Toyota Land Cruiser Crosses 10 Million Sales Milestone

2020 toyota land cruiser heritage edition
2020 Toyota Land Cruiser Heritage Edition.

Wow, 10 million Toyota Land Cruisers?

If you have been keeping up with our Toyota Land Cruiser TFLpro project, then you’re aware that we dig Toyota Land Cruisers. That’s for a mighty good reason: you would be hard pressed to find an off-roader with a better pedigree. Now, Toyota itself has a reason to celebrate, as the Land Cruiser just passed the 10 million sold milestone.

You can find old Toyota Land Cruisers in hundreds of countries. It was officially sold in 170 countries with its reputation for reliability and ruggedness being major draws. At the time, its main competitor, the Land Rover has a less solid reputation.

(Photo: Toyota Motor Corporation)

Toyota Land Cruiser history

You can trace the long line of Toyota Land Cruisers back to 1954, when Toyota first used the name Land Cruiser. Before that, from 1951, the early Toyota Model BJ was a larger, more powerful knock-off of the Willys Jeep. If you look further, there are stories of the Japanese Imperial Army prototyping their own concepts based on a captured Willys Jeep from the Philippines in 1941.

In 1965, the Land Cruiser was Toyota’s best-selling vehicle in the USA. This was an important stepping stone for Toyota, they developed a large following for their rig in North America. The Land Cruiser (FJ) was becoming so popular that General Motors considered working with Toyota. They looked at using their small-block V8 for the Toyota – but it never panned out.

Funny thing about that; lots of Americans added the V8 anyway. It was a popular engine swap and there are still several adaptor kits available online. Some people called these Land Cruisers ToyVettes.

Serious variety, serious reputation.

Over the decades, there have been a multitude of different Toyota Land Cruisers. Ambulances, tow trucks, agricultural variants, fire trucks, pickup trucks, military variants – you name it. Over the years, the Land Cruiser has evolved into something completely different, a high-end luxury off-roader. Still, it maintains its rock-solid reputation for capability, utility and reliability.

Toyota Land Cruiser TFLPro
Toyota Land Cruiser TFLPro

Is this the end?

We are thrilled with our 2008 Land Cruiser TFLpro project truck, and we understand the devotion to this vehicle quite well. Unfortunately, there are a lot of rumors about the Toyota Land Cruiser being discontinued. They are incredibly expensive and sales have slowed.

We sincerely hope that Toyota keeps the Land Cruiser around. In many ways, it was one of the vehicles that created the international foundation that Toyota prides itself upon. It would be a shame to kill an icon.

Hell, 10-million sales should say something – doesn’t it?

Nathan Adlen
Easily amused by anything with four wheels, Nathan Adlen reviews vehicles from the cheapest to the most prestigious. Wrecking yards, dealer lots, garages, racetracks, professional automotive testing and automotive journalism - Nathan has experienced a wide range of the automotive spectrum. Brought up in the California car culture and educated in theater, childhood education, film, journalism and history, Nathan now lives with his family in Denver, CO. His words, good humor and video are enjoyed worldwide.