If my sources are correct, the first “Toyota” was actually a “Toyoda”, model number AA.
The AA was built in 1936 at the Toyoda Automatic Loom Works, bearing the name of its founder Kiichiro Toyoda. Before cars, Toyoda’s family had built a successful weaving business in Japan, but for the entrepreneurial Kiichiro, inspired by visits to America, its automobiles and its factories, Kiichiro believed that the future would be the motor car.
After building the A1, an early prototype model in 1935, Kiichiro’s dream finally became a reality when the Model AA was released to the general public a year later. Inspired by the successful design of the leading American cars of the time, the AA bore many similarities to the popular Chrysler Airflow.
Toyoda AA.
Like the body, the engine was modeled after the proven units found in the States; so a 3.3 liter, 6 cylinder unit was developed to power the AA.
So history was made, with Kiichiro Toyoda slavishly following the production methods of the automobile industry in the USA, while today, the US Auto industry sends its executives to Japan to study the “Toyota way”. The wheel has gone full circle!
Chrysler Airflow.
