Toyota’s longtime popular Corolla solidified its position as the best-selling nameplate in the world by crossed the 50 million mark in 2021. Reaching that milestone took 55 years, and the company celebrated its achievement by releasing a manga in Japan.
Discovered Nostalgic Japanese car, the manga highlights key moments in Corolla’s illustrious history. It started in the 1960s, when a father returned home in a first-generation model (called the E10 internally) and took his family out. In the 1970s, the manga showed a father and son having a serious discussion while driving in an E20 generation model. Page dedicated to the highlights of the 1980s AE86 rear-wheel drive, boasts one of the most famous and sought after Corolla variants.
The page below shows a family eating ice cream in an E100 generation Corolla from the 1990s. Toyota skipped the 2000s and 2010s (it’s not really hard to guess why) and jumped to the 2020s with a manga that focuses on technology, like Corolla’s touchscreen-based infotainment system.
Although the text is in Japanese, the series is worth perusing the illustrations. The stories were inspired by photos submitted by current and former Corolla owners, according to Nostalgic Japanese car, and images of each decade are drawn in a period-appropriate style. As of this writing, the manga is only available online; There is no word yet on whether Toyota will release a printed version of it.
Toyota also marked the 50 millionth Corolla by releasing three special editions of the car in Japan. While there is no indication that similar versions will be sold in the US, we will soon a Corolla four-wheel drive hatchback and that’s not bad for a consolation prize.
