Cars you haven't heard of - Toyota Chinook motorhome (16 photos)
Toyota cars attracted customers with their reliability back in the late 1960s, when the Japanese began active expansion into the North American market. Some American outdoor enthusiasts have begun converting their Toyota pickups into makeshift campers - after all, it’s much nicer to get away from civilization in a car that won’t let you down! And Toyota management noticed this. 
In the early 1970s, the Japanese, looking for new ways to expand their influence in the US market, entered into a partnership with Chinook International, one of the oldest brands in the American mobile home industry. Under the terms of the agreement, Chinook specialists assembled motorhomes on the basis of new Toyota Trucks, which were then sold through the official Toyota dealer network. Production started in 1973 at the Chinook plant in California, where there has always been high demand for such vehicles. 
The Toyota Chinook was positioned as a "micro mini-motorhome" because it was much more compact and cheaper than similar vehicles. Advertising materials noted fuel efficiency (the campers were built on a rear-wheel drive Toyota chassis), easy handling, practicality and versatility. But compactness also entailed disadvantages - the campers were overloaded, the rear suspension quickly “tired”, and there was not enough power in difficult conditions. 
Toyota responded to the criticism and already in 1975 the pickup frame was strengthened, and a more powerful engine appeared under the hood, which, of course, increased the survivability of the vehicle! The Toyota Chinook was produced until the end of the 1970s, giving active Americans the opportunity to take a break from the bustle of the city without compromising their comfort too much! The bulk of the cars, despite the indestructible base of the Toyota Truck, have long been written off, so the surviving copies become collectible classics, and quite affordable. 
The photo shows a 1976 car with a 2.2-liter Toyota 20R gasoline engine. Large-scale restoration work will allow you to relive the emotions of car travelers almost half a century ago as authentically as possible. Sold in the US fall 2023 for $16,750. 
But the brown car in the photo below cost $50,000. This is a heavily modified Chinook on a later Toyota 4x4 chassis. It looks much more impressive and will allow you to visit more inaccessible places, but it no longer smells of the charm of the original Toyota Chinook. There's nothing wrong with that though. 
