The Toyota Corona: A True Classic

The Toyota Corona must certainly be regarded as one of the best looking and longest lasting makes of car in the history of road use. The vehicle started manufacture during the years spanning 1957 and lasted up until 2002, passing through a number of different models along the way as it valiantly tried to adapt to the changing of the times.

  

Aside from the Toyota Corona's striking good looks, the Corona's various models were also considered to be much more fuel efficient as opposed to their American and European counterparts and enticed prospective car owners with the enviable choice of owning a much larger car (the Corona) but at the same cost and expenses of its smaller sibling the Toyota Corolla, which came soon after it.

Perhaps the single most elegant model in the line is the Toyota Corona Mark II, which was produced by the company from 1972 to 1976. There is something quintessentially seventies about this car, with its combination of effortless cool with an endearingly chunky shape that gives this car model a genuine period charm. If it is not already recognised as an iconic car of the decade, then it most certainly deserves to be considered as such.



The original model of the Corona is also a classic, of course, with its sweet buggy-like shape, but one which seems generally more dated and of-its-time. In the late seventies the car became rather more square and hard-looking, a bit boxy and hard-edged and having a lot of planes and edges with the car taking on something of a tough guy image which perhaps doesn't fit as well with the general style of the line.

The eighties brought with them a subtle modification of this design which kept the basic feel but made it far more sleek, taking the Corona back to the elegance of the early-to-mod seventies. As the car continued to be redesigned into the twenty-first century its hard edges and boxy design elements were increasingly smoothed down, resulting in the kind of rounded car that is still dominant to this very day.



The Toyota Corona still has its admirers today. A number of people do their best to keep vintage cars fit for the road, and while it may be easier to search for a Toyota Rav4 online than to find a good quality Toyota Corona from the earlier days of the car's life, it should not come as a great surprise if you still see one of them cruising the highways and byways now and again.

Toyota Hilux - Top Gear Volcano Pictures

Cool pictures from Top Gear last week when they went up the Eyjafjallajökull in a Toyota Hilux. Little did they know the active volcano would cause so much European travel havoc. Luckily, the Top Gear cast and crew escaped just hours before the volcano erupted. Finally a bit of good PR for Toyota. The Hilux remains truely a cool truck!

Top Gear Hilux Volcano Pictures

By modifying the same Toyota Hilux they took to the north pole with water-cooled tires and a roof-mounted ash-guard, the Top Gear team just scaled an active Volcano in Iceland for an upcoming episode. "They never take risk!" said an Icelandic Volcano expert who traveled with the crew as an adviser.

Like all other episodes, this one appears to have been carefully planned, with full permission from the Icelandic government. In addition to volcanoes and a collapsed economy, Iceland is known for its ridiculously epic off-roading so we expect the episode to be insanely awesome and heroic.

It turns out Top Gear is taking partial responsibility for the blast:

According to local media, the shaggy-haired television presenter was witnessed driving a modified Hilux to the rim of the Eyjafjallajoekull volcano last week. Though initially assumed that he was simply filming a feature for the the popular motoring television show, it has since been speculated that May's purpose was far more devious. "It has been scientifically proven that TopGear is responsible for almost every evil in the modern world, so the eruption of a furious tectonic force barely a week after Richard Clarkson's ‘visit' can hardly be viewed as mere coincidence," says media commentator Annalisa Kneejerk.

Stig Volcano Qutoes

Some say that his helmet visor is made of volcanic ash, and that when he erupts every pilot in Europe has to leave the room.

Some say he can cause volcanos to erupt by looking at them.

If you liked this Top Gear volcano post then check out more cool volcano pictures at http://www.collthings.co.uk

Cool Extreme Sports Lovers Car - Toyota/Billabong Ultimate Venza

Check out this cool Toyota Billabong extreme sports lovers car mash up called the Ultimate Venza. This new project was started by Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc. which teamed with Billabong and Street Image to create the perfect active sports vehicle capable to take you the beach, lake, mountains, skate park or anywhere in between and have a blast.

This 2009 Toyota Venza was modified by Street Image in order to support top extreme athletes at future competitions. A new and aggressive custom body kit was added and this includes a unique Toyota/Billabong exterior paint design, fender flares and alloy wheels. The custom roof rack was designed by the manufacturer to accommodate surf, snow and wake boards.

Street Image also installed a front and rear hitch receiver and Grinch Winch in order to pull wake boarders into waves or snow boarders and skaters across flat land to a jump or rail. The kit is completed by the large Enkei wheels wrapped in Nitto tires. Behind these wheels, we have a new Toyota Racing Development (TRD) big brake kit that was added to provide superior traction and stopping power when driving off the beaten path or to the beach. Inside, the Ultimate Venza features genuine Billabong materials and construction: the seats are custom upholstered with wet suit materials and incorporate Billabong’s latest design scheme and colors while the headliner is an artistic color collage depicting Billabong athletes in action.

Also, the interior modifications includes “living” features that, according to the manufacturer, they will allow the athletes to conduct many everyday endeavors while on the go or at competition sites. One of the most interesting features would be the custom heated shower system with a 10 gallon capacity for rinsing off after surfing. A Verizon Wireless access point router was also installed, which will allow athletes to receive up-to-date surf or snow reports and other important information. Of course, the car needed a state-of-the-art audio and video equipment from Fujitsu Ten’s legendary Eclipse brand that features a multi-media DVD head unit, iPod interface, head rest-mounted LCD monitors, 18 speakers and 2,200 watts of power.

Toyota FT-HS Concept Car

As cool cars go, the Toyota FT-HS Concept Car offers a glimpse of what the next Supra could look like. So, in anticipation of an actual hybrid sports car hitting the market at non-boutique dealer prices, let’s look at the HT-FS concept.