Toyota Crown

It was originally offered in 1955 as the Toyopet Crown, and throughout its existence it served as Toyota's entry-level sedan in the Japanese market. It also retains the distinction of having the longest-running passenger-car nameplate of any Toyota model, having been sold to the United States in 1958. The Nissan Cedric/Gloria/Fuga, the Honda Legend, the defunct Mazda Luce, the Isuzu Bellel, and the Mitsubishi Debonair have been its traditional rivals in Japan and Asia.

The Crown, which was once only offered to Toyota Store dealers in Japan, has been well-liked by the government for use as a police car or a vehicle for official transportation. Along with being used as a taxi, it has become quite popular among Japanese businesses as company cars. While a base Crown was offered for many years with the intention of serving the taxicab industry, the rising elegance and cost of the Crown series prompted the development of the Comfort in 1995 as a more cost-effective substitute. In 1989, Toyota's worldwide range replaced the smaller Lexus LS as the company's premier sedan outside of Japan.

From 1958 through 1972, the first through fourth versions were available in North America before being superseded by the Corona Mark II. When the sixteenth-generation model was introduced in 2022, the Crown brand made a comeback in the North American market. The closely comparable Lexus GS, which made its debut in 1991 as the Toyota Aristo and has always used the same base and available powertrains as the Crown, has likewise largely replaced the Crown in export markets. By the use of common design elements, later iterations of the GS and Crown have developed a very strong visual bond.

Toyota introduced four new Crown models in 2022 to take the place of the fifteenth-generation vehicle. The Crossover-style Crown, which is advertised as the only Crown model in North America, is the first model that is currently offered. Sedan, Sport, and Estate, the final three variants, will be available later.

The current Crown has a stylized crown emblem on the grille and steering wheel, and it served as the inspiration for the names of its smaller forebears. The Crown's history and reputation have given it prominence in the Toyota lineup. It is one of the few current Toyota models to carry its own unique insignia for the model line. While the Corolla got its name from the Latin corolla, which meaning "little crown," the Corona was developed as a smaller companion to the Crown and was first exported as the "Tiara." The names Camry and Scepter are derived from the Japanese word kanmuri, which means "small crown" in English. A sceptre is a crown ornament.

While not named after a crown, The Avalon (the Crown's North American equivalent) is named after a fictitious island from King Arthur legends.

As part of Toyota's "Explore Crown Spirit Project," Japanese Toyota dealers completely repair examples of each generation of the Crown to demonstrate that even the earliest Crowns are still functional.

The 2023 Toyota Crown | Toyota.com
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