If you are looking for the epicentre of the Japanese invasion of the global car industry, this is it. The Toyota Corona was the first truly original design not drawing on any overseas model nor was it tweaked by a foreign studio yet it didn’t look oddball Japanese. It also delivered class-leading packaging, refinement and reliability, wherever it was sold across the world. The Isuzu Bellett came close but the Corona’s incremental gains in all areas nailed it for Toyota. (Photo from favcars.com)
1964-70 Toyota RT40 Corona: A Nose for Shovelling Up Old World Rivals
Australian Motor Industries (AMI) was the first national distribution network outside Japan to stock the new Corona in October 1964 before local production started in January 1965. This was after the AMI-built Toyota Tiara, the first Toyota ever built outside Japan, had sold out prematurely and overwhelming Japanese demand for the new Corona created a gap in supplies. The Australian market was so important to Toyota that the initial shipment of 900 Japanese-built Coronas headed for the US was quickly diverted to Australia.
According to April 1965 reports at the time: “The Corona was not shipped out to Toyota’s growing markets in the US and Western Europe until March (1965) because the domestic backlog of orders is so tremendous – six to seven months”.
Even though the new Corona was in local production by then, Toyota Sales Chief, Shotaro Kamiya summed up the scale of the problem: “Australian dealers tell us that Corona sales can go to at least the 350 per month level, perhaps higher. It is therefore up to us to produce more, export more. The backlog of 50,000 cars on domestic order, six months times our current production of 8,500, presents a real problem of priorities to us.”
The Corona’s modern styling which placed four headlights in the grille was a major advance over its Australian rivals in 1964 which all featured old school headlights above the grille styling. Because Australia was offered the latest US designs from 1960 with the latest look, the Corona’s styling had an immediate impact as a major advance.
Why did Australia get such preferential treatment?
“Australia is not only Toyota’s biggest customer. It is also our Japanese automobile industry’s biggest customer.”
As the Crown joined the Corona on local assembly lines, it was noted in an August 1966 report: “In a country-by-country breakdown, Australia continues as Toyota’s biggest customer, taking 17,300 vehicles in 1965, an increase from 11,372 in 1964. The US took over second spot, importing 8900 units versus 3694 in 1964. The Republic of South Africa held down third with 6600 units compared with 5670 in 1964.”
Not long after the Corolla joined the local fold, Toyota had taken a controlling interest in AMI by 1968 and a 40 per cent share in Thiess Holdings, the importer of Toyota light commercials, which was renamed Thiess Toyota.
The Corona’s horizontal instrument panel might look dated in hindsight but at a time when round dials were seen as old-fashioned, the Corona’s new dash with its temperature gauge was better laid out than most. Note modern heating controls, intregrated radio aperture and face level vents missing on far more expensive cars at the time.
The 1965 local assembly of the first Toyota Corona was clearly the circuit breaker for Toyota and the Australian market’s acceptance of Japanese cars. Its success provides an insight into why Australia has played host to local Toyota manufacturing operations longer than any nation outside Japan.
As the local manufacture of the Camry draws to an end, so does a relationship of historical significance that delivered an unbroken local line of Coronas and its Camry replacement.
Why was the first Corona such a circuit-breaker?
This is the second generation Corona rebadged as the Tiara for export and was the corner stone for AMI switching from assembling small Triumphs to Toyotas in 1963. Despite its throwback mid-1950s styling, it didn’t look much older than the outgoing Holden EK and looked a contemporary of its Hillman Minx, Simca Aronde and Ford Cortina rivals. Not surprisingly, strong Tiara sales caught AMI without stock before the Corona release.(Photo from Toyota-auto.net)
A Toyopet No More
Toyota’s early history explains why the new Corona arrived in 1964 owing nothing to existing models from other manufacturers. For historical reasons, Toyota made running chassis in the late 1940s-early 1950s that were sent to the Toyopet body builders to complete, at which point Japanese dealers then set the price.
It is beyond the scope of this discussion to explain why and how this came about but suffice to say this arrangement made it impossible to manufacture a cohesive car at the right price for all concerned.
By 1952, the Toyota Motor Corporation was fighting to bring the entire process in-house, a fundamental change hastened by the woeful reviews that early Toyopets were generating in export markets. The compromise outcome was for the Toyopet brand to continue as the marketing arm for certain Toyota products. Even that arrangement was doomed outside Japan after Western markets responded to the Toyopet brand as a combination of Toy and Pet, a 1950s version of a Toys’n’Pets R Us.
It had become a past time for the West to ridicule anything that came out of Japan, a process probably necessary for World War II memories to dissipate. Toyopet was not a good brand name for exports from Japan’s leading car company in this context. Nor was the Tiara badge applied to export versions of earlier Coronas helpful.
Unlike the Americans who were exposed to the amateurish early Toyopet Crowns that reached US showrooms in the 1950s, Australians only saw the Toyopet Crown in the distance as it was brought here to rally long before it was sold here.
This January 1965 event, the first Corona off the AMI assembly lines, should have been on the radar of every Western car manufacturer, which of course it wasn’t. After sending 900 imported Coronas to Australia at the end of 1964 to maintain sales, Toyota and AMI worked around the clock to get the new car into local production and the smiles reflected the full coffers on offer. Australia was the front line for a new Japanese invasion that either brought most Western car companies to their knees within a decade or wiped them out. If there was an upside to VW Australia’s early fatal reliance on the Beetle against such opposition, it forced the German parent company to re-invent itself ahead of Western rivals delivering the advantage that the company still enjoys today.
By the time AMI took over local assembly in 1963, Toyota was the only brand name Australians had been exposed to even if the first local model retained the Tiara badge. This was not a bad thing in the long term as the new 1964 Corona could be presented as an entirely new model without the baggage from flawed earlier efforts.
What was right about the new Corona?
Wheels in February 1965 lined the Corona at 979 Aussie pounds up against an equally new Isuzu Bellett for 950 pounds, a slightly revised Ford Cortina Mk I 1500 4-door at 942 pounds and the Morris 1100 fresh from its 1964 Car of the Year Award, priced the same as the Corona at 979 pounds.
Although the first Cortina was cutting edge as a cheap and roomy 1200 runabout in 1962, its cut price detailing and dated styling did not translate as readily to the four door 1500 family car market in 1965 despite the imminent 240/440 facelift. It left a gap through which the Japanese would drive a fleet of new models after the vital Mark II replacement took until late 1967 to arrive. (Photo from commons.wikimedia.org)
The Australian basic wage at this point was around 16 pounds ($32) per week so what you brought home for each pound really mattered. The difference between the Cortina and Corona prices was equivalent to at least $2000 today so the Corona had to be better than good if it was going to succeed. It also how highlights how committed a Morris 1100 buyer needed to be to disregard its smaller engine in return for the extra engineering. In 1964-65, these were real choices driven by very different ways of spending your purchase price.
After AMI was the first to position this new Japanese model above the price of the class benchmark and no longer relied on a cut price and extra equipment to entice buyers, Australia was the location of a major tuning point in the global automotive industry. The importance of this validation for the entire Japanese industry, a national distributor and assembler of Mercedes-Benz, Standard, Vanguard, Triumph and Rambler adding a Japanese model to its stable then pricing it at a premium, cannot be overstated.
Before you sat behind the wheel, both the Corona and Bellett were already a generation ahead of the Cortina and Morris 1100 in styling. Four headlights and deep dished steering wheels even in 1965 were still the preserve of upper level US models and an early Valiant still high in the desirability stakes in 1965.
At exactly the same 979 pounds sticker price as the new Corona, the benchmark Morris 1100 was a sentimental local favourite based on strong loyalty to BMC Australia and its brave engineering approach. However, more pragmatic buyers could not overlook the complexity and undersized 1.1-litre engine outside city limits so the fresh new Corona was soon seen as the true replacement for the unique but since dropped Australian Morris Major Elite which was remarkably similar in concept. (Photo from autotrader.com.au)
All had 1500 pushrod engines except for the Morris 1100. The Corona at 74bhp/55kW (similar to a Holden EJ just two years earlier) had the most horsepower while its 85lbs.ft/115Nm torque figure was almost equal best with the Cortina (85.5lbs.ft).
Corona brake size was up there with the best against the Corona’s drum-braked rivals but behind the Morris 1100’s front discs. Steering was light and easy with 4.25 turns lock to lock and a tight 32ft/9.7m turning circle was just bettered by the Bellett but significantly ahead of the Cortina and Morris 1100.
It had the widest interior by an inch/25.4 mm over the next widest, the Cortina. It was longer than the Bellett (which was generally half a size smaller) and the short two-box Morris 1100 but shorter than the Cortina. Its wheelbase (95.25 inch/2419mm) was usefully longer than the Bellett and Morris 1100 but again shorter than the Cortina’s.
Yet it offered the most rear legroom and one of the deepest and longest boots. It also offered the longest front seat travel, a big factor in this class where rear seat room could evaporate the moment a full-sized Aussie slipped behind the wheel. It placed more distance between the driver’s chest and steering wheel by a big margin. Although the Morris 1100 came close to matching the distance between driver and the centre of the steering wheel, this was a product of its oddball steering column angle, not actual space.
The hidden weapon behind the new Corona was the extensive frame reinforcing the new unitary body which suggested that Toyota was now amongst the global leaders in this approach. It appeared the year before Ford, both in Australia and the US, was marketing this feature as its new “Torque-Box” construction except the new Corona already had it for the same refinement and toughness advantages at an unprecedented price. Australia thankfully passed on the Toyopet branding.(Photo from pakwheels.com)
Corona fuel tank capacity was bigger than a Holden and only beaten by the Bellett’s unusually generous tank. Several tests at the time suggested that the Corona should not only be considered as a four cylinder buy but was good enough to be shopped as an alternative to a local six.
Standard equipment was the Corona’s knockout blow for a design already a match or better than its rivals in packaging. Heater-demister, reversing lights, boot light, high-pressure electric windscreen washers, handbrake warning light, power outlet, full tool kit, button front door locking system, four armrests, full width dash padding, trip meter, bonnet lock, alternator, two speed wipers were just some of the items that would appear in isolation in rivals but never in a package as complete as this!
Its big drawback at launch on paper was its three-speed column manual gearbox which in practice was not the huge disadvantage it seemed. At the time, the majority of Australians were driving Holdens with the same layout. The Corona at least offered synchromesh on first gear as standard, two model generations ahead of Holden.
In top speed, it was equal fastest with the Bellett, posting a genuine 90mph/144km/h. This translated into a more relaxed cruising gait than Australians had known in an entry 1500 sedan. The three speed column manual meant it was a second or so slower over the standing quarter mile and other acceleration increments than it should have been, even if the front bench seat space was a real plus.
However, within a month of going into local assembly, the Corona gained a 4-speed column manual in February 1965 making the Wheels comparison redundant, just as it hit the streets.
The only model during the early 1960s with a hint of the Corona’s reverse-sloping nose was this 1961 Rambler Ambassador which lost it only a year later. Toyota’s decision to go it alone and develop this theme was high risk but timely as all smaller cars were starting to look the same. It was an especially good move in Australia as AMI was also assembling and selling the Rambler range in Australia, even if this top shelf Ambassador was a rare sight indeed. (Photo from cubsideclassic.com)
Despite the resistance to Japanese cars, which was rapidly dissipating with each new release, the Australian market was receptive to a new four cylinder family car model as the traditional British manufacturers (Hillman, Vauxhall and Ford) and Volkswagen were still selling old rope in 1965.
Nor was everyone convinced that the small wheels, small engine, front drive complexity and short boot of the ground-breaking but unproven Morris 1100 defined a replacement for the dependable Morris Minor and market-leading Major Elite that had just been retired from old age. The Hillman Minx was still a tweaked 1950s model and Holden’s Vauxhall Viva and Victor entries were not credible rivals on several scores.
As a small family sedan, the Corona placed the more basic and cramped VW Beetle 1200 at 919 pounds on notice. As VW would find out by 1966, an extra 100cc would make no difference in this life and death battle. Toyota has since been quoted as aiming the Corona at VW values in quality, toughness and assembly quality while providing a more practical package, especially in the US market where the VW had a foothold.
Although Ford’s Cortina had set benchmarks in 1962, it was also showing its age in 1964. After arriving as a 1200 two-door, the Cortina 1500 four door was perceived as a version of an older, smaller and cheaper car, which it was. The Corona arrived as a fresh and new standalone 1500 four-door family sedan with no history, good or bad, ready to be judged on its merits.
The integrity of the Corona’s styling was proven by the very few sheet metal changes required over its local 1964-70 model life, an era with unprecedented new competition in this segment. The more slender lights on the final 1969-70 series was a relatively minor but highly effective change over the original in the battle against bold new models like the Datsun 1600 and Mazda 1500.
If the February 1965 Wheels comparison had been conducted with the current Australian-assembled Corona that had been coming down AMI assembly lines since January, the testers would have noted the following as listed in the Wheels October 1965 re-test:
“The trim materials have been improved and are now a thick, spongy vinyl fabric that really resists grime and which stays cool in summer. The brake liner materials have been changed (we complained that the earlier car’s liners were too soft) and a number of local components – including battery, tyres, trim and so on – fed into the basic car.”
The four speed gearbox that arrived in February 1965 as a running change boosted performance figures, previously slower than both the Bellett and Cortina, to the top of the class, by a significant margin. The standing quarter was cut from 21.2 seconds to 19.5, compared to the Cortina’s 20.7 and Bellett’s 20.1. Fuel economy, already exceptional, was improved.
The AMI approach to assembly and local specifications combined with the integrity of the Corona’s engineering delivered a standout new vehicle for Australian conditions to a market receptive to something different.
After Ford gained enormous mileage for the XP Falcon by linking its record-breaking durability with its torque-box construction, Toyota quickly re-configured local Corona advertising to do the same even referring to a “big-car” feel in the context of local Bathurst success.
The Corona’s Depth of Engineering
The assessment in Wheels October 1965 was unprecedented for a Japanese car (or for any other cheap 1.5-1.6-litre family car) and provides some insight into why the Corona and Toyota became such a force so quickly on the Australian market. Quite simply, the Corona excelled in qualities that mattered most to Australians:
“One of the most astonishing things about the Corona is the quietness in the passenger compartment. No tyre or road noise comes through, proof of attention to sub-body sound proofing and careful location of the structure on its frame. Wind roar is also low and the engine only gets obtrusive very high in the rpm range. Over all sorts of road surfaces the Corona ranks as one of the quietest small-medium cars around.
“Its quietness is matched by its ride. For a conventionally-suspended car it rides unbelievably well, with little pitch, slight roll movement and well-damped vertical movements. The seat springing also phases in well with the suspension rates – unusual. But try it on dirt roads, for this is where the car shines. It tracks as straight as an arrow, with only minimal wheel hop, no kickback in the steering and all the directional control in the world.
Late 1966 facelift was surprisingly successful in making the Corona look like a 1967 model with little more than a grille change.
“The steering is one of the car’s greatest attributes. It is light, smooth, pin-sharp and very well-tailored to the handling characteristics. The Corona itself is a well-balanced car, very much like the Cortina in “feel”, and almost neutral in characteristic. It understeers slightly all through the range, but the tail can be broken loose whenever you want to, on dry or wet bitumen, loose gravel or clay. You can hang the Corona out completely sideways and flick it back into line with one dab of opposite lock. The safety margin is so big that this must be classed as one of the most naturally safe smaller cars available anywhere in the world.”
If this level of engineering wasn’t enough, Wheels went on to say: “And it is quite fast…. An 0-50mph time of 10.1 is excellent (Although the benchmark Cortina 1500 took 13.0 seconds, the Corona didn’t have it all its own way as the Bellett’s 9.2 wasn’t too shabby either. JK). The Corona’s 1490cc engine would spin easily to 7000rpm on our Smiths master tachometer, and while it did have one vibration period it revved very freely and smartly right through.” Toyota had yet to upgrade the engine to a five bearing crankshaft.
How most Coronas looked in Aussie driveways. Thick AMI paint with a satin sheen and no frills body detailing, bullet-proof local vinyl trim, bench front seat with column change so it could be used as a family car and a style that never really dated. This one is a 1967 series and appears to have escaped the rust that killed many of these early cars. (Photo from toymods.org.au)
Wheels also mentioned that the quad headlights gave “a dramatic swathe of light”, addressing an all too common failing on too many imports, especially the VW Beetle.
Although the Corona went on to become a car that you might expect your granny to drive, it wasn’t perceived that way on release. The above report could just as easily have been describing something like a Datsun 1600 or Peugeot 504, not the first Toyota Corona. It explains why the Corona became an instant sales success: it was a good car and there was nothing that showed-up after release to undermine that assessment.
The first major appearance changes arrived in late 1967 making the reverse-sloping front a stronger feature by recessing the grille yet the overall presentation changed little.
From Tiara to Corona
Although the previous Tiara found reasonable sales success in the hands of AMI, the Corona appeared to be a giant leap forward. In fact, the two cars were remarkably close but the gap was a testimony to the detailed and incremental improvements that added up to deliver more than the sum of what was done.
The price jumped from 930 to 979 pounds but with that increase came a heater-demister, electric screen washers, two-speed electric wipers, four headlights and a much more modern look inside and out.
Another view of the 1968 Corona facelift with no discernible change after the boot lid badge was added as a much earlier running change. AMI’s rich colour palette for its more prestigious Rambler and Triumph ranges helped keep the Corona fresh while numerous cabin and dash upgrades made it far less austere than the first. (Photo from boostcruising.com.au)
The styling was compared to early 1960s Ramblers, the Toyota Crown and the rear was said to have a hint of Triumph 2000, all of which was good news for AMI as they all had to share the same AMI showrooms in Australia. The resemblance of the Corona’s controversial front to the latest Studebaker Lark Cruiser update was also noted even if the Corona’s reverse-sloping nose was not shared with any 1964 release.
Significantly, the Corona’s oddball front became the norm for almost every new car release after Volvo revived its reverse-sloping front (it quickly became known as the “shovel nose” even if Toyota tried to call it the “arrow line”) for its new 244 in 1975. There is no doubt that the Corona and its more prestigious Mark II derivatives broke the ground for the acceptance of this very different front treatment.
The only visual link with the Tiara was around the centre-pillar area, otherwise the bold front and huge tail lights of the Corona could not have been more different in a single model change.
Like Australian manufacturers, the Japanese had to get as many derivatives out of each body as possible. The Corona must have set some sort of record as this five door fastback and hardtop showed. Both were officially sold here as imports. There was also a ute, van and a semi-commercial two-door wagon plus a separate Mark II range. (Photo from boostcruising.com.au)
The Corona dash was also impressive at a time when both the Holden and Falcon had horizontal speedos flanked by minor instruments, which in the Corona’s case were fuel and temperature. The face level vents were new to buyers at this level and the three levels of slide controls for the heater demister system pointed to an integration that was a long time coming in local cars as standard equipment. Although having to swivel the horn ring to activate the indicators was annoying to testers, it was one of the Corona’s many novel and standalone features.
The performance boost came courtesy of losing 1 ½ cwt/80kg of the Tiara’s flab with a power boost from 65bhp to 74bhp after the Tiara’s 1453cc four was bored out to 1490cc with a host of other tweaks to valves and breathing, but nothing radically new.
This Corona ute survivor was a direct replacement for the Tiara ute seen in Australia but Toyota’s Australian range was now reflecting a shift to the Crown ute and Toyota’s increasingly popular light commercials. Yet this Corona ute was very popular in the developing world where its ruggedness and low running costs were a high priority. (Photo from worldheritage.org)
The steering had a faster ratio and the steering wheel was dropped in diameter by half an inch/13mm contributing to the sharper feel. The Tiara’s front torsion bars were swapped for coil springs but the live rear axle with leaf springs was refined not changed. The main downside was a reduction in swept area for the four wheel drum brakes for reasons not readily apparent after the diameter of the drums was cut by a tenth of an inch or 2.5mm back to an even 9 inches/229mm.
The big advance was the uni-frame body (Toyota’s description) that looked like a far more comprehensive version of the torque-box frame that Ford was soon spruiking for the XP Falcon. For a car in this price range, it was reassuring that the Corona could take a belting over Australia’s worst roads. At around 925kg, it was slightly heavier than the average 1.5-litre but that didn’t matter as soon as it became apparent that the extra weight added strength, not flab.
The real world power-to-weight figures highlight why the Cortina versus Corona battles went the Corona's way in the showroom and the Cortina's way on the racetrack. The Corona had 74bhp to haul its 925kg (both figures from 1965 brochure) leaving one horsepower for every 12.5kg. The Cortina 1500 4 Door with 64bhp topped 861kg or one horsepower for every 13.5kg. This explains why the 4-speed Corona was significantly quicker as a real world family car. However, in Ford’s armoury there was a stripper two-door Cortina version which at 826kg left one horsepower for each 12.8kg, close enough to the Corona. Factor in the Cortina’s slightly superior torque at 300rpm earlier which did make a difference at Bathurst plus the shorter braking distances for the better-braked and lighter two-door version and it was no coincidence that they were so close at the chequered flag!
Where the Tiara was just another undersized four door sedan, the Corona was knocking on the door of local sixes as a family car after the Corona body grew 2 ½ inches/63.5mm in width with a similar increase in track. Wheelbase and length also grew as 2 inches/51mm was cut from the height. Even if the Corona could never be described as low and sleek, it certainly was headed that way when compared with the Tiara.
In terms of generational change, it was like Holden skipping the EK and EJ and going straight from FB to EH, except the Corona went even further than the EH as it also looked more substantial and upmarket compared to its predecessor. The Corona had a huge impact wherever it was previewed. Jokes about Japanese cars evaporated overnight.
It was significant that Toyota didn’t have to change much of this at all before 1970.
The final version of this Corona series was announced in 1969 with a bolder and more integrated grille, wood grain dash trim and slimmer horizontal tail lights. It also featured extra power and a manual floor shift despite the ever present bench seat. It then introduced a new local SE level. Both models looked considerably upmarket than the first of the next series that replaced it in 1970.
The Australian Coronas
November 1964: Export shipments of 900 Japanese-build examples were re-directed to Australia to cover lack of clearance stock of the locally-assembled Tiara which sold out faster than expected. Look for the thinner vinyl trim and different colours on these earlier cars.
January 1965: AMI assembly started, featuring expanded luxury vinyl trim as fitted to local Triumphs and Ramblers. The Corona gained local paint colours, superior local low-profile tyres, usually Dunlop B7, local glass, improved brake linings and other proven local components.
February 1965: A switch to four-speed column manual improved performance and economy.
June 1965: Automatic option added.
October 1965: Minor running changes. Look for rear centre badgework over boot lock.
August 1966: Fastback wagon and desirable 1600S sports sedan introduced. The bucket seats, carpet, bolder grille, front discs/rear drums, firmer suspension, floor shift and full circular instruments of the domestic 1500GT coupe were added to the 1600S. Look for extra chrome strip at door handle level and full wheel covers. High performance twin-carburettor 1600 engine with larger bore delivered 95bhp/71kW, the same figure as the MGB’s 1800 engine. Standing quarter was cut to 18.4 seconds. Front discs were a full 10.6inches/269mm, rear drums were finned alloy. The 1600S was declared a credible rival to the Cortina GT and Cooper S except it looked more Japanese glitzy than hard core sports sedan.
September 1966: Simpler horizontal bar grille introduced across the range.
August 1967: Recessed horizontal bar grille, revised dash with rectangular minor gauges, plusher seats, carpet and floor shift. Conventional steering wheel with horn ring and round centre hub.
January 1968: A 2-door hardtop version of the 1600S was offered along with a special GT5 version with limited slip diff.
This cute little car is the first-generation T10 Toyota Corona that ran from 1957 to 1960. The first Toyota assembled and sold in Australia as the Tiara was the second generation 1960-64 Corona while the first 1964-70 Corona sold in Australia was Toyota’s third generation Corona range. Traces of Austin A30 including the hub caps, Standard 8 and Morris Major plus the 1949 Ford Custom-style tail lights were ironical as the 1964 Corona replaced the Aussie Morris Major Elite in many local driveways, a car developed from a very similar model to the first Corona. (Photo from Wikipedia.org)
May 1968: Safety upgrade with centre padded steering wheel, conventional indicator wand, safety door hardware, winding quarter vents and soft switchgear with international symbols. Minor trim changes. Exterior as for August 1967.
August 1968: 1600S sedan, Hardtops and Wagon dropped.
February 1969: Slender horizontal bar grille with deep chrome headlight recesses separate from the grille, narrow horizontal rectangular tail lights were now part of full width tail trim divided by number plate. Classiest RT40 Corona of all featured wood trim instrument panel surround, revised dash layout, manual floor shift, built-in steering lock, revised trim. Wheel trims and extra chrome strip through door handles. Major boost in power from higher compression ratio and better breathing exhaust and inlet manifolds boosted power to 82bhp/61kW and torque to 90lbs.ft/121.5Nm from previous 85lbs.ft/115Nm. This was the first and only engine spec change in almost five years.
September 1969: SE model added to range with bucket seats, radio and matt black tail panel.
July 1970: Replaced by next generation Corona.
Note: A separate imported Corona Mk II range which began as a range of classy 1.9-litre coupes were later joined by Mark II sedans that evolved into the Cressida.
Unlike many other markets, the Corona’s local 23 year heritage finished on a high with several locally built models that featured new Super Responsive engines and styling with a clear link to the first local Corona. Top models such as this 1987 Corona Avante 2.4 featured Cressida advances including independent rear suspension and laminated floorpan highlighting the Corona’s link with the Mark II/Cressida ranges that had become less obvious but was still just as strong. (Photo from commons.wikimedia.org)
From Corona to Camry
AMI would maintain the Corona’s cut-above positioning until 1987 when the Japanese Corona was no longer able to maintain its aloofness against bigger and more accomplished local rivals.
Just as the top Corona levels reached a pinnacle for local rear drive four cylinder models with a 2.4-litre engine and independent rear suspension, Toyota switched to a locally-built Camry which rewrote the Corona story all over again.
This quaint Japanese ad for the second generation Corona 1500, sold and built in Australia by AMI as the Tiara, provides insight into the priorities and thinking that defined its replacement. The driving sequence is not too far removed from what the first Tiaras and Coronas had to survive in Australia.
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