The Ford F-150 is America’s best-selling vehicle and arguably America’s signature product, alongside blue jeans, jazz, and bourbon. But it’s rarer than a supercar in Europe. The Ford Mustang is a legend in America and part of America’s legend. But you can’t buy one in Japan.
Cars are increasingly global products. Automakers today design most vehicles to meet safety and emissions standards in several countries. They also design them to be easy to manufacture with the driving position on the left or right. The Mazda3 or Kia Sorento you can buy in the U.S. today is largely the same one you can buy in Geneva and Seoul.
But that doesn’t mean our icons are the same. Some of the signature cars best known in one part of the world can be strangers in another.
Toyota’s Crown Jewel
Since 1955, the Toyota Crown has been the king of the hill in Japan. It’s one of the few nameplates to survive more than 50 years. It’s the top of the Toyota lineup – a car people aspire to own. Toyota engineers throw everything they have into designing it because the Crown is to Toyota what the Black Label is to Jack Daniels or the 501 in blue is to Levi’s.
But we don’t have it here. It has echoes in the States – Corolla is Latin for “little crown.” But Toyota’s most iconic product is unknown here.
For now.
Toyota will reveal an all-new Crown on Friday, and reports suggest it’s coming to the U.S. We don’t know precisely when, but Automotive News reports that Toyota will “begin selling a Crown sedan in the U.S. this year.”
A Toyota spokesperson wouldn’t confirm or deny the report to us this morning, saying simply that Toyota “can’t comment on future products.” But the move makes sense.
A High-Riding Large Sedan with SUV Seasoning
Toyota announced plans to remove its top-of-the-line Avalon sedan from the U.S. market after 2022. That creates a gap the Crown could fill. The Avalon starts at $36,825, but the Crown could command a higher price if Toyota wants it to occupy the same aspirational space in the American mind.
Before releasing a car in Japan, automakers patent its shape. Patent images filed with the Japanese government show that the new Crown has a sleek fastback rear. A high-riding stance gives it SUV-like ground clearance.
A teaser image posted to a Toyota site in Japan shows a blunt front end, side body cladding, and a gorgeous deep bronze color.
That’s all we have to go on for now. The Crown is reportedly built on the same platform as the Toyota Camry, Highlander, Sienna, and Lexus RX. That allows for front-, rear-, or all-wheel-drive setups with hybrid or conventional gasoline propulsion.
We’ll know more Friday.
