Toyota's Most Rugged Land Cruiser Is Back In Japan

Visitors look at a Land Cruiser BJ44 (1974-1979) during the Land Cruiser Motor Show at a Toyota showroom in Tokyo, Monday, Aug. 25, 2014.

TOKYO (AP) — Toyota Motor Corp. is bringing back the Land Cruiser 70 in Japan, catering to nostalgic demand for the rugged off-roader that's favored for challenging terrains and as an aid agency vehicle in disaster zones.

The 3.6 million yen ($35,000) Land Cruiser 70, the toughest of the Land Cruiser models, arrives at Japanese dealers Monday. But it's on sale for only a year, with planned production of 200 a month. Japan sales were discontinued in 2004, but fans have long wanted the model back because of its fun-to-drive features.

"If you ever have to entrust your life with a car, I'd choose the Land Cruiser," chief engineer Sadayoshi Koyari told reporters at an event for car fans in Tokyo. The 70 model first went on sale in 1984, and it's still sold in the Middle East, Africa, Australia and other places, averaging 6,400 vehicles a month in sales.

Its durability is based on its ladder-frame chassis and suspension, according to Toyota, the world's top automaker. It's designed for places where a breakdown is not just a hassle but also possibly fatal.

But Japanese fans have long wanted the model back since it was discontinued here in 2004. Masahiro Terada, 67, a Kyoto lumber merchant and fan of the Land Cruiser for decades, heads a network of about 50 Japanese Land Cruiser owners, who gather at unusual spots such as bumpy volcanic areas near Mount Fuji and rivers in southwestern Kyushu, to test the vehicle's off-road features.

"A Land Cruiser is a toy for a big boy, those adults who never grow up," he said with a laugh, vowing to drive a Land Cruiser until the day he dies. The U.N. and the Red Cross use the Land Cruiser for relief efforts in disaster zones, making it a model Toyota is proud to claim as part of its brand.

The Land Cruiser is Toyota's longest-running nameplate, with a cumulative 7.9 million units produced worldwide. Its long history means there are plentiful parts from models sold around the world, including in emerging economies where easy and reliable maintenance is crucial.

The comeback offering, which is also available in a 3.5 million yen ($34,000) pickup version, boasts up-to-date safety and smart-key features, a 4.0 liter V6 engine and five-speed manual transmission.

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Eiji Toyoda, Key Figure In Toyota's Rise, Dies

Toyota Motor Corp. Chairman Eiji Toyoda, left, and General Motors Corp. Chairman Roger B. Smith shake hands in front of a Chevrolet Nova as the new United Motor Manufacturing Inc., a $400 million joint venture between GM and Toyota, was inaugurated with a dedication ceremony at the Fremont, Calif., plant. Toyoda, a member of Toyota's founding family who helped create the super-efficient "Toyota Way" production method, has died. He was 100. The automaker said Toyoda, a cousin of the Japanese automaker's founder Kiichiro Toyoda, died Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2013 of heart failure at Toyota Memorial Hospital in Toyota, central Japan. Image: AP

TOKYO (AP) — Eiji Toyoda, a member of Toyota's founding family who helped create the super-efficient "Toyota Way" production method, has died. He was 100.

Toyoda, a cousin of the Japanese automaker's founder Kiichiro Toyoda, died Tuesday of heart failure at Toyota Memorial Hospital in Toyota city, central Japan, Toyota said in a statement. Eiji Toyoda served as president from 1967 to 1982, engineering Toyota's growth into a global automaker. He became chairman in 1982, and continued in advisory positions up to his death.

He spent his early years on the shop floor, and helped pioneer Toyota's reputed just-in-time production to cut waste and empower workers for continuous improvement or "kaizen." A graduate of the prestigious University of Tokyo with a degree in mechanical engineering, he joined Toyoda Automatic Loom Works in 1936.

Toyota started out as a loom maker, founded by Kiichiro Toyoda's father Sakichi. Eiji Toyoda's father was Sakichi's brother. During his years at the helm of what is now the world's biggest automaker, Eijji Toyoda led the development of the Toyota Corolla, which has become one of the best-selling cars of all time. He also pushed Toyota to develop luxury vehicles, which later became the Lexus brand.

One of Japan's most respected businessmen, Toyoda was also one of the main figures to forge Toyota's partnership with General Motors Co. to set up a joint plant in Fremont, California called NUMMI, New United Motor Manufacturing, in 1984. NUMMI closed in 2010.

Toyoda is survived by his three sons, Kanshiro, Tetsuro and Shuhei, all executives at Toyota affiliates. A private family funeral is planned.

Follow Yuri Kageyama on Twitter at www.twitter.com/yurikageyama