We still love Toyota: Its 6 greatest cars

Japan's Toyota company is in all sorts of turmoil. It has had to launch a massive global recall to repair accelerator pedal faults on several series of cars -- faults that have been blamed for deaths and accidents. Consumer and investor confidence in the world's largest automaker has been severely dented.

While we totally respect the severity of the issues facing Toyota as well as the concerns of Toyota owners everywhere, we can't but help imagine what a weird place the world would be if, for some reason, there were no Toyota vehicles on our roads.

And with that in mind, and using zero journalistic integrity and no real yardstick, we rolled up the garage door to find the best Toyota vehicles, ever. After all, you aren't paying to read this. If we've missed your favorite, make sure you let us know in the comments section below.

Power windows make the Toyota Crown Royal Saloon fit for a king.

1. Toyota Crown Royal Saloon

This was a tank. It weighed about as much as one and was pretty much damage resistant. Poles, parking pylons and smaller cars bounced off it like boiled eggs off a Teflon frying pan. Flush with then-luxurious features like air conditioning, power steering and power windows, you didn’t drive, you glided. Trouble was it took a bit to get going. The power to weight ratio was a bit lackluster with a comparatively tiny 2.6L gas-guzzling motor. But once this beast got some momentum nothing could stop it. Not even old age. These beasts can still be found trawling the streets, most often driven by long-time retirees. And in the Antipodes, expect bowling hats on that back window shelf.




The car for the people -- the Toyota Crown Comfort.

2. Crown Comfort

A relative of the Crown above, the Crown Comfort is the people's car. Well at least in Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong, where it is the car for the people as it makes up most of the taxi fleet. In Hong Kong, you don't need a car. You already have one. It is red, and it is always around, except -- like most things -- when you really, really need one. That said, the best thing about these cars is their abundance. The worst thing is the people that drive them (at least in Hong Kong). The fact that these cars put up with severe accelerator and brake abuse and still manage to chug along is a tribute to their reliability and longevity.

Don't mind the baby puke color, the Toyota Corolla is sex on wheels.

3. Toyota Corolla

The car of choice for any new, impoverished, and most likely first time car owner -- the 20 year old Corolla. Reliable, if not sexy, the Corolla is the world's biggest selling car. EVER. It is sold pretty much everywhere, and since it was launched in 1966 over 35 million of these agile vehicles have hit the roads. According to Wikipedia (so it must be true), one of these is sold on average every 40 seconds. Do the math on that.

Also on Wikipedia, this little known (well at least to us) fact: Corona, a Toyota model pre-dating the Corolla, comes from the Latin word for small crown while another Toyota model, Camry, is the Anglicized (ie. butchered) pronunciation of the Japanese word for crown, kanmuri. You can sleep easy now. 

The Toyota Celica in its traditional stomping ground.

4. Toyota Celica

The stuff dreams were made off for young teenage boys. Forget a Ferarri, Lambo Countach or even a Porsche. If you had one of these Celicas, you knew you had made it. Made what exactly, is another question. This was the poor man's sex on wheels sports car --  a sprightly number that looked racy and was racy. It was originally conceived for those that couldn’t afford the damn sexy 200GT (almost everyone). But by the mid 1990s, when angles were replaced by curves, these little beauties were head turners and could be found in the suburban garages of those that wanted a sports car but couldn’t quite afford a real one.

Like most Land Cruisers, this old FJ40 has seen better days.

5. Toyota Land Cruiser



Nowadays, everyone (at least in the United States) has an SUV. They may only be going to the mall, but they're making damn sure they are prepared for any off-roading, should it occur. And should it occur, they will have made a wise choice, if indeed they chose the Land Cruiser. It is in these environs that this brute of a machine marks its territory. It is is one reliable 4WD and in desolate and rather ridiculous places to live, like Outback Australia, they are essential and as much part of the landscape as wallaby and kangaroo roadkill.

The birth of this hugely popular series dates back to Japan's occupation of the Philippines. The Japanese military were impressed with the American Jeep and tasked Toyota with creating a Japanese version. Several models and styles and years later came the Toyota BJ and then the now classic FJ40 in 1960. A legend was born, it grew and it now gives parents everywhere ample room to store the golfclubs and school bags.

Grrrrr!

6. Toyota Tundra



We couldn’t round out our list without including what the Americans call a truck. After much debate about the T100, we opted for the most recent Tundra. This makes our list due to nothing else other than obesity. It is massive, with a bulging 5.7 liter V8 version available. This can tow most large homes, but why bother? Sell the home and live in the cabin and flatbed. There's room for all the family, as well as the horse and chickens. Better still, leave the kids and beasts at home, stockpile the back with beer and do as the locals do -- head to some sports/music/any event, open the tailgate and engage in the most civilized of American traditions -- tailgating. That is what this was built for and it shows -- almost 200,000 of them were sold in 2008 before people got all sappy and environmental.