JAPAN’S AUTOMOBILE REVOLUTION

from 

http://www.speedhunters.com/2013/08/cars-cameras-beatles-japans-automobile-revolution/

and

http://www.speedhunters.com/2013/08/from-steamers-to-celicas-how-japan-got-rolling/

Let’s go right ahead now and continue our journey through Japanese motoring history at the Toyota Automobile Museum in Japan. In yesterday’s post we left off just as Japan was emerging from the post war period, travelling full speed down the road to economic and industrial recovery – with motor vehicles playing an extremely important role in it all.

As seen in the last post, during most of the 1950s, vehicles in Japan were largely used by companies and government agencies rather than individual owners. Eventually, Japanese automakers began to develop vehicles like the Toyopet Crown, which is considered Japan’s first real mass-produced domestic passenger car. Although the Crown was designed for private use, it was also very popular as a taxi (and has been ever since). This RS20 model Crown from is a replica of a late ’50s taxi, in which fares began at just 80 yen.

Datsun also entered the passenger car market with its Model 211, which featured a low price and the capability to drive on the new highways that were beginning to pop up in the country – despite the fact that it had just 34 horsepower.

With more and vehicles beginning to appear in Japan, it was also necessary that garages would spring up across the country to repair and maintain them.

The museum includes a life size diorama showing some of the things you might have seen in a Japanese garage circa the late ’50s or early ’60s.

Along with a variety of tools from the period…

… they’ve also included a complete engine set-up.

There are also other components which are displayed like a 1:1 scale model kit. Because of the less than ideal road conditions and the untested nature of the mechanical parts, these garages were crucial to keeping the country running.

Parked in the garage is this cool 1956 Toyopet Masterline Van – a vehicle that was extremely popular among mechanics and other businesses thanks to its utility and comfort.

As mentioned previously, the exhibit includes not just vehicles but other consumer goods and pop culture items which helped define the eras. As the 1960s rolled around, Japanese brands continued to make strides both domestically and in the export market.

At the forefront of this export movement were Japanese-made cameras, which quickly established a reputation for quality and affordability in countries across the world.

In light of this, the exhibit includes an impressive display of vintage camera equipment that I’m sure would be just as exciting to photo nerds as the cars. I’m looking at you Larry Chen!

It was all part of an increasingly large middle class and living standards that continued to rise, right alongside the level of technology.

As the 1960s continued, automobiles became increasingly attainable for the middle class, along with other new consumer items like air conditioning and color television. Car, cooler, and color TV – the three Cs of the Japanese middle class in the ’60s. Pictured here is a 1962 Corona pickup truck.

The three-wheeled Daihatsu Midget also began showing up in increasing numbers on Japanese roads, and its unique shape soon became a sign of the times.

Shortly after, The Beatles arrived as part of a new explosion in fashion and youth culture that took over not just Japan, but the world during the mid 1960s.

Jeans, sneakers, miniskirts and rock ‘n roll would all become commonplace in the rapidly evolving country…

.. as the importance of fashion would rise in equal proportion to consumer spending.

At the same time, Japan saw the introduction of other groundbreakinng technologies, like the Tokkaido Shinkansen bullet train which entered service in 1964 and could link Tokyo and Osaka in just a few hours.

On the roads meanwhile, car ownership continued to grow to all-time highs with vehicles like the Datsun Bluebird being there to greet the booming market.

With more power and more comfort than ever before, cars like the Bluebird were the perfect choice to cruise Japan’s ever-expanding system of expressways.

By the later part of the 1960s, the ‘Private Car Era’ was in full swing thanks in large part to technologically advanced mini cars like the Mazda Carol, which truly made car ownership attainable for the masses.

Alongside the full size cars, the exhibit also features some very cool vintage toys which will surely bring back memories to those who grew up during this time.

This Toyota Crown patrol car toy is just too cool.

Also present are examples of the Japanese manga comics that exploded during the ’60s and have been a huge part of the country’s popular culture ever since.

How about  some vintage color TVs, which are fittingly filled with images of Shinkansen crossing the landscape.

Introduced in 1966, the Toyota Corolla is another car that would have a massive impact on the Japanese car market.

Designed to compete directly with Nissan’s Sunny, the Corolla’s additional 100cc of displacement became a centerpiece for the car’s marketing campaign and helped push it to best seller status.

Elsewhere, in the selection of late ’60s and early ’70s fashion items on display I found these awesome Ed Roth style T-shirts. To me these never went out of style.

Plenty of magazine advertisements from the period are also displayed to help take you back to the era.

Another massively important car to Japan’s growing auto industry was the Honda Civic, which is represented by this beautiful 1972 model. Like the aforementioned Corolla, the Civic would of course go on to help Japanese automakers rise to global dominance in the coming years.

Next up, we have one of the sexiest cars in the entire building – a 1973 model Toyota Celica 2000 GT liftback.

While so many cars could have been chosen to fill this spot, the Celica LB is a perfect example of how the Japanese were seeing cars as more than just transportation. Thanks to its liftback bodystyle, the car was also capable of carrying surfboards or other leisure goods.

And the rest as they say is history. While space restraints have kept the timeline from including the remainder of the ’70s or the economic bubble that Japan would experience in the ’80s, the exhibit instead wraps up with a 1997 Toyota Prius as an example of advancing technology and the changing role of the car during the 21st century.

And with that we’ve finally reached the end of my detailed exploration of the Toyota Automobile Museum. I hope you guys have enjoyed the series of stories, and should you ever find yourself in central Japan with some time to spare I highly recommend checking out this place for yourself.


My visit to the Toyota Automobile Museum in Aichi, Japan this year was an unforgettable experience. With the large display of historic vehicles from around the world and the limited-time Toyota 75 exhibit with its incredible 1:5 scale model lineup – there was a lot to take in. Even so, I’m still not quite done sharing my experiences from this must-see destination.

In addition to the main museum building, the facility also includes a separate annex which was opened in 1999 to mark the museum’s 10th anniversary. As I’ve touched on in my previous posts, the mission of the museum is not to promote the Toyota brand and its products, but to spread appreciation and knowledge about the history of motor vehicles and how they’ve changed our lives.

More specifically, the exhibits in the annex building are designed to tell the story of how Japan itself came to be a motorized nation, using a collection of both historic vehicles and cultural artifacts that span well over 100 years of transportation history.

When you first enter the exhibit, this is the sight that greets you. Before automobiles even existed, the primitive roads of Japan were home to vehicles like this Rickshaw from the late 1800s. But with technology rapidly advancing and Japan’s increasing westernization, the Rickshaw’s days were numbered.

At the beginning of 1900s with horse-drawn and electric street cars beginning to take over public transportation in Japan, some of the first automobiles began to appear as well. For example, Baron Ryokichi Kawada’s vehicle of choice was a Locomobile Steamer imported from the United States. By the way, whatever happened to Barons?

Not surprisingly, Japanese engineers soon got to work producing some of these strange new machines for themselves. Seen here in 1:5 scale form is Yamaba’s Steam Car from 1904, which is considered to be Japan’s earliest automobile.

Japan’s first gasoline automobile came a few years later in the form of the Yoshida-shiki ‘Takuri’, which was built at the request of Prince Arisugawa, a strong supporter of the automobile.

While it would be some time before Japan’s own auto industry really got rolling, American automakers made big inroads to the country during the pre-war years. In 1925 Ford opened up a factory in Yokohama to assemble Model Ts, and later Model As, for the Japanese market. That’s where this ’29 Model A was built.

GM did the same, opening an assembly line for Chevrolets in Osaka in 1927.

This Chevrolet Phaeton is a product of the Osaka factory, built in 1931 and powered by a 60hp inline-six.

A few years later Toyota’s first passenger car arrived in the from of the Toyoda Model AA, which can be seen in full size form in my earlier museum coverage.

Around the same time companies like Mizuno Ironworks began to introduce commercial vehicles like this three-wheeled, front-wheel drive truck.

But even as Japan’s auto industry grew, there were dark clouds brewing with the impending second world war on the horizon. Following the end of the war in 1945, Japan and much of its industry lay in ruins.

But even during the dark times of the post-war period, the Japanese looked to things like the Post Exchanges of the American occupation and saw hints of a brighter, more affluent future in which the automobile would play a significant role.

And while widespread use of the automobile was still a way off , the bicycle became increasingly popular and more important as a means of transportation for the Japanese.

Given that the bike is still a massively important form of transportation in Japanese cities today, it was nice to see the exhibit shed some light on Japan’s pedal-powered history.

Eventually, Japanese companies would begin producing consumer vehicles again, with many aircraft makers switching to scooters following the war. This is the 1949 Mitsubishi Silver Pigeon, which was built using wheels from fighter planes and other old military equipment.

Gasoline was scarce in Japan during the immediate post-war years, so automakers tried to come with alternatives. For example, this 1950 Toyota Model BM truck is powered by a firewood gas generator. Although it was an interesting idea, the trucks suffered from a severe lack of power, particularly when trying to negotiate inclines.

Of course, it wasn’t just Japan that saw its auto industry go on hiatus during the war. A similar situation occurred in the United States with its automakers switching to wartime production. In 1949 though, Ford introduced its first new vehicle following the war, a car better known to enthusiasts as the Shoebox.

With its streamlined styling and more advanced powertrain, the new Ford received praise both at home and in Japan where it arrived soon after. Needless to say, this completely modern car would serve as a big inspiration for Japan’s own automakers.

As the 1950s began, Japan continued to advance in terms of consumer items, with a new high-tech products like the refrigerator, electric washing machine…

… and the television set all becoming household necessities for a growing middle class. I have to say the addition of these elements to the museum exhibits really helped to bring the history to life.

The Japanese auto industry continued to grow in the early ’50s as well, but rather than cars for individuals, the bulk of the market was made up of trucks, taxis, and other commercial vehicles. This 1953 Mazda three-wheeled truck  is powered by a two-cylinder engine and had an extremely impressive (for the time) two-ton cargo capacity.

Eventually, the truck market would shift from three-wheeled vehicles to four-wheeled machines like this Toyoace delivery truck. With a low purchase price, this particular model quickly became known as the ‘people’s truck’.

In the early 1950s Toyota introduced the model SG pickup truck, which despite being designed for the rough roads of the time, offered increased comfort and more compact dimensions.

As you can see, the styling on the model SG was heavily influenced by the American vehicles of the time. Check out that cool split windshield too.

The museum’s collection even includes a Model FH24 Toyota fire truck from 1959 – just one of the many industrial-grade vehicles that helped to propel Japan’s economy, and another sign that the post-war years were disappearing in the rear-view mirror.

With economic conditions in Japan rapidly improving and an auto industry on the rise, it would soon be time for the automobile to capture the hearts and minds of the Japanese public.

But that tale will have to wait until next time as we continue our journey through the impressive and fascinating display of Japanese motoring history at the Toyota Automobile Museum. I’ll be back with more from Aichi soon.