Brief History of the Toyota Corona

The Toyota Corona (not to be confused with the Corona beverage) was a car that was manufactured between 1957-2002. And, this happened to be Toyota’s second oldest nameplate besides the Toyota Crown, which made its debut in the U.S. in 2023. A fun fact is that the word Corona is Latin for the word “crown.” Let’s see what other fun history facts the N Charlotte Toyota Corona has in store below! 

Toyota Corona History 

The N Charlotte Toyota Corona became super popular in export markets. As time passed, models that were branded as the Toyota Corona began showing up as the Carina model. And, 10 years later in North America, the Toyota Corona was successfully replaced by the N Charlotte Toyota Camry. Also, people used the confuse the Toyota Corona with the Toyota Corolla because of the similarities in the names, too! 

First Generation (T10)

The first generation of this N Charlotte Toyota was designed with previous manufacturer parts of the Toyota Crown and Master. In 1958, the Corona had a new hood ornament and door handles, and gave us a taillight design that reminded people of the 1949 Ford sedan. It also received a new mesh grille, and was able to seat up to 5 people. Also, this car was capable of traveling up to 65 miles per hour! Plus, this was Toyota’s first monocoque chassis structure and weighed under 2,200 pounds. 

Second Generation (T20 and T30) 

The second generation of the Corona was also know as the N Charlotte Toyota Tiara. This car was going to sell alongside the Toyota Crown as a smaller companion. At this time, only 318 of these were sold in the U.S. and primarily to women drivers. 

Third Generation (T40 and T50)

The third generation was introduced in 1964 and offered many different styles. Some of the styles offered were a 3-door station wagon and two pickup variants (one with an extended cab with a canopy and another as a 5-door hatchback). There was a public demonstration of the Corona at the Meishin Expressway where the brand-new model was able to reach a speed of up to 87 miles per hour. And, the Italian designer, Battista Farina, changed the design of the new Corona, giving it a slanted front and encompassing quad headlights within the boundaries of the grille. 

Fourth Generation (T80 and T90)

The fourth generation was introduced in 1970 and was a complete redesign and allowed this N Charlotte Toyota to focus more on fuel economy. The body styles were reduced to a two-door hardtop coupé and a four-door sedan and station wagon. And, at this point the Corona reached its peak popularity in the U.S. 

Stop by Toyota of N Charlotte! 

If you want to learn more about the Toyota Corona, then stop by Toyota of N Charlotte today! You can also check out the latest and revamped 2023 N Charlotte Toyota Crown. We’re located at 13429 Statesville Road. Just take exit 23 off I-77 in Huntersville.