The is an automobile which was manufactured by Toyota from December 1970 to December 2001. It was introduced as a sedan counterpart of the Celica, with which it originally shared a platform. Later, it was realigned to the Corona platform, but retained its performance image, with distinctive bodywork and interior — aimed at the youth market and remaining exclusive to Japanese Toyota dealerships Toyota Store. It was replaced in Japan by the Toyota Allion in 2001 and succeeded in Europe by the Toyota Avensis.
The inspiration for the name Carina came from the constellation Carina, sharing a naming inspiration with the Celica, which is ultimately derived from the Latin word coelica meaning "heavenly" or "celestial".
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First generation (A10/A30; 1970)
The first-generation Carina was manufactured from December 1970, and sold at Toyota Store dealership channels in Japan, sharing its platform with the Toyota Celica sports coupe. Its European release took place in October 1971. Toyota was able to save development and tooling costs by building a family sedan and a sports car on the same platform and in the same factory. The Carina was a junior sedan and coupe to the larger Crown, and was similar sized to the Corona. Features included reclining seats with built-in head restraints, radio, clock, reversing lights and servo-assistance on the brakes.
In 1971, the Carina 1600GT coupe was introduced as an alternative to the Corona 1600GT, using a 2T-G type 1600 DOHC engine shared with the Celica GT. The Corona 1600 GT was exclusive to Toyopet Store locations, the Carina 1600GT was exclusive to Toyota Store locations, and the Celica GT was exclusive to Toyota Corolla Store locations. The chassis code was A10, with A15, 17 and 18 being reserved for hardtop coupés. Excepting the anomalous RA16 hardtop, A16 and 19 were used on vans (utility wagons). Beginning in 1975, A30-series numbers were used for some hardtop coupés. The wagons/vans of the first generation were not regularly exported. Carina vans entered production in December 1975.
The A10 Carina was also exported to the US; its introduction and disappointing sales coinciding with the introduction of a 10% import duty. Cars destined for export were increasingly directed to European and other markets; US exports stopped after only two years; and Toyota continued its plans to manufacture in the USA.
The original model usually featured a choice of a 1407 cc OHV (T) or 1588 cc OHV (2T) engine, choice of a four-speed manual gearbox, two-speed automatic gearbox or three-speed automatic gearbox and front-wheel disc brakes (drum brakes on the lowest model). It was revised in 1972 with a restyled body, new rear light cluster, filler cap repositioned in the rear quarter panel, restyled front grille and fascia. The specification was once again revised in 1974 including sealed cooling system, improved brakes, restyled wheels with flared wheel arches, and restyled interior fittings.
In late October 1975 (on sale 1 November), the Carina received a new front and rear-end styling, dual-line braking system with servo, and a repositioned handbrake and gear lever in a modified dashboard. The wheelbase and tread were increased slightly, as for the sister Celica series. Some chassis codes were accordingly changed, and the Japanese market cars received a plethora of altered engines, ranging from 1.4 to 2.0 litres.
Vehicles installed with engines with displacement at 1.5 litres or larger obligated Japanese owners to pay more annual road tax, and were considered top trim level packaged cars. Toyota introduced the "TTC-V" (Toyota Total Clean-Vortex) on the 19R engine only, using an exhaust gas recirculation implementation to comply with recently enacted emission regulations passed by the Japanese Government. The 1.4 was dropped from sedans and coupés, and a mid-range 1.8 was added at the time of the late 1975 facelift.
In December 1975 a Van version was developed, featuring the same facelifted front end. The new rear end uses the cargo door of the 30-series Corolla wagon. The Carina Van also received a very unusual opera-style side window in the cargo area, and was available with the 1400 or 1600 T-J/2T-J engines with . The Carina Van was generally not exported. The Van's TA16V/TA19V chassis codes continued to be used for the next-generation Van (which used the same rear axle and wheelbase), until the Van was facelifted again in August 1979. To bring these models in line with the second-generation Carina, they then received a new TA49 chassis code.
Second generation (A40/A50; 1977–1981)
Released in Japan August 1977, the next-generation Carina was available in Germany in December 1977 and in other European countries during 1978. The chassis was mostly the same as that of the facelifted late Carinas of the first generation; the Van versions actually continued to use the old TA16/19 chassis codes in spite of receiving the new bodywork as they retained the old Van's underpinnings. In most markets Carinas were fitted with the same 1,588 cc 2T engine as its predecessor. In the Carina, an output of DIN was claimed. The option of automatic transmission was new to many export markets. Japanese actor Sonny Chiba was the spokesman for the Carina in Japanese commercials for several decades.
An estate car model was introduced to export markets for the first time, with the same heavy-duty leaf-spring rear suspension that had been seen on the late appearing first generation Carina Van, as it was intended for commercial use in Japan. In 1980, all models had revised front- and rear-end styling and headlights, and also received improved interiors. The following year, saloon and coupé models (but not the estate) were fitted with five-speed gearboxes as standard, still with optional automatic transmissions.
Starting with this generation, fuel injection was available optionally on top level models. In November 1977, the 3T-U 1,800 cc engine emissions are updated. In May 1978, the GT 1600 cc was added, and a three-speed automatic transmission became available. The 1600GT 2T-GEU engine was made to comply with the Showa 53 (1978) emissions regulation, while output improved from to . The options list was updated to include a urethane bumper for impact improvement.
In September 1978, the 3T-EU engine (1,770 cc OHV EFI) was installed in the ST-EFI and SR-EFI models, initially only with a five-speed manual. At the same time, the 2000GT with DOHC 18R-GU and the 18R-GEU EFI engine, fit 1978 exhaust emission regulations, as did the 18R-U and 21R-U engines. The emblem was changed to "TOYOTA" from "TOYOTA CARINA". The 2000GT hardtop coupe shared a platform with the Celica, which gave Toyota the ability to sell the Celica at a different Japanese Toyota dealership called Toyota Store as the Celica was exclusive to Toyota Corolla Store locations.
In August 1979, the front of the vehicle received a major change that now included four headlamp lights rather than the previous setup, with the Van remaining with four round lamps. The rear received a changed license plate mounting to give it a new style. 3T-EU and 21R-U engines were now available with the four-speed automatic transmission. These two, along with the 18R-GEU, were now the only engines offered (in Japan). The rear suspension became of the semi-trailing type, becoming the A50 series Carina in the process. The Super Deluxe two-door sedan was discontinued, as was the 1400 Van. The 1600 Van received the 12T-J engine and the option of an automatic transmission, along with a chassis code now in line with the remainder of the Carina range (TA49V).
As of August 1980, the EFI specification 1800 Hard Top (ST-EFI, SR-EFI) was the only engine offered in the sedans/coupés.
Celica Camry (1980–1982)
Toyota utilised the A40/A50 series Carina as the basis for the Celica Camry, a four-door sports sedan launched in Japan during January 1980, and sold at Toyota Corolla Store dealerships. It was a companion to the Carina which was exclusive to Toyota Store locations. Positioned as the sedan counterpart to the Toyota Celica (A40 and A50) two-door coupé and three-door liftback, the Celica Camry shared few components with this model. Instead, Toyota altered the front-end of its Carina, incorporating styling cues resembling those of the 1978–1981 Celica XX (known as the Celica Supra in export markets). From August 1980, the Celica Camry also went on sale through Toyota's recently introduced Vista dealership chain.
Powered by either a 1.6-litre 12T-U engine producing JIS and or a 1.8-litre 13T-U engine producing and , Toyota also offered a fuel-injected 1.8-litre () and a 2.0-litre (21R-U) with producing the same power. Towards the end of its model lifecycle, Toyota introduced a sports version of the Celica Camry equipped with the double overhead camshaft 2.0-litre 18R-GEU engine from the Celica producing .
It has an identical wheelbase to the Celica and Carina, while all three models (as well as the Corona) have near identical exterior dimensions.Car Archives Vol. 11, '80s Japanese Cars, pp. 28, 41, 47. During its model cycle, over 100,000 units were sold in Japan. The Celica Camry was also exported to a number of markets using the Carina name, replacing the front-end styling of the second-generation Carina in these markets. These export market hybrids used a different rear-end design and were also available with station wagon bodywork. The performance image of the Celica Camry was shared with the Toyota Chaser, which was exclusive to Toyota Auto Store Japanese dealerships.
Third generation (A60; 1981)
In its third incarnation, the Carina followed the fashion of the time with a still more angular overall look and four square headlights. The Coupé was no longer a hardtop and was updated with halogen rectangular headlights, which were also installed on the Carina Surf (wagon) and were used in export, while the Carina Van received twin, round headlamps set in a black plastic surround. The car followed its predecessors in retaining a front-engine rear-wheel-drive configuration even though by then competitor manufacturers were following a trend of switching to front-wheel drive in this class. The third generation was first released two months after the related Celica, in September 1981, and was the last Carina to use rear-wheel drive.Car Archives Vol. 11, '80s Japanese Cars, p. 29. More precise rack and pinion steering replaced the recirculating ball used in previous generations; the A60 Carina used a MacPherson struts up front and a five-link, solid rear axle – except for the more powerful, fuel injected versions which have independent (semi-trailing arm) suspension at the rear. The RWD Corona shared its chassis with this vehicle, when it was updated the succeeding year. The Carina was famously used by private teams racing for Japan in the Dakar Rally in the two-wheel-drive class for both 1981 and 1982. The Carina managed to achieve four championships in the marathon class divisions.
In February 1982, a five-door wagon series based on the Van was added, marketed as the "Carina Surf" (SA60G) in Japan. In export markets, wagons had been available since the introduction of the van model. The 1C diesel engine was also added to the lineup at this time. This 1839 cc unit had a claimed output of at 4500 rpm and was offered in markets where fuel pricing and availability rendered it appropriate. This engine was available to European buyers, along with the 2T (1.6) and 3T or 3T-C (1.8) petrol engines. The European Carinas all received the independent rear suspension reserved for higher-end models in Japan, although the station wagon retained the live rear axle. Introduced in Europe for 1982, the rear-wheel-drive Carina was typically replaced by the Carina II in early 1984.