65 Years Ago

On Nov. 21, 1935, Toyoda Automatic Loom Works unveiled the G1, its first production truck. Toyoda had earlier that year built its first passenger car, but shifted to truck development when founder Kiichiro Toyoda realized that the Japanese government was about to pass the Bill Concerning the Manufacture of Motor Vehicles, placing strong emphasis on making trucks instead of cars. Toyoda hoped to build a domestic firm to rival General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co., then dominating the Japanese market. Only 20 trucks were built in 1935. Of questionable quality, they were delivered to customers in areas where they could be easily repaired when they broke down (as they often did at first) and mainly to customers sympathetic to the idea of fostering a domestic automotive industry.