Toyota Corolla KE 20

Toyota Corolla KE 20 1,2 lt

The rear wheel drive Toyota Corolla was first introduced in Japan in model year 1966. Two years later, it was brought to the United States, replacing the unpopular and barely-noticed Crown. It lasted only two years with its original 1.1 liter engine, when a larger 1970 model appeared, powered by a "much larger" 1.2 liter engine. This new model actually became the second best selling import car in 1970. The next year, 1971, brought a 1.6 liter engine, more in tune with American tastes.

1974 saw the third generation, and the Corolla's strongest popularity
In the thirty years since its introduction, Corolla has sold more cars worldwide than any other nameplate!

Brief Overview of Corolla RWD History

Corolla means "crown of a flower", which explains the corolla emblem on cars up till about 1990. A earlier Toyota was the ToyoPet.

Notes of the author:

Toyota Corolla has built a strong popularity for Toyota back in the seventies. In Portugal, it is the main reason why a big part of car buyers over 50 years, still buy Toyota.
The KE 20 was an incredibly reliable car, with a soft and decent ride. The steering was a bit vague but light, clutch was light too and the brakes were very effective for a car of that age. A nice note for the gearshifting too, that had a very long travel but an easy and nice action.
Being RWD, the Corolla had na excessively happy tail. While it could be entertaining for a young driver, it could be too much of a challenge for the usual Toyota costumer.
Nowadays, there are still plenty of this cars around, and many people have kept them since new. That was the case of a friend of mine’s father. He bought it new in 1974 and made many kms on it. Being a great part of them with an obstructed water circuit. The car was driven 3 years without any cooling sistem, and it kept on going. Then, the day when the problem was spotted, a cheap but complete rebuild made it run like a clock again. That same year my friend’s father bought a 1999…Toyota Corolla.
The KE20 was then sold to an other friend of mine who drove it daily for about a year until he sold it 3 years ago. It was allready completely restored by it’s new and proud owner.