Ten generations of Corolla have achieved half a century of glorious history
1974~ 1978 The third generation
April 1974 · COROLLA Corolla series modification. Discontinued production of single-seater coupes and added hardtop sedans
In November 1975, the 1400cc COROLLA Corolla model meeting 75-year emission standards was launched
In November 1975, the COROLLA Van model meeting the 75-year emission standard was launched
January 1976 · COROLLA Corolla 1600cc displacement model adopts diluted combustion method and meets the 76-year-old exhaust emission standard
April 1976 · A tilt-tail model was added to the COROLLA 1200cc model
September 1976 · COROLLA Corolla AT car was added to the market
January 1977 · COROLLA Corolla was partially revamped with the addition of a single-seater two-door (re-production of the 1600 cc Levin GT that met 76-year emissions standards)
December 1977 · End of production of the COROLLA Corolla V (KE26) model
In 1974, the third generation of COROLLA Corolla was born. At that time, Japan was rapidly entering the automotive society. At the same time, the entire automotive industry was also facing the requirements of the times to solve energy conservation and exhaust gas purification. Especially in the later stage of rapid economic growth, how to respond to the diverse needs of the Japanese automotive market, improve quality, and establish an international automotive brand has become the main topic of discussion in the industry.
TOYOTA aims to produce "excellent and perfectly balanced high-quality cars", follows the design concept of generosity, decency, relaxation and comfort, and has developed new models to increase driving comfort and improve performance, making the product lineup more substantial and rich, and creating more abundant indoor space in the car body, which is both comfortable and practical. At that time, in the third generation of COROLLA Corolla products, the KE and TE30 models, which are oriented but not losing high-end luxury, safety and comfort, were affectionately called "Corolla 30".
The launch of the third-generation COROLLA Corolla swept the world automobile market at that time. This model won the first place in the year when it was launched, with the production of a single car type exceeding the Volkswagen Beetle. With the support of superior comprehensive performance, high quality and high trust, the COROLLA Corolla has created unprecedented production performance – 3.75 million cars, and has been exported since 1974, with an annual export volume of more than 300,000 cars, marking Japan’s establishment as an advanced country in automobiles.
What direction should the third-generation COROLLA corolla be developed in while taking into account environmental protection and energy conservation?
The CE of the third-generation COROLLA Corolla is Ziro Sasaki (former vice president). He started to conceive the new generation of COROLLA Corolla from the mountains of issues such as exhaust emissions, safety protection, and energy conservation. Before starting to develop, Sasaki first studied the achievements of Tokugawa Yashiro, the third-generation general of the Tokugawa shogunate.
"In one sentence, Ichiko solidified the foundation of the Tokugawa shogunate’s 300-year system. So good, the COROLLA Corolla will do the same thing as him." (According to TOYOTA document "COROLLA Corolla Production 10 million")
Therefore, in order to improve the grade of the Corolla and make it more advanced, it is first necessary to improve the ride quality and reduce the performance and function. Specifically, by reducing the difficulty of stepping on the throttle and clutch, measures such as centralized control buttons are adopted to greatly improve the operability. In terms of noise processing, it not only relies on the decibel value of the noise meter, but also pays attention to the human auditory experience and responds to the human auditory. Secondly, in order to beautify the appearance and highlight the freshness, the COROLLA Corolla also increases the width of the body and improves the grade of the interior.
The most important thing is the strategy for exhaust emissions, with the engine department as the center, we will mobilize the whole company and work tirelessly to think about countermeasures. In October 75, with the joint efforts of everyone, the Corolla 1600, which meets the 75-year exhaust emission standard, was finally put on the market as scheduled, promoting the development process of replacing environmentally friendly engines.
With the popularity of consumers’ car-owning lifestyle and consumers’ requirements for diverse models, COROLLA Corolla has launched four sports sedans, including two-door/four-door sedans, car-less door-post cars, and high-trunk cars. The models of COROLLA Corolla have reached the most 122 practical models and 18 commercial models in the history of COROLLA Corolla. The most distinctive one is the body of the newly designed car-less door-post car, which is the first model in the economy car without door posts.