{"id":853,"date":"2019-05-19T09:00:13","date_gmt":"2019-05-19T09:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.co.uk\/magazine\/?p=853"},"modified":"2024-09-12T10:24:48","modified_gmt":"2024-09-12T09:24:48","slug":"toyotas-hidden-gem-1966-corona","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/toyotas-hidden-gem-1966-corona\/","title":{"rendered":"Toyota\u2019s Hidden Gem – 1966 Corona"},"content":{"rendered":"

It wasn\u2019t so long ago that a manufacturer\u2019s press fleet would be brimming with nothing more than the most modern of offerings. That is, for the best part, what said manufacturer wants to show off, after all. Why keep old stuff on the books? An old car isn\u2019t going to get people shuffling through the doors of their local dealership, is it?<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Toyota,<\/p>\n

In terms of generic offerings, the above is true. There would be little point in Toyota keeping an ageing fleet of Avensis on the road. Nobody would ever book them out. However, that\u2019s not to say old cars don\u2019t have their place. As evidenced by this beautiful 1966 Corona, dripping with chrome and covered in a gorgeous off-white hue. It\u2019s a thing of beauty. Beauty that has earned it a place on the press fleet. Toyota, like other manufacturers, has concluded that it\u2019s not just okay, it\u2019s also expected that they would celebrate their heritage. There is a pride to be had from showing the world where you\u2019ve come from. The past is what built today, after all.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Toyota,<\/p>\n

\"Toyota,<\/p>\n

Not only that, these heritage cars serve to show just how far a company has moved on, and in the case of Toyota that\u2019s a long way indeed. This humble Corona spends its days looking out on a workshop full of hybrids or cutting-edge sports cars like the new Supra. The untrained eye may find it hard to believe that the Corona came from the same stable, but it did.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Toyota,<\/p>\n

So, what about this car in particular? What\u2019s the attraction from us here at Car & Classic? Well, frankly, it\u2019s the condition of the thing. We don\u2019t like to throw the cliched term of \u2018time-warp\u2019 out there too much, but this Corona is a worthy recipient of such a moniker. Yes, it\u2019s had some work over the years, a lick of paint here, a running repair there, but aside from that it\u2019s perfect. But crucially for us, it\u2019s not too perfect. Look around it and it\u2019s clear this car has been driven and enjoyed. There is just the right amount of wear to the mats, the seats have been sat in and the leather shows it, it\u2019s a car with life. It\u2019s not some pampered jewel that only ever gets polished. This is a working car \u2013 it\u2019s worth very little to Toyota as an ornament, it has to go out and earn its keep, and earn it is does.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Toyota,<\/p>\n

This is a step up from its past life. This RT40 Corona was actually used as a static display in a local Toyota dealership. However, in \u201906, the dealership decided to part company with the Corona and offered it to Toyota GB. There was little debate \u2013 Toyota had to have it, so a deal was done, and the Corona was welcomed into the fold.<\/span><\/p>\n

Having sat idle for long, the little Corona needed some love. It was given a light mechanical overhaul from front to back, consisting of a full service and full inspection, new tyres, the rear semi-elliptic leaf springs have been replaced as has the carburettor \u2013 but other than service parts, that\u2019s all that has been changed. Testament, then, to just how well this car was put together. In reality, and having experience of both, the Toyota was a much more solid and dependable option than the Cortina and the Viva that it rivalled in the 1960s.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Toyota,<\/p>\n

Looking around the Corona as we photograph it, and also getting a cheeky drive in the process, we see just how tight this car is. It\u2019s not fast, but the four-cylinder OHV engine in this Deluxe model chirrups and chatters with a pleasing eagerness. The gearbox is reassuringly crisp, with changes coming via a pleasingly mechanical feeling action. The steering isn\u2019t power-assisted, but it is light. The lush red seats are surprisingly comfortable and the cabin, on the whole feels safe and comforting, not rickety or old. <\/span><\/p>\n

Of course, our look around and brief go in the car is nothing compared to what it has been tasked with during its time with Toyota. The little Corona is a regular at classic car rallies and events and has even been driven<\/span> to the Netherlands<\/span><\/a> to go and pay homage to the oldest surviving Toyota, the Toyoda AA.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Toyota,<\/p>\n

In doing so, it\u2019s been given a new lease of life. And that\u2019s why we love it when a manufacturer can look beyond the output of its factories and instead look to the past. It\u2019s important to know where you come from, the past is what shapes the future, and in the case of the Corona that couldn\u2019t be truer. Today\u2019s Toyotas are safe, practical and reliable machines, but as its own heritage Corona shows, that\u2019s always been the case, and will be whether a car has 5k on the clock or 50 years of life. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It wasn\u2019t so long ago that a manufacturer\u2019s press fleet would be brimming with nothing more than the most modern of offerings. That is, for the best part, what said…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":854,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0},"categories":[2],"tags":[15,53,12,13,3197,11,346,347,14,16,70,345,344],"yoast_head":"\nToyota\u2019s Hidden Gem - 1966 Corona - Car & Classic Magazine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"If you go down to Toyota\u2019s press fleet facility in Crawley you won't just see shiny new models, there are a few classics hding in there, too.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/toyotas-hidden-gem-1966-corona\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Toyota\u2019s Hidden Gem - 1966 Corona - Car & Classic Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"If you go down to Toyota\u2019s press fleet facility in Crawley you won't just see shiny new models, there are a few classics hding in there, too.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/toyotas-hidden-gem-1966-corona\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Car & Classic Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-05-19T09:00:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-09-12T09:24:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/app\/uploads\/2019\/05\/DSC00551.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1013\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Car & Classic\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Car & Classic\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/toyotas-hidden-gem-1966-corona\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/toyotas-hidden-gem-1966-corona\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Car & Classic\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/#\/schema\/person\/9faf82502e956d89ea59bb842c637f39\"},\"headline\":\"Toyota\u2019s Hidden Gem – 1966 Corona\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-05-19T09:00:13+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-09-12T09:24:48+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/toyotas-hidden-gem-1966-corona\/\"},\"wordCount\":842,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"automotive\",\"car\",\"carandclassic\",\"carandclassic.co.uk\",\"cars-toyota\",\"classic car\",\"Corona\",\"Corona grille\",\"motoring\",\"retro car\",\"Toyota\",\"Toyota Corona\",\"Toyota Heritage\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Classic Cars\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/toyotas-hidden-gem-1966-corona\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/toyotas-hidden-gem-1966-corona\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/toyotas-hidden-gem-1966-corona\/\",\"name\":\"Toyota\u2019s Hidden Gem - 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