cars are Camrys. Due to their comfort-tuned suspensions, most models of the Camry are regarded as less sporty than rival vehicles, with the exception of sports-oriented versions. Despite its international success, it has not sold as well in Europe, where sales ended in 2004, and the Avensis became the flagship model in 2002.
For the East and Southeast Asian markets, high specification Camry models are seen as executive cars. Since the sixth generation model, the Camrys sold in these markets have sported revised front- and rear-end treatment. For the seventh generation, the same was done, although the Australian-designed Toyota Aurion which is based on the seventh generation Camry was the donor model. The Aurion features revised front- and rear-end treatment and changes to the interior, but is fitted with the same powertrains. An up-branded luxury version of the Camry was sold in Japan as the Toyota Windom until 2006; the related Lexus ES shares major chassis and drivetrain components with the Camry.
The Toyota Celica name has been applied to a series of popular coupes made by the Japanese company Toyota. The name is ultimately derived from the Latin word coelica meaning "heavenly" or "celestial".
Throughout its life span the Celica has been powered by various four cylinder engines. The most significant change occurred in 1986, when the car's drive layout was changed from rear wheel drive to front wheel drive. During the first three generations, American market Celicas were powered by various versions of Toyota's R series engines. The four-wheel drive turbocharged model (designated All-trac in the US or GT-Four elsewhere) was produced from 1986 to 1999. Variable Valve Timing came in late 1997 Japanese models, and became standard in all models from 2000 on. Through seven generations, the model has gone through many revisions and design forks, including the Toyota Celica Supra (later known as the Toyota Supra). The Celica was available as notchback and liftback coupes, as well as a convertible.
The Toyota Prius is a full hybrid electric mid-size car developed and manufactured by the Toyota Motor Corporation. The Prius is the most fuel efficient gasoline car currently sold in the U.S. according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA and California Air Resources Board (CARB) also rate the Prius as among the cleanest vehicles sold in the United States based on smog forming and toxic emissions.
It first went on sale in Japan in 1997, making it the first mass-produced hybrid vehicle. It was subsequently introduced worldwide in 2001. The Prius is sold in more than 40 countries and regions, with its largest markets being those of Japan and North America. In May 2008, global cumulative Prius sales reached the 1 million vehicle mark, and by August 31, 2008, the Prius reached worldwide cumulative sales of 1.43 million units. As a top seller, the U.S. market made up more than half of the 1.2 million Prius sold worldwide by early 2009.
The Toyota Land Cruiser is a series of four-wheel drive vehicles produced by the Japanese car maker Toyota Motor Corporation. Design of the Land Cruiser began in 1951 as Toyota's version of a Jeep-like vehicle and production began in 1954. The Land Cruiser has been produced in convertible, hardtop, station wagon, and utility truck versions. It is currently Toyota's flagship 4WD.
The Land Cruiser's reliability and longevity has led to huge popularity especially in Australia where it is the largest-selling full-size, body-on-frame, four-wheel drive vehicle. Toyota also extensively tests the Land Cruiser in the Australian outback—considered to be one of the toughest operating environments in terms of both temperature and terrain.
