[RavenAvi]

Possibly the most popular mid-size sedan in automotive history, the Toyota Corolla celebrates it's 50th anniversary this year.

The first Corolla rolled off the production line at Japan's Toyota plant back in 1966, and 11 generations and 44 million sales later, the Corolla is currently manufactured at over 16 Toyota plants across the world.

1st-gen (1966):

The first-gen Corolla brought with it a floor-mounted gear lever, bucket-type seats up front, and a very spacious rear bench, all of which were remarkable for it's time. The car was christened "Corolla" which is Latin for ‘crown of flowers’, in the hope that it would become a bestseller. True to it's name, the Corolla became the top-selling vehicle of Japan within 3 years of it's maiden run.

Toyota claims that in the company's 79 years of automotive history, every 5th car they have sold is a Corolla. Today, the Corolla is on sale in 150 countries worldwide.

The latest generation (facelifted) Corolla gets plenty of updates in it's design, exteriors and interiors when compared to the current-gen Corolla on sale across the world, and will be launched in India sometime in early 2017.

2nd-gen (1970):


3rd-gen (1974):


4th-gen (1979):


5th-gen (1983):


6th-gen (1987):


7th-gen (1991):


8th-gen (1995):


9th-gen (2000):


10th-gen (2006):


11th-gen (2013):


Facelift (2016-17):


(Pics Source)

In November 1966, Toyota opened a new plant in Takaoka, Aichi Prefecture, dedicated solely to Corolla production. Two years later, with an emphasis on providing region-specific vehicles, production began in Australia and Malaysia.
From 1965 to 1968, Toyota more than doubled its total annual production from 480,000 to 1.1 million vehicles; a testament to the Corolla’s significant contribution to the growth of the company. In Europe, the Corolla was introduced in April 1967. European production, at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Turkey (TMMT) in Sakarya, Turkey, started with the 7th generation model in 1994, continued with the 8th and 9th generations, and then returned to TMMT with the 11th generation Corolla in 2013.
Corolla exports to North America began in 1968, and early sales success in this market helped global cumulative sales of the car reach 1 million units just four years after launch.
In 1997, the Corolla became the world’s best-selling model, with global cumulative sales exceeding 22.65 million units. By 2013, Corolla had already sold 40 million units around the world.
Currently produced at 16 plants worldwide, more than 44 million units have been sold, making the Corolla account for one in five vehicles sold in Toyota’s 79-year history. More than a million units have been sold each year since 2002. Last year, a total of 3,670 Corollas were sold every day across more than 150 countries and regions.

Official Press Release

[vigsom]

^^ Fantastic car without a doubt.

I feel good to have been a part of this movement , having owned two 9th Gen cars and being the de facto owner of a 10th Gen too.

My only grouse is the hype that has been built around the product in India , making it out of reach of most of the population.

[sindabad.sailor]

I remember reading an interview of Vivian Richards in childhood. He had mentioned Toyota Corolla as his favourite car.
Obviously the fan club spanning 'classes and masses' is the rare trick that can be attributed to its success.

[V.Narayan]

Originally Posted by RavenAvi

Possibly the most popular mid-size sedan in automotive history, the Toyota Corolla celebrates it's 50th anniversary this year.

The first Corolla rolled off the production line at Japan's Toyota plant back in 1966, and 11 generations and 44 million sales later, the Corolla is currently manufactured at over 16 Toyota plants across the world.

Thank you for sharing. Good to hear that the world's most popular car is also assembled in India.

Three cars have been widely acknowledged as the "bestselling automobile in the world" since Ford built its millionth Model T on December 10, 1915. The Model T itself remained the highest seller until forty five years after production ceased in 1927. On February 17, 1972 Volkswagen claimed that the Ford had been superseded by the Beetle, when the 15,007,034th was manufactured. Although The Model T has subsequently been credited with 16.5 million units sold, this anomaly is moot in light of the Beetle reaching 21 million.

The Beetle remained the bestselling vehicle until the late 1990s when it was itself overtaken by the Toyota Corolla. However, this was an example of the modern practice of applying a brand name across a range of vehicles, and retaining it for marketing purposes even as the car changes significantly. The Beetle's overall design, both aesthetically and mechanically, changed so little over the course of its 65-year run that it's possible to mount a 1936 body on a 2001 chassis!

[carwatcher]

I found it really funny that both Beetle and Corolla are kind of status symbol cars in our country while they could be compared to Zen and Esteem in other countries.
I have seen my friend's dad who swears by his Altis A/T which he bought when it was just launched and till date has pampered his car like a baby.

[SmartCat]

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

However, this was an example of the modern practice of applying a brand name across a range of vehicles, and retaining it for marketing purposes even as the car changes significantly

Good point there. Each of those Corollas are different cars altogether. So its basically 50 years of "Corolla" brand, not Corolla the automobile.

[deetjohn]

Those earlier generations look very charming. Just the right size too.

Give it a few more decades and the Corolla will be S Class big. How much room is really enough? Its getting ridiculous.

[KK_HakunaMatata]

I own a 9th gen Corolla and it's a name for reliability :thumbup:.

I have heard from my senior colleagues that owing Corolla was a dream of many youngsters then.

I can see that the 6th gen Corolla came with 4WD, but wonder how can it be effectively used with such a long wheel base and low GC.

[AYP]

The 3rd gen Corolla looks great. I wish I could drive one. It is reminiscent of the Mustang of the old times.

[v12]

We "owned" the 5th generation Corolla for a very brief period. This was in the 90s when Toyota had not even entered the market. Even though it was 10+ years young, it felt it could do 10 more very easily. No rattles, no noise - the car was damn smooth. Unfortunately had to let it go because it was a DL registered car and those years the NOC would take forever. But it really was a proud moment.

The 4th generation Corolla - Does it not remind you of the Maserati Biturbo?

[abs182]

I had the 9th generation Corolla from 2005 till 2015. It was the only car we owned that had clocked 110k Kms. And it was the only car which we kept for 11 years! I had friends who bought cars along with me in 2005 already on their 3rd cars! It was a joy to drive as it was one of those beauties with powerful low-end torque which has become a rarity in india for a petrol engine. The changing garage at home forced me to get rid of it and procure a Grand i10 for family chores but believe me no one in the household is still able to forget the Corolla. I sometimes wish I should've borned the 80k expense it was asking for and kept it. The built quality of it is miles ahead from the current lot with their flimsy sheet metals and what not. It has now become the gold standard in my car buying history and I have wowed to buy only cars which will either fulfill any of its two milestones. 100k kms or 11 yrs of niggle free ownerships. Even my BMW X3 is expected to honour it! Though I have my doubts. Sorry for the rant but the car was a very very special car for me. Heck it was this car that got me into teambhp in the first place . So long

[Skyline_GT]

Never knew the Corolla brand was 50 years old! Kudos to Toyota on reaching the milestone.
The words Toyota and Reliability go hand in hand. Never owned a Corolla as of yet but have a few of my relatives who swear by their Corollas to this day despite being 7-8 years old.

No offense to any owners but what was Toyota thinking when they designed the 8th gen Corolla?
Looks hideous!

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

2nd-gen (1970):



The only time in its 50 year old history, that it ever came close to being called 'beautiful', IMO.

Every other generation has been plain and inoffensive, with the latest generation moving away from that trend, but not really beautiful.

[nakul0888]

Hey, don't forget the legendary AE86, the poster boy for the drift scene which was also a corolla albeit a lightweight high revving rear wheel drive stick shift one, the spiritual predecessor to the today's GT86.



Star of the initial d series which made it into a cult hero. Tofu anyone?

[Swarit19]

The 3rd gen corolla looks absolutely stunning. The proportions are just perfect. If only the current sub 4m sedans looked like that.

I mean considering the safety standards in india don't think they would have any issues right? What I've heard in some places is that they can't make designs like they used to because of safety standards everywhere.

*looks at alto* Actually with it's build quality it would probably still fare better