The Nissan R391 is a prototype racing car built by Nissan and their motorsports counterpart Nismo for competition at the 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans . It was a replacement for the R390 GT1 , which was no longer legal in its production-based class.
88-422: Following Nissan's return to sportscar racing in 1995, motorsports division Nismo had been slowly climbing its way up the competition ladder to finally reach the top Le Mans prototype class. Starting with Skyline GT-R LMs in 1995, Nismo turned to developing the advanced R390 GT1 in 1997, which was effectively as close to a prototype as possible while still remaining street legal. With major rule changes in
176-900: A 2.8% stake in Panasonic , as well as stakes in vehicle manufacturing joint-ventures in China ( FAW Toyota and GAC Toyota ), the Czech Republic ( TPCA ), India ( Toyota Kirloskar ) and the United States ( MTMUS ). Toyota is listed on the London Stock Exchange , Nagoya Stock Exchange , New York Stock Exchange and on the Tokyo Stock Exchange , where its stock is a component of the Nikkei 225 and TOPIX Core30 indices. In 1924, Sakichi Toyoda invented
264-475: A class below the Crown and Century and offered hardtop coupes and sedans. The Supra , Mark II , Cresta and Chaser offered several trim packages with different engine displacements to provide buyers with annual road tax advantages. At the same time, sports cars like Celica , Corolla Levin and Sprinter Trueno sold very well. Efforts to open a Toyota assembly plant in the United States started in 1980, with
352-524: A drop in production and exports. Severe flooding during the 2011 monsoon season in Thailand affected Japanese automakers that had chosen Thailand as a production base. Toyota is estimated to have lost production of 150,000 units to the tsunami and production of 240,000 units to the floods. On February 10, 2014, it was announced that Toyota would cease manufacturing vehicles and engines in Australia by
440-785: A joint venture with local partner Astra International in 1971, and conducted significant retooling at the PT Gaya Motor assembly plant. The plant began assembling various models, including the Toyota Corona, Toyota Land Cruiser, large trucks, and the Toyota Corolla, with production surpassing 10,000 vehicles by 1973. For both countries, Toyota developed a basic utility vehicle (BUV) with the local partners to meet local needs and support technology transfers, in response to domestic production policies in Asia. The first prototype of
528-597: A long-standing partnership between Toyota and the two companies. After the successes of the 1970s, and the threats of import restrictions, Toyota started making additional investments in the North American market in the 1980s. In 1981, Japan agreed to voluntary export restraints , which limited the number of vehicles the nation would send to the United States each year, leading Toyota to establish assembly plants in North America. The U.S. government also closed
616-721: A new company called Nissan Motorsports & Customizing Co., Ltd. . The merge was completed on April 1, 2022. Products include the GT-R, 370Z, Sentra, Frontier, and the Juke Nismo. Soon to be added to the range is the hatchback Nissan Pulsar Nismo and the electric Nissan Leaf Nismo designs and manufactures a range of aftermarket performance parts for Nissan cars including aerodynamics parts such as spoilers and diffusers , alloy wheels , engine and suspension parts. The 2017 Infiniti Q60, being much criticized for its mild exhaust sound, about six months after its introduction had
704-579: A new version of the VH engine , opting to no longer use turbocharging as they had on the VRH35L . Instead, a modified naturally aspirated version would be constructed, named the VRH50A . At a larger 5.0 liters, the engine was able to overcome the loss of its turbocharging while still maintaining the benefits of the original VRH35L design. At the 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans, Nissan planned to enter two R391s along with
792-688: A production facility in Brazil, the company's first outside of Japan. Toyota entered the United States market in 1958, attempting to sell the Toyopet Crown. The company faced problems almost immediately. The company had to confront for the first time how its name sounded to native speakers of the English language; namely, "Toyota" has the English word " toy " in its first syllable. Toyota Motor Sales, USA 's first sales administrator James F. McGraw bluntly told his new Japanese supervisors after joining
880-511: A seat on the board of directors in 2000. Akio's promotion by the board marked the return of a member of the Toyoda family to the top leadership role for the first time since 1999. In 2011, Toyota, along with large parts of the Japanese automotive industry , suffered from a series of natural disasters. The 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami led to a severe disruption of the supplier base and
968-617: A single car, but Nissan was able to come out on top, with the R391 defeating the GT-One by a single lap, earning Nissan bragging rights in sportscar racing in Japan. Although Nissan was able to gain automatic entry to the 2000 24 Hours of Le Mans with their win at Fuji, Nissan officials decided that the motorsports program was no longer worth the cost, especially with Nissan attempting to restructure itself under new leader Carlos Ghosn . With only
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#17327905966871056-483: A single victory for their sportscar program since 1995, it was decided that Nissan would immediately end the R391 project in early 2000, leaving Nissan's only motorsports program to be in JGTC . Nissan would therefore turn down its automatic entry to the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Nismo Nissan Motorsports International ( ニッサン・モータースポーツ・インターナショナル株式会社 , Nissan Mōtā Supōtsu Intānashonaru ) , abbreviated as Nismo ,
1144-538: A specially tuned Nismo muffler made available through Infiniti dealers as an aftermarket item. Most Datsun , Nissan, and Infiniti branded cars have performance parts available from Nismo, either in production or as old stock. For example, Nismo sells parts such as unground cam billets, performance cams, pistons , etc. for the KA24E engine, which was used in the Nissan small pickup truck for several years and also used for
1232-568: A third Courage C52 with the older VRH35L motor. In official testing for Le Mans in May, the R391s were able to set the 10th and 13th fastest times, beating out some entries from Mercedes-Benz , Audi , and BMW , although they were not able to beat Panoz or their main rival, Toyota . Come the actual race, Nissan was again quick, with one entry able to qualify 12th. Unfortunately, the other R391, while being driven by Eric van de Poele , crashed during
1320-524: A vehicle. At the same time, the Japanese government heavily invested in improving road infrastructure. To take advantage of the moment, Toyota and other automakers started offering affordable economy cars like the Toyota Corolla , which became the world's all-time best-selling automobile . Toyota also found success in the United States in 1965 with the Toyota Corona compact car, which
1408-488: A white Corolla, rolled off the line at NUMMI on October 7, 1986. Toyota received its first Japanese Quality Control Award at the start of the 1980s and began participating in a wide variety of motorsports . Conservative Toyota held on to rear-wheel-drive designs for longer than most; while a clear first in overall production they were only third in production of front-wheel-drive cars in 1983, behind Nissan and Honda. In part due to this, Nissan's Sunny managed to squeeze by
1496-501: Is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi , Japan . It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on August 28, 1937. Toyota is the largest automobile manufacturer in the world, producing about 10 million vehicles per year. The company was founded as a spinoff of Toyota Industries , a machine maker started by Sakichi Toyoda , Kiichiro's father. Both companies are now part of
1584-525: Is a division of Nissan Motorsports & Customizing focused in motorsport and performance-oriented car models for Nissan . Nismo was initially a company, Nissan Motorsports International Co., Ltd. ( ニッサン・モータースポーツ・インターナショナル株式会社 , Nissan Mōtā Supōtsu Intānashonaru Kabushiki-gaisha ) , formed in 1984 as a result of a merger of two motorsport departments, being the in-house tuning, motorsports and performance subsidiary of Nissan. It has competed in JSPC , JTCC ,
1672-514: The 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 24 Hours of Daytona . They currently participate in Super GT and Formula E . Nismo ceased to be a company in April 2022 by being merged with sister company Autech into a new Nissan subsidiary, Nissan Motorsport & Customizing. The Nismo story began in 1964 when a local company called Prince Motor Company realized that they could boost their sales by going into
1760-463: The Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The winners of this race would be able to earn automatic entries to the following year's 24 Hours of Le Mans. Although the event was mostly made up of Japanese teams and thus lacked most major manufacturer teams, Nissan did still have competition from Toyota , who brought out their Toyota GT-One which had beaten the R391 at Le Mans. Both teams entered
1848-767: The Blancpain Endurance Series . Nismo has also developed production class Nissan GT-R cars for the 24 Hours of Nürburgring . They also have a pool of drivers, known as the Nismo Global Driver Exchange . This allows factory drivers the chance to race in big events such as the Le Mans 24 Hours , the 24 Hours of Dubai and the Bathurst 12 Hour . Nissan's first LMP1 Hybrid which was unsuccessful and caused Nissan and Nismo to withdraw Le Mans entirely. From 2011 to 2016, Nissan
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#17327905966871936-675: The Supercars Championship with Kelly Racing fielding four Nissan Altimas . The factory backing concluded at the end of 2018, although the Altimas continued to be privately entered in 2019. In 2009, Nissan entered the FIA GT1 World Championship with a Nismo-developed Nissan GT-R . Krumm and Lucas Luhr were 2011 drivers champions. Since 2011, Nismo has produced the GT-R GT3, which has competed in
2024-782: The T100 (and later the Tundra ), several lines of SUVs, a sport version of the Camry , known as the Camry Solara . They would also launch newer iterations of their sports cars, namely the MR2 , Celica , and Supra during this era. In Japan, Toyota continued to cater to the growing demand for mid-level luxury cars and offered several conventional and pillared hardtops sedans at its Japanese dealership network. The Soarer , Mark II , Cresta , Chaser , Corona EXiV , and Carina ED found many buyers. At
2112-636: The Tiara . After Kiichiro's death, his cousin Eiji Toyoda led the company for the two decades. Eiji helped establish the company's first plant independent from the Loom Works plant. At the start of the 1960s, the Japanese economy was booming, a period that came to be known as the Japanese economic miracle . As the economy grew, so did the income of everyday people, who now could afford to purchase
2200-610: The Toyota Group , one of the largest conglomerates in the world. While still a department of Toyota Industries, the company developed its first product, the Type A engine , in 1934 and its first passenger car in 1936, the Toyota AA . After World War II , Toyota benefited from Japan's alliance with the United States to learn from American automakers and other companies, which gave rise to The Toyota Way (a management philosophy) and
2288-874: The Toyota Mirai , a technology that is much costlier and has fallen far behind electric batteries in terms of adoption. As of 2024 , the Toyota Motor Corporation produces vehicles under four brands: Daihatsu , Hino , Lexus and the namesake Toyota. The company also holds a 20% stake in Subaru Corporation , a 5.1% stake in Mazda , a 4.9% stake in Suzuki , a 4.6% stake in Isuzu , a 3.8% stake in Yamaha Motor Corporation , and
2376-583: The Toyota Production System (a lean manufacturing practice) that transformed the small company into a leader in the industry and was the subject of many academic studies. In the 1960s, Toyota took advantage of the rapidly growing Japanese economy to sell cars to a growing middle-class, leading to the development of the Toyota Corolla , which became the world's all-time best-selling automobile . The booming economy also funded an international expansion that allowed Toyota to grow into one of
2464-413: The inaugural season of Formula E , DAMS (as e.dams) partnered with sister company Renault to form Team e.dams Renault, where they became the first Formula E Team's Champion. At the end of the 2017-18 season , Renault decided to focus on Formula One with Nissan taking over Renault's place in the partnership with e.dams to form Nissan e.dams for the 2018-19 season . In April 2022, Nissan announced
2552-708: The 1980s, the manufacturer entered the Fuji Grand Champion Series with Group 5 Bluebird, Skyline and Silvia silhouettes and the Japanese Touring Car Championship with production Skyline models. In the 1990s, Nissan competed in Supertouring championships around the world with the Nissan Primera , winning the 1999 British Touring Car Championship with Laurent Aïello . From 2013 onwards Nissan competed in
2640-502: The 1989 and 1990 model years of 240SX , a popular car among Import scene enthusiasts (especially Drifters ) in North America. In Japan, the V35 Skyline and Z33 Fairlady have both received several levels of Nismo tuning packages (E-Type, S-Tune, R-Tune, and S1 packages), with a full track spec Fairlady Z debuted at the 2005 Nismo Festival of Speed held at (formerly) Fuji International Raceway. In February 2007, Nismo announced
2728-413: The 25% " chicken tax " on imported light trucks. By importing the truck as an incomplete chassis cab (the truck without a bed), the vehicle only faced a 4% tariff. Once in the United States, Atlas would build the truck beds and attach them to the trucks. The partnership was successful and two years later, Toyota purchased Atlas. In Southeast Asia, Toyota made efforts to establish domestic production in
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2816-858: The BUV was completed in January 1975. The BUV was launched as the Toyota Tamaraw in the Philippines in December 1976, and as the Toyota Kijang in June 1977. The vehicle was well received in both countries. The energy crisis of the 1970s was a major turning point in the American auto industry. Before the crisis, large and heavy vehicles with powerful but inefficient engines were common. But in
2904-579: The Camry sedan, Camry hybrid, Prius and the RAV4 during the launching event at the Grand Hyatt Seoul. Between 2009 and 2011, Toyota conducted recalls of millions of vehicles after reports that several drivers experienced unintended acceleration . The recalls were to prevent a front driver's side floor mat from sliding into the foot pedal well, causing the pedals to become trapped and to correct
2992-599: The Corolla in numbers built that year. Before the decade was out, Toyota introduced Lexus , a new division that was formed to market and service luxury vehicles in international markets. Prior to the debut of Lexus, Toyota's two existing flagship models, the Crown and Century , both catered exclusively for the Japanese market and had little global appeal that could compete with international luxury brands such as Mercedes-Benz , BMW and Jaguar . The company had been developing
3080-534: The Crown went on sale in August 1955. The car was met with positive reviews from around the world. After the introduction of the Crown, Toyota began aggressively expanding into the export market; the company entered Saudi Arabia for the first time in 1955 with Land Cruisers, following an agreement reached with Abdul Latif Jameel (founder of his company of the same name ); Toyota also brought Land Cruisers into neighboring Yemen in 1956. In 1958, Toyota established
3168-499: The GT in 1999, major manufacturers were no longer able to build homologation specials which resembled prototypes more than true GT cars. Thus Mercedes-Benz , Toyota , Panoz , BMW , and Audi turned to the prototypes class, either using open cockpit prototypes or closed cockpit cars which were actually evolutions of their former GT cars. Nissan , believing that a purpose built prototype would be superior to an evolved GT car, decided to go
3256-539: The LMP1 category to fight for the FIA World Endurance Championship against Audi , Toyota and Porsche . Following a disappointing performance in the 2015 24 Hours of Le Mans , the program's remaining schedule in 2015 was pushed back, with the team intending a regular rebut in the 2016 season; however on 22 December 2015, Nissan announced that it was shuttering the program altogether. In
3344-414: The Philippines and Indonesia in early 1970s. In the Philippines, it partnered with local company Delta Motor Corporation . Toyota assisted Delta Motor with capital procurement and technology transfers. In 1973, Delta Motor commenced operations at a new plant, beginning local production of engine blocks for the Toyota Corona 12R engine and other parts. In Indonesia, Toyota established Toyota Astra Motor as
3432-516: The Prius. In 2001, Toyota acquired its long time partner, truck and bus manufacturer Hino Motors . In 2002, Toyota entered Formula One competition and established a manufacturing joint venture in France with French automakers Citroën and Peugeot . A youth-oriented marque for North America, Scion , was introduced in 2003. Toyota ranked eighth on Forbes 2000 list of the world's leading companies for
3520-867: The Pulsar GTi-R, essentially these cars contained all of the NISMO Group N parts available at the time in a fully built car. In the 1960s, Nissan competed in the Japanese Grand Prix sports car race. Nissan joined the IMSA GT Championship in 1979, where it competed in the GT classes with the 240SX, 280ZX and 300ZX. From 1985 to 1993, they entered the main GTP class with the GTP ZX-Turbo and NPT-90. Geoff Brabham won four GTP drivers championships with Nissan from 1988 to 1991, and
3608-514: The R390 GT1) to Courage for use on their own prototype, while Nissan would in return gain expertise from Courage for use on the R391. Nissan would also buy a Courage C52 chassis to run under their own team in order to have reliability in case the R391s suffered from mechanical gremlins, with the 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans being their first race with the C52. For the R391, Nissan would decide to use
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3696-450: The Soviet Union and the U.S., who had been allies in World War II. U.S. priorities shifted (the " Reverse Course ") from punishing and reforming Japan to ensuring internal political stability, rebuilding the economy, and, to an extent, remilitarizing Japan. Under these new policies, in 1949, Japanese automakers were allowed to resume passenger car production, but at the same time, a new economic stabilization program to control inflation plunged
3784-409: The Toyoda Model G Automatic loom . The principle of jidoka , which means the machine stops itself when a problem occurs, became later a part of the Toyota Production System . Looms were built on a small production line . In 1929, the patent for the automatic loom was sold to the British company Platt Brothers , generating the starting capital for automobile development. Under the direction of
3872-418: The Toyota Motor Company Ltd. Kiichiro's brother-in-law Rizaburo Toyoda was appointed the firm's first president, with Kiichiro as vice-president. Toyota Automatic Loom Works formally transferred automobile manufacturing to the new entity on September 29. The Japanese government supported the company by preventing foreign competitors Ford and General Motors from importing automobiles into Japan. At
3960-412: The Toyota Production System. For Toyota, the factory gave the company its first manufacturing base in North America allowing it to avoid any future tariffs on imported vehicles and saw GM as a partner who could show them how to navigate the American labor environment. The plant would be led by Tatsuro Toyoda , the younger brother of company president Shoichiro Toyoda. The first Toyota assembled in America,
4048-475: The United States government over accusations that it had intentionally hid information about safety defects and had made deceptive statements to protect its brand image. Amid the unintended acceleration scandal, Katsuaki Watanabe stepped down as company president. He was replaced by Akio Toyoda , grandson of company founder Kiichiro Toyoda, on June 23, 2009. Akio had been with Toyota since 1984, working jobs in production, marketing and product development, and took
4136-516: The acquisition of the e.dams race team and entered the 2022-23 season as Nissan Formula E Team . ( key ) (results in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Toyota Toyota Motor Corporation ( Japanese : トヨタ自動車株式会社 , Hepburn : Toyota Jidōsha kabushikigaisha , IPA: [toꜜjota] , English: / t ɔɪ ˈ j oʊ t ə / , commonly known as simply Toyota )
4224-447: The automotive industry into a serious shortage of funds, while many truck owners defaulted on their loans. Ultimately, the Bank of Japan , the central bank of the country, bailed out the company, with demands that the company institute reforms. As the 1950s began, Toyota emerged from its financial crisis a smaller company, closing factories and laying off workers. Meanwhile, the Korean War broke out, and being located so close to
4312-410: The battlefront, the U.S. Army placed an order for 1,000 trucks from Toyota. The order helped to rapidly improve the struggling company's business performance. In 1950, company executives, including Kiichiro's cousin Eiji Toyoda , took a trip to the United States where they trained at the Ford Motor Company and observed the operations of dozens of U.S. manufacturers. The knowledge they gained during
4400-405: The brand and vehicles in secret since August 1983, at a cost of over US$ 1 billion. The LS 400 flagship full-size sedan debuted in 1989 to strong sales, and was largely responsible for the successful launch of the Lexus marque. In the 1990s, Toyota began to branch out from producing mostly compact cars by adding many larger and more luxurious vehicles to its lineup, including a full-sized pickup,
4488-406: The company in 1959: "'Toy' sounds like a toy and toys break". The Crown was a flop in the U.S. market, with buyers finding it overpriced and underpowered (because it was designed for endurance on the bad roads of Japan, not high-speed performance on the good roads of America). In response, exports of the Crown to the United States were suspended in the early 1960s in favor of the Land Cruiser and
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#17327905966874576-441: The company proposing a joint-venture with the Ford Motor Company . Those talks broke down in July 1981. Eventually in 1984, the company struck a deal with General Motors (GM) to establish a joint-venture vehicle manufacturing plant called NUMMI (New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc.) in Fremont, California . GM saw the joint venture as a way to get access to a quality small car and an opportunity to learn about The Toyota Way and
4664-417: The company ran a public competition to design a new logo. Of 27,000 entries, the winning entry was the three Japanese katakana letters for "Toyoda" in a circle. However, Rizaburo Toyoda , who had married into the family and was not born with that name, preferred "Toyota" ( トヨタ ) because it took eight brush strokes (a lucky number) to write in Japanese, was visually simpler (leaving off the diacritic at
4752-486: The company their father had founded. In 1992, Shoichiro Toyoda would shift to become chairman, allowing his brother Tatsuro to become president, a job he held until his retirement in 1995. Shoichiro would step down as chairman in 1999. Both would retain honorary advisory roles in the company. Hiroshi Okuda would lead the company as president from 1995 until 1999 when he became chairman and the President's office would be filled by Fujio Cho . In August 2000, exports began of
4840-404: The company to 33.4 percent, giving Toyota the ability to veto shareholder resolutions at the annual meeting. In 1998, Toyota increased its holding in the company to 51.2 percent, becoming the majority shareholder. On September 29, 1999, the company decided to list itself on the New York and London Stock Exchanges . The later half of the 1990s would also see the Toyoda brothers step back from
4928-477: The company's first truck, the G1 , was completed on August 25, 1935, and debuted on November 21 in Tokyo, becoming the company's first production model. Modeled on a period Ford truck, the G1 sold for ¥2,900, ¥200 cheaper than the Ford truck. A total of 379 G1 trucks were ultimately produced. In April 1936, Toyoda's first passenger car, the Model AA , was completed. The sales price was ¥3,350, ¥400 cheaper than Ford or GM cars. The company's plant at Kariya
5016-472: The competitive motorsport business. Nismo's first competitive motor sport debut was on 1 May 1964 − in their first race they ended up coming just short however it was bitter sweet as the Skyline took all positions from 2nd to 6th. In 1984, Nissan decided that it wanted to merge its two motorsport divisions, founded through the 1960s, they were Oppama Works [ ja ] (known as Publication Division 3 ), based in its Oppama factory, responsible for
5104-508: The design and manufacturing of auto bodies, which were then mounted on truck frames made by Toyota. The project was a major test for Toyota, who would need to build bodies and develop a new chassis that would be comfortable, but still stand up to the muddy, slow, unpaved roads common in Japan at the time. The project had been championed for many years by founder Kiichiro Toyoda, who died suddenly on March 27, 1952. The first prototypes were completed in June 1953 and began extensive testing, before
5192-601: The end of 2017. The decision was based on the unfavourable Australian dollar making exports not viable, the high cost of local manufacture, and the high amount of competition in a relatively small local market. The company planned to consolidate its corporate functions in Melbourne by the end of 2017, and retain its Altona plant for other functions. The workforce is expected to be reduced from 3,900 to 1,300. Both Ford Motor Company and General Motors ( Holden ) followed suit, ending Australian production in 2016 and 2017 respectively. The automaker narrowly topped global sales for
5280-434: The end), and with a voiceless consonant instead of a voiced one (voiced consonants are considered to have a "murky" or "muddy" sound compared to voiceless consonants, which are "clear"). Since toyoda literally means "fertile rice paddies", changing the name also prevented the company from being associated with old-fashioned farming. The newly formed word was trademarked and the company began trading on August 28, 1937, as
5368-491: The first qualifying session, damaging the car beyond repair. Van de Poele also suffered a broken vertebra in the accident, but would be able to recover. Thus Nissan would be forced to race with only a single R391. During the race, the remaining R391 was able to climb its way up the field, running as high as 4th overall before an electrical problem in the engine caused the car to be retired after it had completed only 110 laps. Nissan's remaining entrant, their Courage chassis with
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#17327905966875456-479: The founder's son, Kiichiro Toyoda , Toyoda Automatic Loom Works established an Automobile Division on September 1, 1933, and formally declared its intention to begin manufacturing automobiles on January 29, 1934. A prototype Toyota Type A engine was completed on September 25, 1934, with the company's first prototype sedan, the A1 , completed the following May. As Kiichiro had limited experience with automobile production, he initially focused on truck production;
5544-420: The largest automakers in the world, the largest company in Japan and the ninth-largest company in the world by revenue , as of December 2020 . Toyota was the world's first automobile manufacturer to produce more than 10 million vehicles per year, a record set in 2012, when it also reported the production of its 200 millionth vehicle. By September 2023, total production reached 300 million vehicles. Toyota
5632-438: The launch of the Nismo 380RS. The Nismo 380RS is a factory modified version of the Nissan Z33 Fairlady Z tuned by both Nismo and Autech. Two versions were released, the first was a track-only model called the 380RS-C (C for competition), the second is a street model being sold at Nissan dealers. Both versions use a Nissan VQ series V6 engine, bored and stroked to 3.8L. The track-only 380RS-C makes 400 hp (298 kW), and
5720-630: The loophole that allowed Toyota to pay lower taxes by building truck beds in America. Also in 1981, Eiji Toyoda stepped down as president and assumed the title of chairman. He was succeeded as president by Shoichiro Toyoda , the son of the company's founder. Within months, Shoichiro started to merge Toyota's sales and production organizations, and in 1982 the combined companies became the Toyota Motor Corporation. The two groups were described as "oil and water" and it took years of leadership from Shoichiro to successfully combine them into one organization. In Japan, Toyota offered mid-level luxury cars that were
5808-496: The manufacturer won the 1992 24 Hours of Daytona and the 1989, 1990 and 1991 12 Hours of Sebring . In the 1980s and 1990s, Nissan raced at the All Japan Sports Prototype Championship and 24 Hours of Le Mans with sports prototypes such as the R88C , R89C , R90C and R391 . They claimed the 1990, 1991 and 1992 JSPC titles, but they never won at Le Mans. Notable Nissan drivers in this era include Masahiro Hasemi , Kazuyoshi Hoshino , Masahiko Kageyama and Toshio Suzuki . In
5896-454: The needs of privateer teams and Ōmori Works [ ja ] ( Special Car Testing Division ), within its Ōmori plant, responsible for its factory operations . The company's intention following the merger was to specialize in sportscar racing, but it also provided support for teams competing in the domestic F3 series . In 1988 the first dedicated race car by Nissan debuted, and saw incredible performance in circuit races. This vehicle
5984-417: The older Nissan turbo V8, was able to survive the race and finish a respectable 8th overall. However even this would be bested as Courage Compétition 's entry, also using the older Nissan turbo V8, was able to finish 6th overall, eight laps ahead of Nissan's factory effort. Later in 1999 the R391 would race again, this time at the invitational Fuji 1000km event which was backed by the Le Mans ruling body,
6072-399: The onset of World War II , Toyota almost exclusively produced standard-sized trucks for the Japanese Army, which paid one-fifth of the price in advance and the remainder in cash upon delivery. Japan was heavily damaged in World War II and Toyota's plants, which were used for the war effort, were not spared. On August 14, 1945, one day before the surrender of Japan , Toyota's Koromo Plant
6160-507: The other in Blue Springs, Mississippi, USA. The company was number one in global automobile sales for the first quarter of 2008. Toyota was hit by the global financial crisis of 2008 as it was forced in December 2008 to forecast its first annual loss in 70 years. In January 2009, it announced the closure of all of its Japanese plants for 11 days to reduce output and stocks of unsold vehicles. In October 2009, Toyota announced that they were establishing an office in South Korea and launched
6248-425: The parts-conversion version, where the customer's Skyline GT-R's become the base car, sells for ¥ 13,125,000 ( US$ 108,500 , as of December 7, 2005). Due to rarity the GT-R Z-tune can exceed US$ 500,000 in the car market . The engine is an RB28DETT Z2 (a normal GT-R engine with a stroked displacement of 2.8 liters & Nismo parts designed specifically for the Z2). The car weighs 1,600 kg (3,527 lb). Nismo
6336-405: The possible mechanical sticking of the accelerator pedal . At least 37 were killed in crashes allegedly related to unintended acceleration, approximately 9 million cars and trucks were recalled, Toyota was sued for personal injuries and wrongful deaths, paid US$ 1 billion to settle a class action lawsuit to compensate owners for lost resale value, and paid a US$ 1.2 billion criminal penalty to
6424-518: The rigours of Group A competition. The next Nismo release was the Skyline GT-R R34 'Z-Tune'. Intended to celebrate the 2005 20th anniversary of Nismo, the 2003 cancellation of R34 production meant that Nismo was only able to create 20 cars, all based on second-hand V.spec units purchased back from customers with less than 30,000 km on the odometer. The Z Tune sold for ¥ 17,745,000 ( US$ 146,600 , as of December 7, 2005) in Japan. However,
6512-524: The route of an open cockpit. Nissan turned to the UK based firm G-Force Technologies to design and build the R391. Nigel Stroud would head up the car's design alongside Doug Skinner as the chief designer and Glenn Elgood as the race team fabricator. Nissan also formed a partnership with a longtime customer of its second hand sportscars, Courage Compétition . As part of a deal between the two, Nissan would give VRH35L 3.5L turbocharged V8 motors (left over from
6600-537: The same time, sports cars like the Supra , Celica , MR2 , Corolla Levin , Sprinter Trueno , and even the subcompact Starlet GT reflected a time of prosperity. December 1997 saw the introduction of the first-generation Toyota Prius , the first mass-produced gasoline-electric hybrid car. The vehicle would be produced exclusively for the Japanese market for the first two years. With a major presence in Europe, due to
6688-585: The slight opening of the Japanese auto market to foreign companies. In an effort to strengthen Japan's auto industry ahead of the market opening, Toyota purchased stakes in other Japanese automakers. That included a stake in Hino Motors , a manufacturer of large commercial trucks, buses and diesel engines, along with a 16.8 percent stake in Daihatsu , a manufacturer of kei cars , the smallest highway-legal passenger vehicles sold in Japan. That began what became
6776-407: The street version makes approximately 350 hp (261 kW). The Nismo 380RS was only sold in Japan. The first Nismo-branded car was the 1987 Skyline R31 GTS-R Group A evolution special limited to 823 examples. This was followed by the 1990 Skyline GT-R Nismo of which only 560 were produced. Both cars featured weight-saving, aerodynamic, performance and reliability improvements necessary for
6864-617: The success of Toyota Team Europe in motorsport, the corporation decided to set up Toyota Motor Europe Marketing and Engineering, TMME , to help market vehicles in the continent. Two years later, Toyota set up a base in the United Kingdom, TMUK , as the company's cars had become very popular among British drivers. Bases in Indiana , Virginia , and Tianjin were also set up. Toyota also increased its ownership of Daihatsu during this period. In 1995, Toyota increased its shareholding in
6952-466: The trip, along with what the company learned making looms, gave rise to The Toyota Way (a management philosophy) and the Toyota Production System (a lean manufacturing practice) that transformed the company into a leader in the manufacturing industry. Toyota started developing its first full-fledged passenger car, the Toyopet Crown , in 1952. Prior to the Crown, Toyota had been outsourcing
7040-714: The year 2005. Also in 2005, Fujio Cho would shift to become chairman of Toyota and would be replaced as president by Katsuaki Watanabe . In 2007, Toyota released an update of its full-sized truck, the Tundra, produced in two American factories, one in Texas and one in Indiana. Motor Trend named the 2007 Toyota Camry "Car of the Year" for 2007. It also began the construction of two new factories, one in Woodstock, Ontario, Canada, and
7128-416: The years after, consumers started demanding high-quality and fuel-efficient small cars. Domestic automakers, in the midst of their malaise era , struggled to build these cars profitably, but foreign automakers like Toyota were well positioned. This, along with growing anti-Japanese sentiment , prompted the U.S. Congress to consider import restrictions to protect the domestic auto industry. The 1960s also saw
7216-682: Was also responsible for the R33 Skyline 400R and S14 Silvia 270R models . Both featured comprehensive modifications to the drivetrain, suspension, brakes, chassis, and aero work. Very limited numbers of both models were sold in 1997, and both command high resale prices even today. These models stressed Nismo's link to street car tuning, and were developed (as was the Z-Tune GT-R) at their Chiba City tuning garage. Nismo street tuned vehicles have been sold at Nissan dealerships for years, and come with full warranties. Nismo also produced 21 versions of
7304-458: Was bombed by the Allied forces . After the surrender, the U.S.-led occupying forces banned passenger car production in Japan. However, automakers like Toyota were allowed to begin building trucks for civilian use, in an effort to rebuild the nation's infrastructure. The U.S. military also contracted with Toyota to repair its vehicles. By 1947, there was an emerging global Cold War between
7392-414: Was completed in May. In July, the company filled its first export order, with four G1 trucks exported to northeastern China. On September 19, 1936, the Japanese imperial government officially designated Toyota Automatic Loom Works as an automotive manufacturer. Vehicles were originally sold under the name "Toyoda" (トヨダ), from the family name of the company's founder, Kiichirō Toyoda . In September 1936,
7480-552: Was involved in the FIA World Endurance Championship and European Le Mans Series as a LMP2 engine supplier. They have had success with Greaves Motorsport , Signature Team , OAK Racing , TDS Racing , G-Drive Racing and SMP Racing . In 2017, Nissan entered the DPi class of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with Extreme Speed Motorsports . Nissan announced in June 2014, that Nismo will enter
7568-432: Was praised for being a leader in the development and sales of more fuel-efficient hybrid electric vehicles , starting with the introduction of the original Toyota Prius in 1997. The company now sells more than 40 hybrid vehicle models around the world. More recently, the company has also been criticized for being slow to adopt all-electric vehicles , instead focusing on the development of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles , like
7656-537: Was redesigned specifically for the American market with a more powerful engine. The Corona helped increase U.S. sales of Toyota vehicles to more than 20,000 units in 1966 (a threefold increase) and helped the company become the third-best-selling import brand in the United States by 1967. Toyota's first manufacturing investment in the United States came in 1972 when the company struck a deal with Atlas Fabricators, to produce truck beds in Long Beach, in an effort to avoid
7744-659: Was the iconic Nissan Skyline R32 , sporting the GT-R badge. In 1988, Nismo built its first car, the Saurus for motorsport use for its one-make series. The following year they developed the Skyline GT-R for racing as well as building the 500 evolution editions for road use. The R34, the R32's generational grandchild was the first car to be produced with a V-Spec. In December 2021, Nissan said it would merge Nismo and sister company Autech (a tuning and conversion operation) into
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