Now, I know Toyota was making cars prior to 1957. They had been making them in Japan and selling them in Asia since 1937 or so. So, it should be their 70th or so anniversary.
So I guess that means their 50th Anniversary in the US, and they must be counting the 2-4 years they FAILED trying to sell Toyopets!
A friend of mine owed a Dodge dealership and took on a Toyota franchise in
1957. He is gone now but his dealership is the oldest Toyota dealership in the US.
Since I was known 'in the business' around the area and had many cars, he asked me to take a Toyopet. It was a car built on a truck chassis, since nothing Toyota had in its car line in Japan would hold up to American standards. He charged me $600, with the stipulation he would buy it back for $600 in six months, if I did not want it. I took it back in four months. It could not get out of its own way. I had to run in second gear most of the time to get over the mountains is eastern Pa and it sucked up fuel. The 4cy Camry, even today, needs to run down a gear or two to climb the mountains around there. Dealers stock mostly V6s for that reason.
Tell me about it! Every time my wife 'tidies up' my messes, I can't find a thing. It ought to be against the law for a "clutterer" to marry a "cleaner".
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