The Toyota Land Cruiser is a series of four-wheel drive vehicles produced by the Japanese car maker Toyota Motor Corporation. It is not related to the Studebaker Land Cruiser car produced in the US from 1934-1954. The Land Cruiser series is the longest running series in Toyota history. Development of the first generation Land Cruiser began in 1951 as Toyota's version of a Jeep-like vehicle and production started in 1954. The Land Cruiser has been produced in convertible, hardtop, station wagon, and utility truck versions. The Land Cruiser's reliability and longevity has led to huge... popularity, especially in Australia where it is the best-selling full-size, body-on-frame, four-wheel drive vehicle. Toyota also extensively tests the Land Cruiser in the Australian outback — considered to be one of the toughest operating environments in both temperature and terrain. Main rivals include the Range Rover, Land Rover Discovery, Mitsubishi Pajero and Nissan Patrol. In 1941 the Imperial Japanese Army occupied the Philippines, where they found an old Bantam Mk II, and promptly brought it to Japan.
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