Land Cruiser

TheLand Cruiser is one of the most iconic cars ever made and arguably put Toyota on the SUV map. The Land Cruiser started out as a competitor for the Willys Jeep after Japan had suffered a loss in World War 2 Toyota was tasked with coming up with a vehicle for the US military to be used around Asia in 1951, due to the Korean War. Toyota developed the Toyota Jeep BJ which had a six-cylinder engine but plans where shelved when the US decided to use Willy's Jeep. While the Toyota Jeep was not selected by the US it went on to service most of Asia with it bearing the Land Cruiser name for the first time in 1954. Shortly after the Land Cruiser became the official title o the car Toyota began to realize the BJ's potential and geared the Land Cruiser for civilian use with the J20. The J20 had a more handsome design as well as increase comfort while still keeping its rigged capability. The J20 lasted for 5 years with many going outside of Asia to countries in South America, such as Brazil. In 1960 arguably the most iconic Land Cruiser of all time emerged the FJ40. Designed in Japan and exported to places such as the United States the FJ far outsold any other Japanese truck or SUV. Within 3 years of the FJ's release over 50,000 had been sold. The FJ was armed with a 3.9 L engine that had 125 horsepower along with the first low range gearbox fitted to a Land Cruiser. While many Land cruisers came after the FJ40 it is arguably one of the most iconic SUVs of all time.