Toyota grille takes the crown [Fox News]

[donmateo]

It could be the official car of Pennsylvania...if it were sold there.

Toyota has unveiled a new version of its flagship car in Japan, humbly called the Crown, and the big luxury sedan features a grille that's the spitting image of the logo of The Keystone State.

Possibly more extreme as the "spindle" grille showing up on the latest Lexus models, Toyota says the zig-zaggy opening is meant to look like a crown, in a not so subtle tip of the hat to the car's name, but its resemblance to PA's trademark is hard to ignore.

The car itself is a big rear-wheel-drive sedan long favored by Japanese bureaucrats and captains of industry, as well as some police forces - so you can enter your own Keystone Cop joke here.

With prices that range from about $40,000 to $60,000, the Crown is available with either a high-performance V6 under the hood, or, in true Toyota fashion, as a hybrid.

But if you'd rather go low key than keystone, along with the Crown Athlete and its grand grille, there's also a Crown Royal model with a slightly more subdued snout that looks something like a bottle of its unintentionally referenced namesake liquor.

Nevertheless, don't drink and drive.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2013/...#ixzz2GpryfjjA

[FenwickHockey65]

Do not want.

[MCGARRETT]

Wow, thats....pretty damn ugly.

[Slideways]

I kinda like it. At least it's better than the spindle grille that Lexus gets.

[BlackGTP]

The car looks ok, but the grill..... Between this and the Lexus spindle I think Toyota is trying a little too hard to differentiate itself.

[joemac]

Nothing showcases home of the Liberty Bell better than a Toyota. We American's should be proud of the accomplishment.

[Joe in T.O.]

Now that Ford dropped the Crown Victoria, Toyota is going to use the Crown name?

[syr74]

Now that Ford dropped the Crown Victoria, Toyota is going to use the Crown name?

http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&hl...9,r:2,s:0,i:96

Ford Crown Victoria and Toyota Crown both debuted in 1955, although the 55 Ford did age a bit (or a lot) better than the 55 Toyota did.

[mchicha]

They can keep it for all I care.

[ausrutherford]

Well the Crown and the GS share platforms so if you want a Crown, the GS probably has most of the same gearing.


Sent from my iPhone using AutoGuide.com App

[Stéphane Dumas]

Now that Ford dropped the Crown Victoria, Toyota is going to use the Crown name?

Or they could revive old names they once used: Corona or Cressida.

[megeebee]

Now that Ford dropped the Crown Victoria, Toyota is going to use the Crown name?

You didn't read the article, did you?

It could be the official car of Pennsylvania...if it were sold there

Toyota doesn't sell the Crown in the US.

If they ever do, it will be under the Lexus brand and likely have an alpha-numeric name.

If I'm not mistaken, the first Lexus LS's were renamed Toyota Crowns.

Perhaps this is a preview of the next LS?

[rand49er]

My, my ... that's an ugly grill.

[chinamonty]

I remember the Toyota Crowns we used to get here (in the sixties and seventies) -they were OK vehicles, but nothing out of the ordinary except they were well equipped. . Didn't handle well at all but went well enough and were quite OK for touring around in. You could even get a ute version and IIRC there was an ambulance Crown somewhere in New South Wales.

[t-rex]

The Crown isn't a single model in Japan, but rather a small family based on a common shell, with different front and rear treatments. The new S210 generation has been pared down to just two models, the sportier “Crown Athlete” shown here and the more tradional “Crown Royal” which has a similar, but more toned-down front styling treatment. Some previous Crown generations have had up to four body/grille variations.

If I'm not mistaken, the first Lexus LS's were renamed Toyota Crowns.

Until the launch of Lexus, the LS was sold in Japan as the “Toyota Celsior” though the ninth-generation Crown, the S140 sold from 1991 to 1995, had styling that closely resembled the big Lexus.

A strange fact: the Crown continued to use body-on-frame construction through the 1990s, with the tenth-generation model making the change to monocoque construction.