<P> Since toyoda literally means "fertile rice paddies", changing the name also prevented the company from being associated with old - fashioned farming . The newly formed word was trademarked and the company was registered in August 1937 as the Toyota Motor Company . </P> <P> From September 1947, Toyota's small - sized vehicles were sold under the name "Toyopet" (トヨペット). The first vehicle sold under this name was the Toyopet SA, but it also included vehicles such as the Toyopet SB light truck, Toyopet Stout light truck, Toyopet Crown, Toyopet Master, and the Toyopet Corona . The word "Toyopet (Japanese article)" was a nickname given to the Toyota SA due to its small size, as the result of a naming contest the Toyota Company organized in 1947 . However, when Toyota eventually entered the American market in 1957 with the Crown, the name was not well received due to connotations of toys and pets . The name was soon dropped for the American market, but continued in other markets until the mid-1960s . </P> <P> By the early 1960s, the US had begun placing stiff import tariffs on certain vehicles . The so - called "chicken tax" of 1964 placed a 25% tax on imported light trucks . In response to the tariff, Toyota, Nissan Motor Co. and Honda Motor Co. began building plants in the US by the early 1980s . </P> <P> Toyota received its first Japanese Quality Control Award at the start of the 1980s and began participating in a wide variety of motorsports . Due to the 1973 oil crisis, consumers in the lucrative US market began turning to small cars with better fuel economy . American car manufacturers had considered small economy cars to be an entry - level product, and their small vehicles employed a low level of quality to keep the price low . Conservative Toyota held on to rear - wheel - drive designs for longer than most; while a clear first in overall production they were only third in production of front - wheel - drive cars in 1983, behind Nissan and Honda . In part due to this, Nissan's Sunny managed to squeeze by the Corolla in numbers built that year . </P>

When did toyota start selling cars in the us