Mercury News recently reported that Toyota Corollas are the bestselling cars ever in the American market. The Japanese automaker has sold more than 31 million Corollas since 1966. Yes, Toyota Corolla may not have those sexy looks which will turn heads while driving around town, but it is a reliable workhorse and that makes it a hotseller based on its performance, affordability, quality and fuel economy. Corolla has appeal both as a new and used vehicle. It’s many people’s first new car, and it is considered valuable even by its third or fourth users.
This year Corolla celebrates its 40th anniversary - the first Corolla was sold in Japan in 1966. It was introduced in the United States two years later. At present Corolla is assembled in USA, Canada, Brazil, Venezuela, Turkey, the United Kingdom, South Africa, China, India, Malaysia, Pakistan, Taiwan, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam - apart from Japan.
Why Corolla has maintained its popularity over the years? It’s a car that meets the needs of most consumers on an everyday basis. It is one of the 10 most fuel-efficient passenger cars, according to the US government’s most recent list. The Corolla gets 32 miles per gallon (mpg) in the city and 41 mpg on the highway with manual transmission, or 30 mpg in the city and 38 mpg with an automatic transmission. It simply does not have any flaws, and that is the reason it never comes up in any controversial reports. Toyota has consistently maintained the quality over the years, and this was possible only because of Toyota’s concept of Kaizen - or continuos improvement in quality.
The Corolla has changed over the years, which is not a surprise for a 40-year-old product. The first Corolla car launched in 1966, the KE1x series was small, with a 90 in (2286 mm) wheelbase, and used a 4-speed manual transmission or 2 speed automatic transmission, with rear wheel drive. It has grown from a subcompact to a compact model. It’s currently sold as a four-door, five-passenger sedan in most countries, but it has been a coupe, a hatchback and a wagon at various times in its life. Around the world, Toyota sells Fielder, Runx, Spacio and Verso versions of the Corolla. Toyota’s evolution will continue. For 2008, Toyota will introduce a hybrid gasoline–electric Corolla.
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