Toyota is one of the world’s most popular brands of both cars and trucks and one of the companies that helped Japan rebuild after World War II and create a fantastic, growing economy. The Toyota company was founded in1933 by Kiichiro Toyoda in his father’s loom factory-Toyoda Automatic Loom Works, Ltd. This happened after he had a visit to the United States and toured US car manufacturing plants. His goal was to build fuel efficient automobiles and in 1937 he separated his company and crated Toyota Motor Company, LTD.

Toyota gained popularity in Japan with the first truck the company made, a one ton model that used an overhead valve six cylinder engine, very much like the Chevrolet engine of the time with interchangeability with Chevy parts. Many Toyota trucks were made for the Japanese military and those captured after the war and used by the Allies were serviced using Chevrolet parts. After World War II Toyota was primarily a truck manufacturer until 1947. Then they started to make the Toyopet, a small car with a 27 horsepower engine that could go at a top speed of 55 miles per our. 215 of these small and cheap to operate cars were made. However, by 1955 Toyota was making 8,500 cards per year and by 1965 over half a million cars per year.

Toyota also began to produce the Land Cruiser. Styled after the British Land Rover and the American Jeep, they used a six cylinder engine making them more powerful than the Jeep and these gained popularity. In 1958 Toyota started to sell vehicles in the US, including the Toyopet and the Land Cruiser. They had poor sales with the Toyopet and designed the Toyota Corona for the US market. It had more horsepower than competing small cars but got very good gas mileage. As car sales picked up Toyota opened a plant to make cars in Brazil which began a philosophy of localizing production as well as design. Today they have a large network of production and design facilities in the United States and in Europe.

When Toyota first began to sell cars and trucks in the United States the term “made in Japan” was synonymous with cheap, both in price and quality. Toyota changed all that by concentrating on quality. As their cards grew in popularity several models were approaching luxury class. Then they created the Lexus, which means quality and luxury today. When Toyota created the Lexus Lincoln and Cadillac had both suffered problems in the luxury car market, and Lee Iacoca had downplayed Chrysler’s luxury image. The time was right for a new luxury car to his the market. Lexus came in with high standards of luxury and quality and immediately took off. Priced lower than Mercedes, it was considered a comparable car.

Toyota also moved ahead of the pack by instituting a 36,000 mile bumper to bumper warranty, a much better warranty than any competitors had, and Toyota replaced the meaning of “made in Japan” from cheap to better quality for less. Today Toyota is the third largest carmaker in the world when figured by both net sales and unit sales.  The Toyota Celica has been a popular sports car since 1970. The Camry a popular near luxury car since 1983. The Land Cruiser is still popular and has been around since 1950. The Toyota Corolla still popular since 1966. Toyota tends to keep names longer than most other car companies, but has dropped the Toyota Corona from its line. Toyota also has several lines of very popular and very reliable pickups and SUV’s.

Japan’s top automaker, Toyota Motor Corp, opened its first plant in Russia on Friday, aiming to produce 50,000 Camry sedans annually.

Toyota has since 2005 invested 3 billion roubles ($121.4 million) in the plant, which is also Russia’s first to produce premium-class cars, and plans to ramp up output at a later stage.

“We are hoping that one day the plant will produce 200,000 to 300,000 units per year. Then we can start considering production of budget-class cars,” Toyota president Katsuaki Watanabe said at the opening ceremony.

He added that the company would reach its initial goal of 50,000 units per year within 18 months.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Economy Minister Elvira Nabiullina are expected to attend the ceremony in Russia’s second largest city of St. Petersburg.

Sales of foreign car brands in Russia surged 63 percent in the first 11 months of this year.

General Motors Corp, Ford Motor Co and South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Co all build cars in Russia, and Japan’s Nissan Motor Co, Suzuki Motor Corp, Mitsubishi Motors and France’s PSA Peugeot Citroen are scheduled to follow.

Toyota’s flagship Camry sedan has been the best-selling car in the United States in eight of the past nine years.

Japanese brands accounted for nearly half the models in Consumer Reports magazine’s roster of vehicles winning the highest praise from their owners.

Toyota Motor Corp. came out ahead, with 10 of the 39 vehicles whose owners said in overwhelming numbers that they would buy the same model again, according to the survey released today.

American brands accounted for seven, or fewer than 20 percent, of the models rated “most satisfying” by U.S. consumers. But domestic vehicles gained ground for the first time in five years in the important family car category, where the V6-powered Ford Fusion and Saturn Aura won high marks.

Other top-rated U.S. vehicles included the Chevrolet Corvette, the Lincoln MKZ, the V8-powered Ford Mustang and the Ford Edge sport utility vehicle.

“These latest results suggest that domestic carmakers are getting better at capturing what people want in the car they drive every day,” said Rik Paul, Consumer Reports’ automotive editor.

Domestic vehicles still fill the ranks of “least satisfying” models, but many of those, like the Ford Freestar minivan, are no longer in production or are getting old.

Consumer Reports compiled the results from the responses to the same subscriber survey that generates the magazine’s closely watched reliability ratings. The magazine said the responses covered more than 300 models.

The findings confirm the results of other polls, which show that while the Japanese are ahead in terms of pleasing consumers, others are narrowing the gap.

“There’s no question that the quality gap has narrowed” and that Detroit’s automakers also are producing more attractively styled cars now, said Christopher Chaney, vice president at the San Diego-based consulting firm Strategic Vision, which also conducts auto surveys.

Fun, reliability big factors
Consumer Reports said the Toyota Prius hybrid car was rated the most satisfying vehicle for the fourth year in a row, with 92 percent of Prius owners saying they would definitely buy one again. Close behind were the BMW 335i coupe/convertible and the Porsche Boxster.

European models accounted for 12 cars on the list — a slight increase from last year and a disproportionately high number, given their small U.S. market share of less than 10 percent. European nameplates dominated the sporty car and roadster categories.

Two South Korean models, Hyundai’s Azera sedan and Santa Fe SUV, made the list of “most satisfying” cars for the first time.

David Champion, director of vehicle testing at Consumer Reports, said the highest-rated vehicles tended to be fun to drive and reliable. “If you buy a car and it doesn’t give you any problems, you tend to be satisfied with it.”

Although performance is a big factor, fuel efficiency is also an important consideration now, Champion said. “Cars that get good fuel economy are also very high in terms of owner satisfaction.”

Consumer Reports rates vehicles “most satisfying” if at least 80 percent of owners say they would definitely buy or lease that model again. They are rated “least satisfying” if fewer than half the owners would buy that model again.