Has Toyota retained it's Crown?

Toyota's long lived workhorse the Crown Comfort must be approaching the end of its shelf life. One of my very first blogs was about this Asian transport carrier and how it was unique to this part of the world as is the LT1 to the United Kingdom.

The design is so Japanese and 80s it could be considered as a classic and is one of the first sites that you witness when you exit Changi Airport and into the Sauna known as Singapore.

However, as blogged previously, this classic from Toyota is increasingly under threat from the likes of Hyundai's Sonata (i would not touch this car with a bargepole as a personal vehicle, but as a commercial workhorse, this car makes 100% sense) and possibly any other South Korean offering, seeing that Fuji Heavy Industries, Mitsubishi and Nissan - who did have the Crew saloon at one stage - seem to concentrate on other sectors. The Soluna by Toyota



simply doesn't cut it in terms of taxi - a standard family car that has been forced to become a working mule. And by the lack of them in Asian roads, you can see why this is not a popular choice of cab.

So now - having spent some time in Bali - sees Toyota's new kid on the block that may very well take over the Crown Comfort's mantle. Called simply 'Limo', and used mainly as a taxi, this would be seen as Toyota's new offering to the commercial market for this genre.



Based on the Vios,



and mainly with manual transmission this is just a standard 4-dr saloon with vinyl seats, and those infamous pepper pot steel rims. Electric windows are found at the back and the legroom is adequate. The dash is a one piece affair like most cars these days with integrated audio, and there are finger tip controls on the steering wheel. Interesting to note that the speedo and tacho as centre set rather than in the traditional driver side position.



We didn’t had the need to chuck anything in the boot, as most of our transfers had been via a Suzuki APV, but I suspect that the boot may well be on the small side. And if the car ever does make it to the likes of Hong Kong and Singapore and a LPG tank fitted, it could very well be game over. So it would be interesting to see how many would be converted to LPG from petrol.

The Limo is definitely not a classic in terms of design and aesthetics. It is indeed a commercially engineered version of the Vios and for the purposes of the roads in Bali, it does the job, plain and simple and with the number of Limo's on the road, seems to be the cab of choice. But the upstarts from China in the form of Geely may well make a dent in this market if price and reliability make an impact.

Whether it will be the new replacement for the Crown Comfort in Singapore and HK is yet to be seen. But for the time being: the Crown is dead! Long live the Crown!

Tomica Taxis

It has to be said that one of my favourite cars in the world is not a Ferrari. It’s not a Porsche nor is an Aston Martin. In fact it is not even European.

Regular readers of this blog may now start claiming they know the answer. Well my friends, you are wrong yet again! As much as I love the Skyline GT-R, this car ranks well up there with it – and that is the Toyota Crown Comfort.

One of my first blog’s was about how the Crown Comfort was becoming and endangered species, esp. with the likes of the Korean contingent in markets like Singapore and Hong Kong.

Finding diecast for this car is rather difficult. Especially in 1/43 scale, but thank goodness for the chaps at IXO to have produced the Singapore and HK versions of the taxi. The Singapore version is within the Japan display section of The Garage.



Upon my return from Bali, there was a wee “toy”/model shop within the Denpasar airport departure, as blogged here: http://keefyd.blogspot.com/2011/08/i-believe-in-miracles.html.

The standard Tomica 1/64 has been replaced with a model from what I would class as the TLV range on the desk at work. And from the pictures below you can see why with the side by side comparisons (FYI the black version is the standard release from the Tomica line).

Plastic wheels have been replaced by rubber tyres. The level of detailing is simply incredible for a 1/64 scale model – and puts the Matchbox Lesney editions to shame (Mattel should be quite embarrassed at their half-arsed efforts over the last few years – yet people seem to lap them up as they have the Matchbox moniker on them – I pity the fool…..).

With detail right down to the Japanese number plates and even to the white coated seats (normal for a taxi within Japanese prefectures). And more to the point these models ARE diecast which will please my good friend Jono Crellin. Both chassis and bodywork are full metal castings with only the necessary inserts and interior being of plastic. A joy. A real joy. I have got the green version sitting next to my Norev 205 GTi and you can immediately feel the difference in weight when they are picked up.

You pay a premium – and I am happy to do so. It is a shame that these models are not readily released outside of the APAC markets (why should they – I cannot see the blinkered USA crowd ever appreciating these models as they are not American) so eBay or worldly travels is the next best way to procure – the latter being a tad expensive.

I have had an eye on these four taxis for the last 2-3 years, but never had the bottle to buy them. Fate must have been smiling on me that day……