The fourth generation of the Toyota Corolla was launched in Malaysia in late 1979. The model was designated the ‘KE70’ and seemed to have skipped 3 numbers after the first 3 models which were the KE10, KE20 and KE30. Perhaps the reason for this was that the fourth generation was a major advancement with far better build quality than before with chassis changes such as coil spring rear suspension and rack and pinion steering for the first time.
Borneo Motors, the Inchcape subsidiary distributing Toyota vehicles then, made sure that the local assembly processes at the ASSB plant in Shah Alam, Selangor were also upgraded to achieve the higher quality.
The plant invested in an electro-deposit (ED) painting system which had the entire body immersed in a tank of primer paint. This ensured complete coverage of all metal parts (even inside the box sections), thereby giving superior protection against corrosion in the longer term. The Corolla was one of the first models to go through this process.
The range for the Malaysian market consisted of the sedan, stationwagon and a liftback which replaced the hardtop coupe of the previous generation. Initially, only a 1.3-litre 4K engine and manual transmission were available but towards the end of this generation, Borneo Motors added the option of automatic transmission and a 1.6-litre (2T) engine.
This doublespread (across 2 pages) advertisement was a special one which appeared only once and that was for the second Kuala Lumpur International Motorshow in 1979 where the new model was displayed. ‘Legend Reborn’ was all it said, suggesting that nothing else needed to be said about the Corolla that would one day become the bestselling car of all time (that happened in 1997).