Toyota builds 200 million vehicles in 77 years
Toyota says they’ve built 200 million vehicles since the company began production of the G1 truck back in August 1935.
Toyota says they’ve built 200 million vehicles since the company began production of the G1 truck back in August 1935.
Say what you want about the Americans, but they are a serious bunch when it comes to safety. The U.S. government’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration — NHTSA — is the one that mandates airbags and tyre-pressure monitors in all new cars, subdued automakers into making their roof strength higher while inadvertently making outward visibility worse due to thicker pillars, and is set to force rear-view cameras on all new cars by 2014 thereby making car prices higher. And if that weren’t enough, there are not one, but two agencies in the U.S. that conduct crash tests, one being the NHTSA and other being the private Insurance Institute for Highway Safety —
We already revealed that the 2011 Toyota Corolla is in UAE and Omani showrooms, but for some reason official details remain scarce, even as the new model can be seen on the streets of Dubai. We’ve finally tracked down official photos of the facelifted model, as it first came out in Europe a couple of months ago.
Normally we don’t put up reviews from other sources, but we came across this ancient Top Gear video from 1997 that tests a Toyota Corolla hatchback from that era. They even pit it against a Volkswagen Golf GTI, and the results are satisfying. Interesting to note how many awards that car apparently won back then. We also own a 1997 Corolla that we bought new, but we had no idea how class-leading it really was at the time. I was just a high-school kid with no internet back then.
The hottest news of the week in the UAE is that Toyota is having a fire-sale of 2010 models for 4 days, starting today. While this may seem overly generous to some, the truth is the showrooms are making way for the arrival of 2011 models. And the first of those will be the facelifted 2011 Toyota Corolla, which is already available in Oman. Interestingly, it is quietly available in the UAE too.
The Toyota Corolla, quite possibly the most popular car in the world, is being recalled in the U.S. over engine stalling issues. So far, the recall is only for 2005 to 2008 models built in the United States.
At least some local reports suggest that about 70% of all cars in the UAE are Toyota-branded models. As far back as 10 years ago, we read stories that the Toyota Corolla was the top-selling car in this country, and it still might be. So what can word-of-mouth do for a car? Apparently, 90% of all cars in the impoverished state of Afghanistan are Toyota Corolla models, all imported and many as old as 20 years.
Toyota’s Dubai-based dealer office has released a statement that the 2002-2007 Lexus LX 470, the 1999-2004 Toyota Avalon and the 2000-2001 Toyota Corolla are being recalled in the UAE. Only a few GCC-spec Corolla models are affected, while the Land Cruiser seems to have escaped the recall here.
It seems to be ‘factory recall’ season, at least of which is simply fall-out from the Toyota floor-mat fiasco that has spun out of control. Alongside further worldwide recalls by Toyota, Peugeot is doing a precautionary recall for their Toyota-rebadged models. Meanwhile, Hyundai and Honda are having recalls of their own, both related to safety issues.
If you haven’t heard, Toyota now holds the record for the largest single recall ever. Involving nothing more than replacing overlong accelerator pedals that are prone to get stuck when a floor-mat slips under it, the recall was extended to an additional 2.3 million vehicles in the United States, up from the 3.8 million that were already recalled. Word is now that the recall will extend to 2 million cars in Europe, while Toyota offices around the world are in talks with various countries to make the recall global.