(first posted 12/18/2013) Back in the eighties, my father spent several years on the road as a corporate gypsy. During this time, he spent two weeks a month in California, time spread evenly between Los Angeles and San Jose. Back home in Denver, he once pointed out a ten year old car in showroom condition and told me such sightings were almost common in California. In contrast, while Denver’s climate did not attack cars like rust belt weather, few eight or ten year old cars remained in perfect condition.
Since moving to California, I’ve discovered that Dad’s statement remains true today. I offer this 1970 Corona Mark II as evidence. Parked in downtown San Pedro, this picture takes me back 35 years. I’m sure this sidewalk, curb, and building all existed in 1970, providing the perfect period backdrop for this car. The license plate is also period correct, so the only modern images in this picture are the iron security screens on the building doors, and the modern design bus benches down the street.
To help emphasize that clean old cars are a common sight here in Southern California, an early ‘70s vintage Datsun Pickup was kind enough to cruise through this shot. I should note that there wasn’t any car show in San Pedro the day of these pictures. These cars are just transportation for their owners. Given the condition of this Mark II it must be someone’s weekend toy, but clearly the owner is not afraid to venture out on the city streets. For that, I salute him (or her).
Toyota marketed the Corona Mark II as a step up from the Corona, but this interior view tells us they had not yet reached Lexus levels of interior finish. While the cockpit includes nicely finished bucket seats along with trim panels over all the sheet metal, the corrugated vinyl door panels and smallish arm rest did not match up to the opulent interiors of their American competition.
This interior shot hints that Toyota drew a bit of inspiration from that American competition. The two spoke steering wheel and wide band speedometer display could have come out of several different Detroit products, and the overall dash shape appears more US than European. I’m surprised the owner left the windows of this car open on a city street, but of course the car is relatively theft-proof. Most stolen Toyotas end up parted out, and there’s very little market for Corona Mark II parts, either here or in Japan.
It appears the owner needs some other folks to part out a few Mark IIs. Judging by this duct tape repair to the rear view mirror, finding a good replacement part has been a challenge.
Growing up in Denver, these Mark IIs were a rare sight. Back then, Toyota sold around 250,000 cars a year, so Toyota badges weren’t super rare. However, I believe that Denver buyers preferred the lower priced Toyotas, leaving the Mark II to gather dust in the showroom. I recall spotting lots of Corollas (both 3KCs and 2TCs) in Denver, while Mark IIs and Crowns were few and far between. I’m guessing the Mark II sold better in California, long time home to our subject car.
This picture shows two styling elements I saw on most Toyotas of that era- Busy body trim and multiple badges. The taillight surround uses multiple googie themed shapes in the escutcheon, and the badging assures us that this Toyota has a 1900 Automatic. This reflects the typical Japanese styling direction of the day.
This mini chrome spear also demonstrates a frequent Japanese design element. While it looks a bit like an external turn signal indicator, it’s actually designed to cover the mounting holes for the Japanese market fender mounted rear view mirrors. A simple solution to a problem created when a manufacturer builds cars for multiple automotive markets.
To complete out styling review, let’s take an additional look at the front grille. During this time, Toyota followed the American tradition of yearly styling updates, and offered this grille-within-a-grille fascia for 1970. The ’69 grille was a bit plain for my taste, but this grille bordered on the weird. The ’71 and ’72 grilles were both an improvement to my eye. To see the 1971 Mark II grille, check out Paul’s article on a 1971 Mark II coupe.
In closing, I should also note that the Mark II coupe in Paul’s article has sexier lines then this stodgy four door. I’m sure the owner of this car values its solid reliability, and harbors no illusions that this car appeals to the hip and trendy eye (especially with that baby blue paint job). This car was never Toyota’s best seller, or hippest offering, but it did lay the ground work for future success. In fact, many of the elements present in this car are also present at your local Toyota dealer. Just drop by and ask to see the Camry, Toyota’s current example of solid (but stodgy) design.
Living in the Southeast, I only see vintage Japanese cars in my collection of 70’s Car and Driver and Motor Trend magazines (it’s amazing what you can find on Craigslist). I’m not a hipster by any means but I think this is a cool little car. The use of chrome and weird body shapes give it a lot of personality. I’d definitely drive it on the weekends… well, after swapping in a manual transmission.
Brings a smile here. My first “almost New Car” bought in 73. Red with a 4 speed. Sadly western Pa. road salt did its job and a year or two later, the right rear springs front shackle burst through the rusted out frame. Didn’t have the quality back then they do now. The Japanese didn’t keep their cars for more than a few years. It was thought to be unpatriotic to not support the car industry. Consequently, their cars were not made to last. They adapted to Americans keeping cars longer. It is pretty amazing to see this one looking as good as it does. Whens the last time any of us has seen a really vintage unrestored Toyota?
I think one of these served for one of my few paid auto repair jobs. My first or second year in college, another kid in my dorm had one of these. He needed something simple done (plugs, thermostat or something else that I forget) and didn’t know how. He bought the parts and I did the job in the parking lot.
It was my first up close experience with a Toyota. I remember never having noticed that sloped front end that reminded me of a 61(?) Ambassador. The car was pretty beat up, and may have even had a brush paint job, but I recall that it felt both solid and relaxed. But back when a guy could find a nice cheap 6 cylinder Mopar A body that was bigger, faster and easier to find parts for, I was not tempted.
I would be mighty tempted now, though.
Good, practical car, even if the front end is ugly. In UK early Jap cars are virtually extinct for the obvious reasons- It would create a lot of interest here.
As for hipsters- what do they drive? Quite a few old W123s around here driven by right-on trendys.
It’s mostly a simple and clean design, with a few odd styling features. Funny that they would choose the ’61 Rambler as the inspiration for the schnoz. It’s a look tried on only a few cars and it never really worked.
Edit: Just realized JPC beat me to it.
Very nice find. This car brings back lots of memories, as it was the first Toyota I ever drove, an almost identical ’71 version in the same blue. It belonged to some close friends in Iowa City, he was a prof there. Toyotas were quickly being embraced by the university crowd then, and the former Studebaker dealer was mighty glad of that.
It was a pleasant car to drive, but of course without any sporty pretensions. I have happy memories of bopping down gravel country roads to one of our favorite quarry swimming holes in it. That’s a pleasant memory to have right now…
On another note, the Corona Mark II was a bit odd in terms of its market position, as it was just a wee bit bigger and more expensive than the Corona. That probably limited its appeal somewhat, but these were not that uncommon at the time. Most Toyota buyers back then were affluent enough, and could certainly afford a small step up.
The second generation Mark II, which lost the “Corona” in its name, was a substantially bigger car with the SOHC six, and became the top car in Toyota’s lineup after the Crown disappeared in 1972. Now that would be a find.
Those were great Toyotas the later Mark 2 I had a 74 sedan with auto and a 5speed coupe for parts fast quiet cruisers with plenty of grunt in quite a light car it could tow a recovery trailer with splitscreen VW van on it at a steady 60mph all day. Wish I still had it. This earlier shovel nosed model is very rare out this way.
Aussie got the Mark 2 and the crown same powertrain in both.
The same powertrain in those cars made the Mark II a real flier! We had a succession of odd anti-import and later anti-pollution laws here which made it easier for Toyota to fit the same engines to both.
I see more Mark IIs around Melbourne than the original shovel nose.
The Japanese influence on Germany is happening as we speak; what they did with in-between models like the Carina and Mark II is now being played out with the 4 and 6 series BMWs and Merc CLS, for example.
The shovel-nose Corona Mark II was never officially sold in Australia, but a few were brought in for evaluation by the head of AMI, which handled Toyota distribution in those days. Maybe it was to test the waters for the second-gen Mark II, which you used to see all over the place. When they discontinued selling the Cressida here around ’90, they just walked away from that market. Bad move.
You’re right. I was talking about the Corona shovel nose. We used to drive to uni in one.
If anyone from NZ is reading, please confirm an old rumour I heard which was that NZ was a test market for Japanese manufacturers, and hence there are all sorts of oddballs that never otherwise made it out of Japan.
NZ is often viewed as a test market even today for many industries due to size, willingness to try new things, western culture, and most importantly, if something fails, we’re isolated enough for the testers to walk away and pretend it never happened!
I’m not sure we were ever viewed as that big of a test market for the Japanese car manufacturers though. Post-WWII there would have been an anti-Japanese sentiment for rather a while, but we started getting drip-fed Japanese cars from the late 50s. I’m not aware of any being much different from those being similarly drip-fed to Australia at the time – and I think Aussie got more variety than we did through the 60s.
In the 80s and 90s some of the JDM manufacturers offered us new cars that weren’t available elsewhere outside of Japan, but they were generally to fill a gap in the market or compete with another manufacturer rather than as a test case. For example, we were the only non-Japanese market to get the U12 Nissan Bluebird ATTESA Turbo new, but that was less of a test case and more of a wannabe Sierra Cosworth (which sold well here with a great reputation) competitor.
Since about 1987 of course, we’ve received untold JDM oddities, but all as used imports, over which the original manufacturer had no control, so can’t be viewed as test cases.
NZ buyers were the Beta testers of the widebody Camry, Toyota did a redesign for the world market including a new V6 and different drive axle ratio, I still see the odd 90/91 wide body on the road they seem to run forever until the termites get in, A few Japanese cars turned up here in the 60s Crowns were something of a sales success most had serious rust within 12 months few survive but Prince landed in the late 50s with their Skyway wagon one is still on the road and very tidy judging from photos Ive seen. When I returned from OZ to NZ I saw plenty of cars Id never seen before and My brother remarked when he moved to OZ on the lack of Variety of used cars his partner liked He was easily pleased he bought a Falcon but what his partner wanted was what she drove in NZ but that model Toyota simply didnt exist she settled for a Camry
I suspect Don Andreina is referring to the Corona itself rather than the feature car here.
I had a neighbour who had a 1976 Corona Mark II. Same basic shape as in the above picture.
The body shape changed in 72.it must have been older.
Model-by-model U.S. Toyota passenger car sales from this era, from the link below:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1EFmfFTv-pDkdUuxJ_Ga20nglbcYZqefJklW72ZUeCKA/pub
1966
Corona – 14,764
Crown – 1,647
1967
Corona – 31,099
Crown – 2,351
1968
Corona – 56,617
Corolla – 7,247
Crown – 3,798
1969
Corona – 79,354
Corolla – 27,443
Mark II – 10,480
Crown – 5,792
1970
Corolla – 64,098
Mark II – 62,342
Corona – 55,781
Crown – 6,528
1971
Corolla – 116,435
Mark II – 78,092
Corona – 67,858
Celica – 17,572
Crown – 3,934
Carina – 939
1972
Corolla – 108,896
Mark II – 59,744
Corona – 49,477
Celica – 40,485
Carina – 24,413
Crown – 918
1973
Corolla – 115,463
Corona – 60,555
Celica – 58,869
Mark II – 24,983
Carina – 14,824
Crown – 49 (leftover ‘72s?)
1974
Corolla – 101,894
Celica – 59,172
Corona – 52,714
Mark II – 13,933
Carina – 87 (leftover ‘73s?)
1975
Corolla – 151,177
Celica – 64,922
Corona – 44,156
Mark II – 8,736
Carina – 62 (leftover ‘73s?)
1976
Corolla – 187,321
Celica – 100,438
Corona – 38,638
Mark II – 5,064
The source doesn’t say whether these figures are MY or CY, but I am guessing they are CY. Some interesting trends:
1) The Mark II quickly overtook the original Corona, outselling it from 1970-72.
2) The Corolla quickly overtook both the Corona and the Mark II, outselling both by 1970, and opening up its lead to a wide margin in the following years.
3) The Crown never sold in large numbers in the U.S.; its size/price proposition likely just didn’t make sense to most American carbuyers of the era. The second generation Mark II presumably had the same problem. Mark II sales fell off sharply as soon as the second generation arrived, and slid even lower in subsequent years.
4) While Corona sales were on a sharp upward climb in the 1966-69 period, 1969 turned out to be the peak, presumably due to competition from the Corolla below and the Mark II (slightly) above. Corona sales in 1970-71 were still fairly high, but there was a clear downward trend after that. Even the Mark II’s move upscale didn’t do anything to reverse this. By the mid ’70s, Corolla sales were a multiple of Corona sales, and the Corona had become a relatively minor contributor to Toyota’s U.S. sales picture.
A few other points;
– The Corolla was redesigned in 1971 and again in 1975, and the first year for the 1600cc engine, a 4-door sedan, and an automatic option was midyear ’71.
– The Carina was only offered in 1972-3 model years and only as a 2-door sedan, presumably since the Corona line lacked one and Datsun had sold a large number of 510 2-door sedans.
Grandpa had a 71 Corona. Small simple car, perfect for a guy who learned to drive at 43.
O course it rusted hideously but that was pretty typical of early salt belt Toyotas.
The busy detailing with lots of badges was typical of Japanese styling for a long time, apparently the idea was to make the car look interesting from close up in bumper to bumper traffic. At least that was Road & Track’s explanation for why the Japanese styled 3rd generation Celica (82-85) had lots of little details, unlike the very clean 2nd generation cars designed by Calty.
The transmission badge is another period touch, I remember seeing automatic and 5 speed badges into the early 80s. Toyota’s SR-5 trim level is actually a vestige of this since it first appears on Corollas and Hi-Luxes with the optional 5 speed.
Some carried a Toyoglide badge not automatic, I quite liked the detailing on my MK2.
I’m kind of intrigued by 70s Japanese cars, probably because they’re almost nonexistent in the salt belt. It’s too bad we don’t get more around here, just for a little variety.
Wow, what a nice survivor. I love the blue/blue color combination and the fact that it still has the original wheel covers.
Great find–a really cool vintage Toyota!
I appreciate this particular CC! This was my very first car. A 1972 Corona Mk II coupe, with Toyoglide 3-speed automatic. ’72 was the final year for the RT-series Mk IIs, replaced with the larger X-series Mark II for 1973.
Mine was metallic blue with a black vinyl roof. As I bought it used around 1978 or so, I don’t know if the vinyl roof was factory or dealer-installed, but I recall seeing other Corona MkIIs with vinyl roofs as well. My car had the larger 1968cc 18R-C engine vs. the 1858cc 8R-C in the subject car. (My trunk badge would have said “2000 Automatic”) With leaf springs in back and recirculating-ball steering in front, this was solid, but ho-hum, transportation. But it was simple to work on and easy to maintain, thus an ideal first car.
I eventually swapped the Toyoglide for a 5-speed from an early Celica, which at the time used the same 18R-C engine, so this seemed like a no-brainer to a high school kid in auto shop class, as I was. Except for having to mount a clutch pedal, master & slave cylinder, trans mount, different driveshaft, and plug the trans cooler in front of the radiator, other than that the swap was a piece of cake!
One thing about the interior: I agree with the description in this article. The seat upholstery was decent for the time, but the door arm rest were tiny. The padded dashboard probably looked great for the first couple years from new, but it was obvious that vinyl-covered polyurethane foam technology was in its infancy. The lower dash panels and the dash cover, along with the steering wheel horn cover, tended to warp and disfigure over time. With the design of the Corona Mk II’s dash, with the emphasis on horizontal lines, this degradation was particularly noticeable, and I recall it drove me crazy to have to look at all the gaps and seams that no longer lined up. But I think it must have been fairly attractive when new.
-Dan
This sedan is pretty frumpy, as sedans tend to be, but that coupe Paul wrote up is actually kind of neat. Thing is, I have to totally disagree on the comparison of that coupe to the Camry…except for being Toyotas, they couldn’t be further apart. Camries are something I don’t even like to acknowledge as cars…more like transportation devices. Numb driving experience, and about as much style as a whirlpool dishwasher. The Corona coupe on the other hand is a bit snazzy. It lacks the timeless style of say a 510, but its something I can see a set of 4 spoke Cragar SS wheels gracing, maybe a little lowering and if you want to get crazy, a turbo 22R (I think that’s the 2.4 L engine from the 80s).
Hmm … I was in high school during peak Corona years and already, both two and four door Coronas were considered mere transportation devices. At least the Corolla was cheap, and by 1970 there was the 2TC 1600 Corolla which was quite hot for the day, and of course the Datsun 510. But Coronas? Blah. Even the Celica did little to enhance Toyota’s image in the direction of true sportiness. Of course now it’s great to see one in such good shape and being used. At least in my part of California, this is not a daily or even annual site.
That opening statement reads differently in 2023 than you meant it to in 2017.
Picture 3: Nice line up with the older buildings, but you didn’t point out the (Datsun or Toyota) pickup from the same era right in line between the Corona and the buildings across the street. The only thing killing this picture are all the newer vehicles on the street.
My dad had a darker blue one, with a manual transmission. I just started kindergarten when had bought a new 70 AMC Rebel sedan, which had problems that did not occur at less than a thousand miles. A couple months later, we went downtown to the Toyota showroom, which was across the street from the AMC dealer. Mom and Dad were looking at a blue Corona Mark II Deluxe on the showroom floor, but I was hoping they would buy a brown one in the corner, which I don’t remember what it was. It was the first and only time I went along to shop for a new car.
My brother had a Corona which would have gone forever if he could have kept ahead of the rust. He couldn’t. Not to say that North American compacts like the Mercury Comet that he had were any better in the 70s, but salt and a 70s Toyota did not mix.
Nice looking car. My aunt and uncle had a 1969-70 Toyota Corona Mark II. Theirs wasn’t as nice as this one, but it wasn’t bad either. I’d buy one myself if I could find one in good condition.
I drove Corona MKII 1971 1900CC in perfect condition for two decades after my dad. This car is absolutely amazing and in terms of appearance ahead of its year. interior is a bit similar to American cars. Its ride is amazing but not fantastic breaks to be honest – I could never fix its breaks really. I so badly want to buy one of these again as our car was destroyed now.
I got a ride home from elementary school a number of times in one of these–same color even. It belonged the family of my friend Danny. This was the first Japanese car I had ever personally experienced. It was soooo much smaller than my Dad’s ’64 Impala, and as such, it almost seemed like an enclosed go-kart to me.
Danny’s family also had a Volvo 142, which had the novelty of a big stick shift between the two front seats. I had only seen bench seats in cars. I was smitten! Danny’s dad told me the engine had TWO carburetors too. I was only 10, but I knew that was SUPER COOL!
At that time, Japanese and Swedish cars seemed weird compared to my family’s Chevies, but Danny’s family was clearly trend setting–now, most kids growing up in San Francisco ride around in imports.
That sparked a memory or two. My grandfather bought 2 Coronas, which made him a very early adopter as an East Coast WWII vet. The first was a ’69, I think, although being born in ’67 I’m a little foggy on that one. The second was a ’72, which I remember vividly, as they had it at the same time as the ’69 Chrysler Newport. When my then recently separated mother needed to borrow a car for a trip, due to the unreliability of her ’72 Vega, I always begged for the “Little White Car”, as everything about it seemed child-sized to me.
The later dash designs were a little bit racier. I vividly recall the ’72 dash as below. Complete with column mounted ‘Toyoglide’. IIRC, that car stayed around for quite a while as a second around-town grocery grabber. I think it was kept until ’79 when a new Plymouth Horizon replaced it.
Impressed. I had a twenty year old Toyota Van that was much In the same way!
Dave W.
Quite a few of these showed up in Tucson when they were new. I’m sure they were reliable, but the sun wasn’t kind to them at all. Paint and interiors suffered through our 100-degree-plus summers and intense UV. I don’t see them anymore here. I agree about all kinds of cars holding up in coastal California climates!
A co-worker had a 74 wagon that refused to die. It made it until the early 2000’s until the tin worm finally got to it. I think it had a 4 cylinder and a 4 or 5 speed manual. He always seemed to have at least 1 Toyota in the fleet along with a 2 door big American coupe for Sunday drives or when he got tired of rowing his own gears. The last I heard he had switched to a Subaru wagon and a 60’s Pontiac lemans for Sunday’s.
When in the USAF, a buddy who’s family lived only 40 miles away in West Sacramento had one of these. Theirs was a darker blue, and I believe it may have been a 1970 or 1971 model. Same shovel-nose grille.
Compared to the Chevy I owned at the time, it couldn’t hold a candle to my car as to beauty, but it sure could pass lots more gas stations than my car could!
Nevertheless, after going to Lake Tahoe one day with his parents, he and his brother, I was impressed with the car if not the styling.
This was June, 1971, and stopping at Donner Pass and having a brief snowball fight was a nice break from the ride!
I had this exact car in pale yellow with a spray-on black textured roof about 40 years ago.120,000 miles on the clock when I got it and was amazed that everything worked with no squeaks or rattles. I was also impressed by the quality of the interior compared to the Datsun 510, I drove before. Even with Toyoglide, it was a pleasant car to commute in.
“spray-on black textured roof ”
That was called either a fake vinyl top or a poor man’s vinyl top. Very popular for a number of years.
When I was a kid in the 1970s the neighbors across the street had a light brown ’71 Mark II sedan with aftermarket leopard print seat covers. The Mark II replaced a mint green ’63 Rambler Classic 4-door sedan. The family dried their laundry on a clothesline and I’ll always remember the sight of the (rather large) lady of the house’s panties (which matched the seat covers) drying on the clothes line.
After growing up with my dad’s American sedans, my first Toyota purchase was a used ’72 Mark II. In addition to daily commutes, my young wife and I took a couple of 1,600 mile round trips in it, and it performed flawlessly. I remember strapping our young son into one of those cloth and tubular steel car seats which, fortunately, was never subjected to any kind of collision. It was a great little car that, unfortunately, went to my wife after our divorce.
I grew up being told that Japanese cars, Toyotas in particular, were way better than anything produced by American car makers. My first very own car was a Toyota. I drove a 1986 Toyota MR2. I also drove a 1990 Toyota Camry. My last Toyota was a 2006 Toyota Corolla.
My dad bought a new 1970 Corona Mark II station wagon. It was a slightly darker blue than the one shown with a 4-speed manual transmission and air conditioning. I learned to drive in it in 1974. We lived in South Carolina so didn’t have the rust problem other talked about. My dad drove it until 1985 when he sold it to someone. It had 186,000 miles on it with the original clutch. We pulled a sailplane trailer with it (1500 lbs) for probably 40,000 of those miles. It did use a lot of oil by the end of his time with it. You could carry 4×8′ boards in the back with the tailgate tied down. it would sit on the wheel wells and the taillights that cut into the tailgate.
I’m diggin’ it. Kind of like the Japanese version of the original Ford Falcon.
Stodgy? Maybe a little bit but certainly not unpleasent. Makes me wonder why Lexus currently seems to take styling inspiration from cars like the ’61 Fury instead of Toyota’s earlier work. A lot of CALTY’s designs were rather nice. Retro works better when it’s your own.
Bob B. I came here to say the same thing. I like the simple styling of early Coronas. This car has a bit of sophistication in its profile that still works. The next generation of Corona to come definitely tipped the scales to dull styling. Not this. Ten years after the first publication I hope it’s still in clean shape providing weekend enjoyment.