Its all about TOYOTA Corolla

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.

Let's look back at the original concepts that were calculated to make the first Corolla a success.

The first-generation 1100cc Corolla went on sale in November of 1966.
The total population had passed the 100 million mark, spending for television advertisements was overtaking spending for newspaper advertisements, the economy was picking up steam, and the term "3 C's" (air-Conditioners, Color televisions and Cars) was on everybody's lips.

"People are living in nuclear families out in the suburbs, which means they'll need family cars to get around. A motorization boom is coming to Japan."

This was the future that Toyota foresaw coming in just a few years; and this was what prompted the building of a sprawling, 1 square kilometer plant in Takaoka (Toyota City in Aichi Prefecture) devoted exclusively to manufacturing the Corolla. When Toyota announced they planned on manufacturing 30,000 Corollas a month, the media at the time were utterly beside themselves with shock. (At the time, Toyota's monthly production was approximately 50,000 vehicles.)

Achieving Superiority through the Adoption of New Technologies

The first-generation Corolla had a number of technologies, specifications, systems, etc. that were the first of their kind in Japan and for Toyota.
At the time, column shift transmissions were standard; however, Toyota recognized that floor-shift transmission was already common in Europe and would be required in the coming highway age. Thus the Corolla was equipped with a four-speed floor-shift transmission before other vehicles were. Also, after much research and testing, MacPherson strut suspension — which allows for a larger engine compartment and makes it possible to lighten the vehicle and reduce manufacturing costs — was adopted for the first time in domestic mass production.
A number of other innovative technologies, such as for improving the comfort of seats, increasing rear seat space, raising the height of the roof and adopting the long floor shift lever, gave the Corolla a competitive edge.

The Father of the
Corolla

Chief Engineer for the Original Corolla

Tatsuo Hasegawa was born February 1916 in Tottori City. After graduating from Tokyo University's Department of Aeronautics in 1939, Hasegawa joined the company Tachikawa Aircraft.

After World War II, in 1946, Hasegawa joined Toyota Motor Co., Ltd. As a Chief Engineer, he oversaw the development of the Publica, the Toyota Sports 800, the Corolla and the Celica.

Following this, Hasegawa went from being the Deputy General Manager of the Product Planning Division to being the General Manager of the division, where he oversaw general development of Toyota vehicles. In 1982, he retired from Toyota as a Senior Managing Director. In 2004, he was inducted into the Japan Automotive Hall of Fame.

Concept for the Toyota Corolla

Exceeding 80 Points Thinking

When the original Corolla went on sale, Mr. Hasegawa gave the following message in order to convey the vehicle's value to the public:
"In order to get a vehicle widely used as a family car, it has to satisfy customers in terms of its performance, comfort, feel, etc. Even if you satisfy all of these criteria, however, the vehicle still will be a flop if it costs too much for the general public or if its maintenance costs are too high. Furthermore, you can't reduce quality in order to reduce cost; every facet of the vehicle has to score 80 points or higher in order to satisfy customers. At the same time, though, a vehicle that scores 80 points for every part isn't that attractive of a vehicle. If the vehicle has some features that are clearly superior to those of other vehicles, then right from the start you can capture the customers' interest."
This was the thinking underlying the development of the Corolla, positioned as a new, high compact vehicle between the 800cc Publica and the 1500cc Corona and aimed at the family car market.
Then, in anticipation of the customers' needs, 'sporty-ness' was added to the Corolla for added value, a four-speed floor-shift transmission was boldly adopted instead of the three-speed column shift transmission common at the time, the dashboard meters were rounded, and the vehicle body was given a fresh, semi-fastback style in order to add to the Corolla's sporty, comfortable feel.

For Everyone on Earth

Because the Corolla is a global vehicle, there is a great deal of responsibility placed on it. These are the sentiments Mr. Hasegawa expressed to today's designers — utilize the Corolla for the happiness and well-being of everyone on Earth.
These are words of support expected to help everyone on Earth as they further work towards solving the problems of the 21st century.

Time-line of Corolla History


source
http://www.toyota-global.com/