Vintage Wagon

Toyota Motor Corporation is the world’s largest auto manufacturer in terms of sales. The company employs over 320,000 people worldwide. Presently supplies your local Toyota dealer from plants in Canada, the United States, Indonesia, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and France.

The company was started in 1937, by Kiichiro Toyoda. This came shortly after the company created the Type A engine in 1934. The Type A engine itself, ultimately led to the production of Toyota’s first passenger vehicle, the Toyota AA, in 1936.
The word Toyoda is literally translated to the phrase “fertile rice patties”. By changing the company name to Toyota, they were attempting to separate it from a term that might bring about thoughts farming or of that which was old-fashioned.

During World War II, the company was contracted to build trucks for the Japanese military. Luckily for them the war was over when it was. The allies had targeted the Toyota manufacturing facilities for destruction, but never got the opportunity to carry out those plans.
From 1947 until the mid-1960s, cars offered by Toyota dealers were smaller vehicles sold using the brand name “Toyopet”. The brand name “Toyopet” was never introduced in the United States when the firm began competing in the American motor vehicle market around 1957.

Toyota also owns and maintains a position of majority shareholder in Daihatsu, who is known for making of ultra-small cars, as well as Hino motors, which is the leading producer of medium and heavy duty diesel trucks in Japan. Of course, they also own and operate the Lexus and Scion brands.
In 1982 Toyota motor sales merged together with the Toyota motor company to form the Toyota motor corporation. Two years after that, Toyota entered into a joint venture with General Motors, called NUMMI, the New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc. They re-opened an old GM manufacturing plant and began to produce vehicle in Fremont, California.

Toyota ranked 8th in the Forbes magazine 2000 list of the world’s leading companies in 2005.