City Toyota history

After graduating from Nagoya Technical High School (1932) Ohno joined Toyota and, about 20 years later, began implementing his cost-saving program.

In 1933 Toyoda Kiichiro founded what later became the Toyota Motor Corporation as a division of the Toyoda Automatic Loom Works, Ltd. (later Toyota Industries Corporation, now a subsidiary), a Japanese manufacturer founded by his father, Toyoda Sakichi.

Its first production car, the Model AA sedan, was released in 1936.

After having the Auto body business passed on from their father Max during the war years of the 1950's, Edward and Harry Paul grew the operation out of the depression and war years into a thriving entity in West Philadelphia.

In 1957 Toyota Motor Sales, United StatesA., Inc., was established, and the following year the company released the Toyopet sedan, its first model to be marketed in the United States; it was poorly received because of its high price and lack of horsepower.

The Land Cruiser, a 4 × 4 utility vehicle released in 1958, was more successful.

In 1963, Harry's son Maxwell was introduced to the business.

In 1965 the Toyopet, completely redesigned for American drivers, was re-released as the Toyota Corona, marking the company’s first major success in the United States.

The company continued to thrive in the American market as well, gaining a reputation for its low-cost, fuel-efficient, and reliable vehicles such as the Corolla, which was released in the United States in 1968.

On February 17th, 1969, Harry and Max introduced Central City Toyota, the first Toyota agency in Philadelphia.

Capitalizing on the gasoline crisis of mid to late 1970, Central City Toyota gained considerable market share due to their introduction of low priced, fuel efficient vehicles.

But disaster struck in November 30, 1981 as a massive fire damaged Paul Bros. and Central City Toyota.

The company took its present name in 1982, when Toyota Motor Company was merged with Toyota Motor Sales Company, Ltd.

Opening up the day after the fire, Paul Bros. completed renovations on their current location at 49th and Chestnut in the spring of 1983.

Two years later Toyota partnered with General Motors Corporation in the creation of New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc., a dual-brand manufacturing plant in California, where Toyota began United States production in 1986.

The 1990's continued to be successful for Paul Bros.

Sadly in 1991, Paul Bros. mourned the loss of Harry Paul at the age of 78, ending a brilliant era of innovation and advancement.

Wilmington Lexus was founded by Max in 1992 and has become a premier agency, winning the Elite of Lexus seventeen consecutive years.

The new millennium began with the introduction of the fourth generation Paul family member, Bradford, into the business in 2000.

Toyota’s breakthrough hybrid technology, “Hybrid Synergy Drive,” debuts in the all-new 2004 Prius.

In 2006 Max and Brad premiered Ardmore Toyota, one of the largest Toyota dealerships in the Tri-State area.

In its 50th year in the United States, Toyota introduces the 2008 Toyota Tundra, as well as the second-generation of its iconic Scion xB and the world’s first V8 hybrid, the Lexus LS 600h.

Beginning in 2014, millions of vehicles manufactured by Toyota and several other car companies were recalled by regulators in the United States because of potentially malfunctioning airbags produced by the Japanese automotive-parts supplier Takata.

Toyota commits to an additional $13 billion investment in the United States by 2020; including $800 million into artificial intelligence and robotics research through the Toyota Research Institute.