new auto cars 2012: 2013 Toyota Land Cruiser

2013 Toyota Land Cruiser

2013, Cars, Toyota, Toyota Land Cruiser 10:18 AM

The Toyota Corolla is one of a line of subcompact and compact cars manufactured by the Japanese automaker Toyota, which has become very popular throughout the world since the nameplate was first introduced in 1966. In 1997, the Corolla became the best selling nameplate in the world, with over 40 million sold as of 2007, surpassing the Volkswagen Beetle. Over the past 40 years, one Corolla car has been sold on average every 40 seconds. The series has undergone several major redesigns.

The name Corolla is part of Toyota's naming tradition of using the name Crown for primary models: the Corona, for example, gets its name from the Latin for crown; Corolla is Latin for small crown; and Camry is an Anglicized pronunciation of the Japanese for crown, kanmuri. A slightly upmarket version called the Sprinter was sold in the Japanese home market, and sold at a different Toyota Japan dealership sales channel called in 1966 Toyota Auto. It was replaced in 2001 by the Allex, which was then replaced by the Blade in 2009.

There have also been several models over the years, including the Corolla Ceres hardtop, Corolla Levin and Sprinter Trueno sports coupes and hatchbacks, and the Corolla FX hatchback, which became the Corolla RunX, while the Sprinter became the Allex with the introduction of the ZZE128 Corolla. The RunX and Allex was replaced by the Auris in 2006. A compact MPV named the Corolla Verso has also been released in European markets. Its Japanese counterpart is the Corolla Spacio, which has been discontinued as of the 10th generation. The Corolla Rumion is also sold in the US-market as the Scion xB.

The Corolla Matrix, better known just as the Matrix, shares the E120 and E140 platforms, and is considered the hatchback/sport wagon counterpart of the North American Corolla sedan, as the European Corolla hatchback is not sold there. Toyota frequently combines the sales figures of the Corolla sedan and Matrix. The Pontiac Vibe, which is the General Motors badged version of the Matrix, also shares the Corolla platform. The Pontiac Vibe was exported from Fremont, California to the Japanese market where it was badged Toyota Voltz. Over many years, there have been re-badged versions of the Corolla, sold by General Motors, including the 1980s' Holden Nova of Australia, and the Sprinter-based Chevrolet Nova, Chevrolet Prizm, and Geo Prizm. The Corolla liftback of Toyota Australia was badged as simply the T-18. The five-door lift back was sold with the Corolla Seca name in Australia and the nameplate survived on successive five-door models.

The US Insurance Institute for Highway Safety rated the 1998-2002 models as "Acceptable" in their 40 mph frontal offset crash test. Initial 2003 models had an overall "Good" rating, but received a "Marginal" on left foot injury protection. A rebuild beginning December 2002, which continues through to the 2008 model, gives the Corolla a "Good" rating in all aspects of the test. Corolla models from model year 2005 to 2008 with optional side curtain air bags received an "Acceptable" rating in the side impact crash test, largely due to a "Marginal" rating in structure/safety cage design. Otherwise, injury protection ratings for driver and rear passenger were all good except for driver pelvis injury protection, which was "Acceptable". The Corolla from model year 2009 to present with standard side curtain air bags received a "Good" rating in both the frontal offset and side impact crash test.