TOYOTA CROWN - First generation (RS series)
| Production | 1955–1962 |
|---|---|
| Body style(s) | 4-door sedan 4-door station wagon 2-door station wagon |
| Engine(s) | 1.5L (1453cc) R (1955-1960) 1.9L (1897cc) 3R (1961-1962) |
| Wheelbase | 2530 mm (99.6 in) |
| Length | 4285 mm (168.7 in) |
| Width | 1679 mm (66.1 in) |
| Height | 1524 mm (60 in) |
| Curb weight | 1152 kg (2540 lb) |
The Crown was introduced in 1955 to meet the demand of public transportation in the form of a taxi, [1] with the same 1.5 L Type R engine used on their previous car, the Toyopet Super. Its coil and double wishbone independent front suspension was a departure from the leaf sprung live axle front suspension used on most previous models but was similar to the independent front suspension used on the 1947 Toyopet SA. The live axle rear suspension was similar to that used on most of the previous models (unlike the trailing arm rear suspension used on the SA). Taxi versions were produced and commercial versions of the vehicle were also available as an estate wagon and a 3 or 6 seater coupe utility.
The Crown was designed to replace the Super but Toyota was not sure if its independent front coil suspension and its suicide type rear doors were too radical for the taxi market to bear. So the Super was updated, renamed the Master (Japanese: トヨペット・マスター) and sold alongside the Crown. When sales of the Crown proved worthwhile, the Master was discontinued in November 1956 and production facilities for the Master were transferred to the Crown.[2]
The initial RS model received a cosmetic update in 1958 to become the RS20. In 1961 the 1.5 L R engine was replaced with the similar 1.9 L (1896cc) 3R engine to become the RS30.
The commercial models (utilities, wagons and vans) were known as the Master Line. The body panels were altered slightly in style as well as function but were otherwise the same as the rest of the Crown range.
Exports of the first Japanese car to the United States began in 1957 [3] and ended in 1960. The reception of the car was horrible. As a publicity stunt to demonstrate the car's reliability, Toyota did what many American automakers had done earlier; they staged a coast-to-coast endurance run from Los Angeles to New York. As things turned out, the Toyopet was barely able to limp into Las Vegas before the project had to be called off. Since the car was designed for the muddy, slow, unpaved Japanese roads, it failed the mass urban landscape of the US because of its inability to keep up with traffic on the faster intestate highways [4]. Unknown to Toyota, they just designed a very high quality sedan on a truck like chassis. The overbuilt heavy body was no match for the original 1.5L 4-cylinder. To try and remedy this, a newer, more powerful engine was expected to be the solution, but the improvements did little to help. In 1960 the Crown stopped being imported to the US market. Many unhappy dealers were left with large amounts of stock. The Tiara and Land Cruiser would be the only cars imported until the second generation Crown was available five years later. This is the car that gave Americans a bad image of Japanese built vehicles. It was solid, but being underpowered, uncomfortable and lacking some basic amenities while costing more than similar offerings from Europe sealed its fate.
In November 2000, Toyota released the Origin, a retro version of the RS series Crown to celebrate 100 million vehicles having been built in Japan.
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