4x4xFAZ Toyota Land Cruiser history of Toyota 4x4 vehicles FJ40 HJ60 HDJ80 LJ78

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TOYOTA - synonymous with reliability

Toyota motor corporation established 1937 by Kiichiro Toyoda as a spin off from his fathers Toyota industries. Toyota is respected the world over for reliable motor vehicles and industrial machines, it has a dedicated following of millions of people from hundreds of countries who love and cherish Toyota vehicles. The best selling car ever produced is a Toyota Corolla! which was first built in 1966, by 2007 the Corolla had topped 30 million sales across the world. The main reason for the popularity of Toyota has been "reliability" it is used not only in the modern cities of the western world but also the beaten tracks of Africa and Asia where it proves its superb build quality and excellent mechanical reliability ... and that's just the basic entry level Toyota Crolla. Now the Toyota Land cruiser is the flagship and in most cases the most expensive model from Toyota, you can rest assured that the Land Cruiser is even more reliable and better built than the little Corolla.

The Land Cruiser history (my understanding of - Faz)

The 10 series Land Cruiser?

In 1941 Toyota was ordered to build a light tactile truck for the Japanese Imperial Army to be used in the military campaign during the war, having seen the Willis Jeeps in action the Japanese realised the usefulness of a light yet capable vehicle and demanded a similar vehicle from Toyota, Toyota obliged by building a proto type named the MODEL AK which was similar yet distinctively different from the American vehicle. The Japanese government commissioned Toyota to start the manufacture of this 1/2 ton light truck, in 1942 the AK10 was built and running, it was powered by a 4 cylinder 2259cc engine from a Toyota Sedan. There are no known AK10s left anywhere in the world also there aren't even any known photographs of this vehicle.

The BJ Jeep

In 1950 when the Americans were busy in Korea Toyota was asked by the United states government to build 100 vehicles with the Willys specification. In 1951 Toyota had produced a proto type 4x4 "Jeep BJ", the Jeep BJ was larger and more powerful than the original American Jeep, the BJ Jeep was powered by a petrol 3.4 litre 6 cylinder engine producing 85hp, the BJ Jeep had a part time 4x4 system but no low range transfer case. By 1953 the BJ Jeep was being produced at the Toyota Hansya plant, The BJ jeep was available in Touring BJ-T, Radio BJ-R and chassis form for fire engines BJ-J.

The 20 series Land Cruiser 1955

The BJ was to evolve in to the 20 series, a more civilian type vehicle to enable export and to compete with the British Land Rover, Hanji Umehara - the technical director at Toyota had decided to name this vehicle "Land Cruiser" It was called Land Cruiser because he did not want it to sound "less dignified" than the competition - Land Rover. The Land Cruiser 20 was powered by a 3.9 litre F series 6 cylinder petrol engine, the vehicle was supported with a 4 leaf spring setup. in 1958Toyota introduced long wheel base wagon known as the Land cruiser FJ35V, production of the FJ25 was moved to Brazil making it the first Toyota to be built outside of Japan, by 1959 Toyota was exporting Land cruisers to Australia for use in the mining industry.

1960 a Legend is Born - FJ40

In 1960 Toyota redesigned the 20 series by making many changes in the production stages and introduced the FJ40. The FJ40 was powered by a petrol 3.9 litre engine producing 125 hp, the FJ 40 was the first Land Cruiser with a low range transfer case. The Land Cruiser being built in Brazil were renamed Bandeirante which were powered by a Mercedes-Benz diesel engine producing 78hp.

The FJ40 has achieved a cult following by many hard core 4x4 enthusiasts around the world, it is a seriously capable offroader loved by many. The FJ55 (FJ55 was a long wheelbase 40 introduced in 1967) had front disc brakes by 1975, and there was a diesel engine option in the shape of a 3.0 litre 4 cylinder B series diesel engine. The production of the FJ40 ended in 1984, at least in Japan it did.

60 series Land cruiser - 1980

4x4 type SUV vehicles had built up a reputation and were accepted as a useful vehicle not just for industrial and military use but also by the civilian population. Toyota had recognised this market and introduced the Land Cruiser 60 series, it was very different in terms of size and looks to the 40 series. The 60 had a 4.0 litre 6 cylinder diese 2H and a 3.4litre 4 cylinder 3B diesel engine as well as the F series petrol engine from the 40. Land cruiser 80 was equipped with modern creature comforts such as air conditioning and electric windows etc etc but this was not the only thing that made the 60 a huge success. By 1981 Landcruiser sales had surpassed 1 million worldwide, surely a testament to its reliability and success as the 4x4 vehicle of choice by the masses.

Land Cruiser 70 series - 1985

With the 40 series production having ended in 1984, Toyota had a market for a lighter 4x4 SUV than the 60 series, this is when Toyota introduced the Land Cruiser 70. With its straight lines and 1980s style design in some ways it still retained similar looks from the 40 heritage.

Land Cruiser 80 - 1990

In 1990 Toyota introduced the Land Cruiser 80Land cruiser had evolved into a full time 4x4 machine with 3 diff locks and the superb 4.2 litre turbo charged 6 cylinder diesel engine ready to tackle a variety of terrain from across the world.

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