TOYOTA INTRODUCES FULL MODEL CHANGES IN COROLLA
AND SPRINTER FOR DOMESTIC MARKET

TOKYO―Toyota Motor Company and Toyota Motor Sales Company today jointly announced and placed on sale nationwide fully new Corolla and Sprinter models―the first such updating for these two popular cars in almost five years.

The new Corolla―for ten years the nation's No.1 selling automobile―and Sprinter were redesigned with both advanced styling and the latest proven Toyota technology incorporated, to respond to the social demands of today in the areas of automotive efficiency, the conservation of energy and our natural resources. Toyota's engineers emphasized in the new Corolla the theme of "a car with outstanding overall performance; a popular luxury car to lead the 1980s."

Toyota sought three main goals in these new cars: good fuel economy with the accent on comfort, quiet and driving stability; a response to the greater diversification of demand in the popular car market; and the development of amply competitive future products for the international market. The new models also comply with Japan's 1978 emissions control standards and 1979 noise standards.

Target sales in the domestic market are tentatively set at 25,000 units monthly for the Corolla, and 12,000 units monthly for the Sprinter.

While the Corolla has also earned an excellent reputation abroad as one of the finest automobiles in its class, Toyota has not yet decided on definite plans for introduction of the new model line overseas.

Some of the major improvements in the two models are

Completely New Styling

The hood and belt line both have been lowered, resulting in straighter lines and a sharp image. This new basic styling approach has also improved both comfort and aerodynamic characteristics. The body lines are suitable to many configurations: sedan, hardtop, coupe or liftback.

Improved Comfort, Driving Stability, Quietness and Smoother Ride

The passenger compartment and the trunk interior have both been widened, the seats have been improved, and overall comfort has been raised through more effective ventilation. Also, the body construction has outstanding antivibration characteristics, and an all-out effort to reduce noise has resulted in superior quietness. Riding comfort and stability, meanwhile, have been bettered through an improved suspension system, widened wheelbase and tread, and improved steering.

Improved Safety

Window area has been enlarged, ensuring a wider field of vision in front and back and on both sides. Front-wheel disc brakes are utilized on all models, and the fastening of the seat belts has been improved, all aimed at raising the overall level of safety.

Weight Reduction and High Fuel Economy

Highly rationalized design has been incorporated to reduce vehicle weight, at while the same time the new models have been mounted either with improved versions of the 4K-U Type (1290cc) and 2T-GEU Type (1588cc) engines, or the newly developed small-size light-weight 3A-U Type (1452cc) engine. Reduced aerodynamic drag, meanwhile, has contributed to realizing an outstanding fuel economy performance.