The Toyota Carina is an automobile which was manufactured by Toyota from December 1970 to December 2001. It was introduced as a sedan counterpart of the Celica, of which it originally shared a platform. Later, it was realigned to the Corona platform, but retained its performance image, with distinctive bodywork and interior — aimed at the youth market and remaining exclusive to Japanese Toyota dealerships Toyota Store. It was replaced in Japan by the Toyota Allion in 2001 and succeeded in Europe by the Toyota Avensis.
The inspiration for the name Carina came from the constellation Carina, sharing a naming inspiration from the Celica, which is ultimately derived from the Latin word coelica meaning “heavenly” or “celestial”.
