The "Era of the Family Car" started in 1966. It was in November of that year that the first Corolla — aimed at the Japanese general public — rolled onto the market to much fanfare. In the 47 years since, the Corolla has continued to evolve thanks to a philosophy of "always staying ahead of the times."


Today, with a total production of 40 million vehicles and sales in more than 150 countries and regions, the Toyota Corolla has been recognized as "The World's Most Popular Car"

The birth of a worldwide Corolla was made possible thanks to innovative thinking, technology and managerial decision-making that went on behind the scenes at Toyota Motor Corporation. All of these comprise the evolving elements of the "Corolla DNA," which has been passed down from generation to generation within the Toyota Motor Corporation.

The First Generation (1966 - 1970)

Extreme simplicity was at the core of the first Corolla's engineering. Introduced during 1966 in Japan, the first Corolla came to the United States in the summer of 1968 riding on a 90-inch wheelbase in two-door coupe, four-door sedan and two-door wagon body styles. It was the smallest car Toyota had sold in America up until that time. A 60-horsepower, 1.1-liter overhead valve four-cylinder mounted longitudinally in the engine bay sent power to a four-speed manual transmission and then to a solid rear axle. An automatic transmission wasn't yet on the options list.

The first Corolla's unibody structure had a strut front suspension and mounted the rear axle on a pair of leaf springs. There was nothing sophisticated about the first Corolla and it wasn't pretty, but it was so simple that there were almost no parts to break.

Toyota worked hard through the '60s to overcome the then common perception that Japanese products were shoddy. And cars such as the compact Corona did an effective job of making that point. The Corolla, with prices starting under $1,700, showed that even when Toyota built a smaller, cheaper car, quality didn't suffer.

The Second Generation (1970 - 1974)


As good a car as the first Corolla was, it was really too small and underpowered for North American tastes. The second Corolla showed up for the 1970 model year with a wheelbase stretched to 91.9 inches and power coming from a new 1.2-liter version of the OHV four making 73 horsepower. The strut front and leaf spring rear suspension carried forward.

Slight though the nearly two-inch wheelbase stretch may seem, and with minimal styling changes, the 1970 Corolla was a significantly more comfortable and confident machine than the '69 version, and an automatic transmission was now offered to widen its appeal. It quickly became the second best-selling car on the planet.

The Corolla got even better during the 1971 model year as the engine grew to 1.6 liters and output expanded to 102 horsepower. The grille was redesigned for the 1972 model year, becoming fussier to no great aesthetic advantage. There were few changes for either 1973 or 1974 other than larger bumpers to accommodate federal regulations and the introduction of sporty SR5 models with five-speed manual transmissions.

Awesome...

The Third Generation (1974 - 1979)

Rather bizarrely styled, the 1975 Corollas featured a raised center section in the grille that carried back to more angular bodies. But then again, a lot of cars from the '70s were bizarrely styled.

A total of five Corolla models was available for 1975. The price leader, a two-door sedan powered by a 1.2-liter engine, was joined by a four-door sedan, a two-door hardtop, a sport-oriented SR5 hardtop and a five-door station wagon — all powered by the 1.6-liter four. The standard transmission in all models, except the SR5, was a four-speed manual. A five-speed manual was again standard in the SR5 and optional in the other Corollas. A three-speed automatic was also available. Emissions standards were stiffening during the mid-'70s and a catalytic converter was included in the '75 Corolla for the first time.

A new three-door hatchback was added to the Corolla line for 1976. Called the "Liftback" by Toyota, it looked a bit like a sporty two-door station wagon instead of a traditional fastback or economy car like a Ford Pinto. With a split fold-down rear seat, Toyota hoped the Liftback would account for up to 30 percent of Corolla sales in the United States.

Also introduced for '76, and sharing its front-end styling with the Liftback, was a new Corolla Sport Coupe in both standard and SR5 configurations. The fastback styling of the Sport Coupe gave Toyota a sporty car to sell that was slightly less expensive than the larger Celica.

Front-end styling of the sedans and wagons was modified for 1977 with a more conventional grille but these were never particularly attractive cars; they were overwrought in their details and undistinguished in their shapes. But they seemed to run forever.

The third-generation Corolla played out its life virtually unchanged during the 1978 model year.

The Fourth Generation (1979 - 1983)

With a new chassis, the 1979 Corolla was a more sophisticated and satisfying car than any Corolla before it. But before this generation was through, it would get better still.

The 1979 Corolla finally dispensed with the rugged but primitive leaf spring rear suspension in favor of a more compliant coil spring system (the station wagon continued to use the leaves). The new unibody above that suspension was larger (the wheelbase was now 94.5 inches), stronger and more attractive in a boxy, clean-cut sort of way. A new 75-horsepower, 1.8-liter version of the OHV four powered the new Corolla with four- and five-speed manual and three-speed automatic transmissions available.

Particularly attractive during this generation was the SR5 in Sport Coupe, Hatchback and Liftback semiwagon configurations. With their effective use of detailing, they looked more expensive than they actually were.

While the 1980 and 1981 Corolla lines carried over from 1979 intact, in 1982the automatic transmission was upgraded to a four-speed unit — a rare level of sophistication for an economy car of the era.

The big Corolla news for 1983 was a new 1.6-liter overhead cam engine that was both smoother and more powerful than the previous 1.8. But it was only a hint of what was to come next.

beautiful

Stunning progress

We do am together ni o....

Sometimes I doubt if it is really a 1.8 liter engine that is powering the 2011 corolla as toyota claims. That thing dey move ehn

I love this thread. I am a car freak. Thanks op for the enlightenment.

Beautiful!!

What was the reason behind putting "side mirrors" on the fenders in olden cars?

Was there no mirror image calculation then?

Old post but still relevant