Hummer Wantabe

[DTHVLY]

To say that the old AK10 (the vehicle that the FJ40 was derived from) is a wantabe Heep would be a legitimate argument, but the Toyota was an improved more reliable version of the Willys Heep.

In 1933 the automotive division of Toyota Automatic Loom Works was established. The origins of the Toyota Land Cruiser began some five years after the Second World War, when US Army Jeeps were a common sight in Japan.

These were the only 4x4s available and at the time there was a need for a vehicle a little larger than the Jeep and one that could be built locally as part of the reconstruction programme meant to revitalise Japan?s economy. The US Army and the Police Reserve approached Toyota Motor Corporation with a request to design and produce such a vehicle. Toyota used its experience gained during the war when it produced the light scout car, the AK10. In only five months a Jeep-like prototype called the Toyota Jeep was built. Willys quickly pointed out that this name would be an infringement on its trademark, and in the following year it was given a new name - the Toyota Model B-85. Production commenced in 1953 and a year later, after 298 Model B-85s had been produced, so the name Land Cruiser made its mark on the world.