Assembly lines for the Publica mass-market vehicle were
completed at the Motomachi Plant's Crown and Corona assembly plant (which would
later become the No. 1 Assembly Plant) in March 1961. The line began operation
in April that year, assembling the Publica UP10 model. The Publica went on sale
in June, priced at 389,000 yen.
Crown Model RS40
(1962)
The process leading to the development of the Publica was
previously outlined in Part 1, Chapter 2 "Creating Family Vehicles".
The Publica UP10 was born following a six-year development period spanning
three prototypes (the 1A, 11A, and 68A).
Less than one year after its release, the Publica was
selling more than 2,000 units per month. The No. 2 Assembly Plant, built
exclusively for Publica production, was fully completed at the Motomachi Plant
in May 1962, including ancillary facilities, establishing a platform for
full-scale mass production. Monthly sales topped 3,000 in December 1963, and
looked set to reach 4,000 units. However, the Publica never ended up selling
well enough to require a dedicated mass-volume plant. To trigger the full-scale
motorization of society, a new type of mass-market car was necessary-one that
was not only low-cost, but that also offered a dream.
In September 1962, the year after production of the Publica
UP10 model began, Toyota released the second-generation Toyopet Crown RS40. The
first model built at the Motomachi Plant, construction of which was completed
in 1959, was the Toyopet Crown RS20 passenger car (including the RS21 deluxe
model and the CS20 diesel-engine model). Although the Toyopet Crown 1900 RS30
(including the RS31 deluxe model and the RS32L custom model) featuring the 3R
engine and others were subsequently added, they basically represented gradual,
section-by-section improvements of the Crown RS.
The new-model Crown RS40 was a full revamp of the RS model
after seven years and nine months on sale. Marketed as a luxury compact car,
with its revised body design, improved comfort and handling response, and
reduced vibration and noise, the new-model Crown truly embodied its catchphrase
of "bolder, bigger, better, and more beautiful".
Although sales of the new-model Crown grew steadily, the
market wanted an even larger car. To meet this need, Toyota Motor Co., Ltd. set
about developing the Crown Eight (VG10), its first large vehicle since after
World War II. The Crown Eight was a full-scale large vehicle, sized between the
regular Crown model and large American vehicles, and featuring an aluminum
alloy V8 engine (2,599 cc, 115 hp). The body incorporated body panels from the
Crown RS40 model enlarged, and production was handled by Kanto Auto Works, Ltd.
September 1964 saw the birth of the third-generation Corona
(RT40). This vehicle utilized the know-how Toyota had accumulated, and it
achieved the high performance and quality levels needed to compete in markets
outside Japan.
The engine used was the 2R (1,490 cc, 70 hp), an improved
version of the R engine that had established a reputation for durability and
ease of use, with the torque curve flattened for usability. The suspension was
also redesigned to reduce vibration and noise. Aiming to achieve ride quality,
comfort and fittings equal to that of a midsize car, the vehicle width and
length was extended by 60 mm, and the width of the interior area by 40 mm compared
to the previous model.
Breaking away from the traditional requirement that
passenger car dimensions had to be suited to taxi use, during the planning and
design phase Toyota focused on creating a car that could be successful as an
international product, and developed a car with a dynamic style embodied in the
arrow-line1 styling of the body.
Public testing of the
Corona through a non-stop 100,000 kilometer drive on the expressway (1964)
In August 1964, the first mass-production unit of the new
Corona rolled off the line at the Motomachi Plant, and sales of the new model
were launched simultaneously across Japan. The new Corona proved to be
immensely popular, with its greatly anticipated announcement resulting in more
than 200,000 people thronging unveilings and test drives throughout the
country.
The same year, the Meishin Expressway (linking Nagoya and
Osaka) opened, with completion of the country's first proper expressway marking
the beginning of the Japan's highway era. Using the occasion, Toyota planned a
non-stop 100,000 kilometer drive back and forth along the Meishin Expressway as
a promotion for the new Corona. Three Coronas started the journey on September
14, 1964, immediately after the launch announcement for the new model. As the
nation followed their progress intently through television and radio
broadcasts, the cars reached the 100,000 kilometer goal on the 58th day. The
feat quickly led to an image of the new Corona as a high-performance car that
paved the way into Japan's highway era.
The new Corona, which had enjoyed steady sales growth
following its release in 1964, drew even with the Nissan Bluebird in its first
December on the market, selling 8,400 vehicles during the month. Furthermore,
monthly sales for January 1965 exceeded the Bluebird-the first Toyota car to
achieve this feat since the release of the first-generation Corona (ST10). The
new Corona's climb to the top spot in such a short time was in part due to the
Corona being fully redesigned. But it was also the result of company-wide Total
Quality Control (TQC) initiatives. The progress of the broad schedule from
development to production was monitored and refined by a company-wide project
team, and each plant held process planning meetings to ensure quality assurance
was built into each stage of the production process.
The new Corona was the top selling car for 33 straight months
from April 1965 to December 1967, a tribute to its high performance and quality
level.
Soon after the release of the new Corona, Managing Director
Shoichiro Toyoda (responsible for the Engineering Group) made the following remarks
in a Toyota publication:
From the so-called 'Daruma' (or "rounded") Corona
model of more than four years ago assembled at Kanto Auto Works evolved the
sleek new Corona produced at the Motomachi Plant you see on the streets today.
It (the second-generation made at the Motomachi Plant) was our first full
redesign of the Corona, and I am sure many of our employees remember the
struggles we went through during the start-up. Following that, we gained
experience from the release of the Publica and the redesign of the Crown, and
today it brings me true joy to see the new (third generation) Corona rolling
smoothly off the line under a new mass production system. I am particularly
pleased to see the quality control system-which we have built up with each
redesign in order to prevent recurrence of problems-working increasingly
smoothly with each production start-up. ...
As you can see, the new Corona has a bold, sleek exterior.
This style is our own, original design, created by our Design Section without
copying other models, and I believe it will spark a new trend. In terms of
performance, the weight has been brought in line with international standards,
and we have achieved acceleration, high-speed performance, and fuel efficiency
far ahead of rival vehicles. Furthermore, it is more durable than the previous
Corona. We have also produced a special simpler version for business use.
Passenger car sales in Japan are increasing by the year.
Household car ownership, in particular, will likely increase even more in
future. At the same time, I believe competition in the domestic car market will
become increasingly fierce with the introduction of free trade from the start
of next year. It is fitting that the new Corona was born at this time. The fact
that we separated the new Corona from the Crown, designed it independently and
created the manufacturing process shows that the company saw the future
potential of the Corona and made an all-out effort to make it a reality. I
believe how well the Corona sells holds the key for the future of Toyota and by
extension the development of the Japanese automotive industry. Let us
all-design, manufacturing and sales-come together as one and pour all our
efforts into the growth of the Corona.
Source: Toyota Motor Corporation
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