Toyota Crown #1
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Toyota Crown #1
Toyota Crown #2
Toyota Crown #3
Toyota Crown 1972
The Toyota Crown (Japanese: トヨタ・クラウン, Hepburn: Toyota Kuraun) is an automobile which has been produced by Toyota in Japan since 1955. It is primarily a line of mid-size luxury cars that is marketed as an upmarket offering in the Toyota lineup.
In North America, the first through fourth generations were offered from 1958 through 1972, being replaced by the Corona Mark II. The Crown nameplate returned to the North American market in 2022, when the sixteenth-generation model was released. The Crown has also been partially succeeded in export markets by its closely related sibling, the Lexus GS, which since its debut in 1991 as the Toyota Aristo has always shared the Crown's platform and powertrain options. Later models of the GS and Crown have taken on a very strong aesthetic kinship through shared design cues.
In 2022, Toyota unveiled four different Crown models to replace the fifteenth-generation model. The first model that is available is the Crossover-type Crown, which is also marketed in North America as the sole Crown model. The remaining three models: Sedan, Sport, and Estate, will be released in 2023 and 2024 respectively, and will be available in hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and fuel cell powertrains depending on the model.
The Crown's history and reputation has given it prominence in the Toyota lineup, as it is one of the few current Toyota models to carry its own unique insignia for the model line with the current Crown having a stylized crown emblem on the grill and steering wheel along with inspiring the names of its smaller progenitors. The Corona, introduced as a smaller companion to the Crown means "crown" in Latin and was initially exported as the "Tiara", while the Corolla took its name from the corolla ("small crown") in Latin. The Camry's name is derived from the Japanese phrase kanmuri (冠, かんむり) meaning "little crown" and the Scepter took its name from the sceptre, an accessory to a crown. The Avalon (the Crown's North American counterpart), while not named after a crown, is named after a mythical island from the legends of King Arthur.
[B]History[/B]
Introduced in 1955 as the Toyopet Crown, it has served as the mainstream sedan from Toyota in the Japanese market throughout its existence and holds the distinction of being the longest-running passenger-car nameplate affixed to any Toyota model. Its traditional competitors in Japan and Asia were the defunct Nissan Cedric/Gloria/Fuga, Honda Legend, Mazda Luce, Isuzu Bellel and Mitsubishi Debonair.
Formerly only available at Toyota Store dealers in Japan, the Crown has been popular for government usage, whether as a police car or for transporting government officials. It has also been popular with Japanese companies as company cars along with use as a taxicab. While a base Crown was available for many years aimed at the taxicab market, the increasing opulence and price of the Crown line led to the creation of the Comfort in 1995 as a more affordable alternative. Outside Japan, the larger Lexus LS took over the role of Toyota's flagship sedan in 1989 in the company's global lineup.
Toyota's "Discover Crown Spirit Project" is a program in which Japanese Toyota dealers fully restore instances of every generation of the Crown to show that even the oldest Crown still works.
Having been in production since 1955, the Crown is the second longest running model nameplate in Japan after the Land Cruiser, and seventh in the world after the Mercedes-Benz S-Class (1954), Chevrolet Corvette (1953), Toyota Land Cruiser (1951), Volkswagen Transporter (1950), Ford F-Series (1947), and Chevrolet Suburban (1935).
[SIZE=1]Source: Wikipedia[/SIZE]
[B]Fourth generation (S60/S70; 1971-1974)[/B]
Launched in February 1971 for the Japanese Domestic Market, the fourth generation Crown was available in ascending trim levels, including Deluxe, Super Deluxe and Super Saloon. Another trim, Royal Saloon, introduced with the Crown's 1973 facelift, added luxury features from the Century limousine. The first two model years of the fourth generation Crown were marketed in North America; subsequently replaced by the Corona Mark II.
the 4M 2600 engine was introduced, with the 2.0-liter 5R inline-four engine and the 2.0-liter M six-cylinder engine also available. As for the previous generation, the M-C engine (in Japanese specifications) has 105 PS (77 kW; 104 bhp), while the 5R's output increased somewhat to 98 PS (72 kW; 97 bhp).[38][39] In some markets the previous 2.3-liter "2M" six remained available, in sedan or "utility wagon" forms.
The Utility Wagon was a body style between commercial and passenger car, and carried chassis codes MS67V until the early 1973 facelift when it was replaced by the MS68V with the 2.6 engine.
While previous generations of the Crown had been marketed under the Toyopet brand, the fourth-generation model was the first version to be officially marketed worldwide as the Toyota Crown.
The Sedan and Wagon (Custom) were coded RS60/MS60/MS64/MS65 and MS62/MS63, while the Van was coded MS66V with the two liter "six". The Hardtop Coupé is MS70 (2.0-liter), or MS75 (2.6-liter). The Japanese market Crown Custom (Wagon) was classified as a seven-seater. This generation was the first Crown marketed as a Toyota in Japan, as previous models were marketed as Toyopets. Also, in Japan, this model was known as the "whale" or "kujira" Crown.
In 1973, Japanese television commercials introduced Japanese actress Sayuri Yoshinaga as a co-spokeswoman, joining Satoshi Yamamura, and together they appeared in commercials until 1983.
Crown's for the Japanese Domestic Market Hardtop featured rectangular halogen headlights, and export models featured twin round headlights. All models featured flush bumpers, marketed by Toyota as "spindle-shaped."
The trunk could be opened remotely by turning the ignition key to the far left, and a floor-mounted button engaged the radio's signal seeking feature. A separate signal seeking feature was installed for rear seat passengers, installed behind the front seat facing the rear seat compartment. The 60-series Crown received a facelift in January 1973.
Australian models were assembled in Australia by AMI. It was available in New Zealand fully imported from 1971 to 1973, with local assembly beginning at Steels Motor Assemblies, who also built the Corona, not long before the mid-life facelift, improving availability. Steels subsequently became Toyota NZ's Christchurch CKD assembly plant.
[SIZE=1]Source: Wikipedia[/SIZE]