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Toyota Corolla Ke55 Sedan Badges


justJDMit

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I think there was a pov-spec "L" model at some stage too...

 

Actual letters stopped really meaning things ages ago (if they ever did) and just became generic, hell you could get a 1999 CSi base model Camry that was in no way a "Club Sport" (the "i" was for injected though, and obviously applied), badges like "GXL" and "SX" are created by marketing departments and are all about perception and sound rather than actually standing for something - Kelloggs LCMs are a prime example of this, LCM doesn't actually stand for anything but sounded good and tested well amongst kids

Edited by Hiro Protagonist
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Some examples from Hiro are true, they sound appealing but the appearance off the car is completely opposite. It's all marketing...

Mechanical Sympathy was getting warmer....

 

CS stands for "Cloth and Stereo" I'm not making it up as it sounds good but that's what it is. A number of magazines from 1976 stipulate this as this was the newly released trim level across the range. A rank above the SE and two above the L model.

 

Your ke55 is a square headlight 1980/81, I guess you have removed the chunky bumpers?

Looks great judging by the photo, made a ride thread yet?

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You have to be careful sometimes with acronyms, often they are actually folk etymology/"backronyms" (in that the definition is created after the acronym is already in use) - a common one is that Lexus stands for "Luxury Export to the US" (Lexus themselves have repeatedly stated that it is just a made-up word, derived from the name Alexis, that sounds luxurious and sporty at the same time) or just adopted from other manufacturers despite not being applicable any more (GTi stands for Grand Tourer Injected and was originally a Maserati term, but is most famous for being on small Euro hot-hatches which are by no means "Grand Tourers"

 

SE is deceiving too, since it is often used as "Special Edition", which in the Corolla sense as the almost-base model (vinyl seats, mono AM radio etc) is anything but...

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Toyota has distributed dealer channels in Japan, with different "sub-brands" sold at distinctly named dealers - Corolla/Publica Store, NETZ, Auto/Vista Store, Toyopet Store etc....they're still all Toyotas though. Normal Corollas and the Levin were sold at the Corolla Store, Sprinters were sold at the Vista Store (which was originally the Auto Store, because all of them except the KE15/17 were not branded as Corolla, despite being superficially identical to the Corolla Levin)

Edited by Hiro Protagonist
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