Corolla milestone

Released in the thick of Japan's 'motorisation boom', the Toyota Corolla is turning 40 this year and still going strong.

Or rather, the name is -- because the Corolla of today differs wildly from the very first models to wear that nameplate. As reported by our man on the ground at the Paris motor show in September, Toyota's Auris show car was displayed as a hint to the new Corolla.

Styled after a fashion of the Yaris and with Toyota's new and none too attractive 'koala' nose, the Auris is no looker. Instead, under the show-car body-kit it is a relatively staid, if larger, conventional five-door hatch. Mind you, what would you expect when the car's role is to replace the Japanese giant's volume-selling model.

The first generation Toyota Corolla was introduced in Japan in 1966. As soon as the Corolla went on sale in Japan it was also being exported to Australia, available here from November. The Corolla featured a compact engine with a five-bearing crankshaft and the engine was modified to 1100cc to accommodate export to the United States.

According to Toyota a production plant was built in Takaoka, devoted exclusively to manufacturing the Corolla. When Toyota announced plans to manufacture 30,000 Corollas a month, journalists were "beside themselves with shock" considering Toyota's annual production at the time was approximately 50,000 vehicles.

Toyota, based in Toyota City, Japan, builds Corollas in 16 countries and reached a cumulative production of 30 million vehicles worldwide by 2005. The company plans to sell the new Corolla in more than 140 marketplaces.