IT’S THE BIG THREE-O FOR ALL TOYOTAFEST
About a dozen cars were showcased at the very first All Toyotafest back in the mid-1990s. 30 Toyotafests later, over 500 Toyota, Lexus and Scion vehicles were on display—ranging from vintage classics to modern customized builds.
By Roy Nakano & Christopher Carreiro
Fri, Jun 26, 2026 01:00 PM PST
The Toyota Owners and Restorers Club (TORC) held its 30th anniversary All Toyotafest at Marina Green Park in Long Beach, California. Featured image above: The Toyota Corolla A86 holds center court (all photographs by Christopher Carreiro).
It’s hard to imagine now, but back in 1995, few people considered restoring Toyotas or any Japanese car in North America.
That’s what Stuart Resor found out after purchasing an RT43 Toyota Corona with an intent to restore it with his daughter.
TORC is Born
It prompted Resor to establish the Toyota Owners and Restorers Club (TORC) in Carlsbad, California.
TORC began as a grassroots avenue for enthusiasts to help each other locate old Toyota parts and preserve the vehicles.
Enter Toyotafest
To bring this community together, the very first "Toyotafest" was held at Moonlight State Beach in Encinitas, drawing a modest group of about a dozen cars.
Interest grew quickly, and the show eventually relocated to Long Beach, California.
On May 30th, TORC held its 30th All Toyotafest at Marina Green Park, showcasing over 500 Toyota, Lexus and Scion vehicles.
Everything from vintage 1960s classics to modern icons were on display. This included first-generation Toyota trucks and Land Cruisers to modern performance Supras, MR2s, and Corollas.
The gathering included special vehicle displays, tons of merchandise, food trucks, and (of course) the All Toyotafest awards segment.
The Legacies
The legacies of the All Toyotafest event extends beyond the show itself.
In 2005, Terry and Koji Yamaguchi launched the Japanese Classic Car Show (JCCS) to serve as a venue to showcase the full spectrum of Japanese cars.
Terry, who served as executive director of the 30th All Toyotafest, credited TORC and the Toyotafest as inspirations for the JCCS during a Cruising J-Town panel in Little Tokyo (From the Streets to the World: Legacies of the Import Car Scene).
On June 27, 2026, the fifth annual Nor-Cal Toyotafest will be held. Although it is a separate organization from the Southern California Toyotafest hosted by TORC, it is no doubt another one of the legacies of the SoCal effort.
Last, but not least, these events have had an impact on the value of existing Japanese cars in North America.
Whereas old imports like Datsun 510s, Honda CRXs, Nissan 240SXs and Toyota Corolla AE86s could at one time be scooped up at ordinary used car prices, today they command extraordinary prices.
You can thank organizations like TORC for that.
30th All Toyotafest
Held: Saturday, May 30, 2026
Location: Marina Green Park, 386 E Shoreline Drive, Long Beach, CA.
About the Toyota Owners Restoration Club
(TORC)
The All Toyotafest event is organized by the Toyota Owner's and Restorer's Club (TORC). TORC is considered the premier group for classic Toyota, Lexus, and Scion enthusiasts, and maintains an official website
Further information about TORC and the All Toyotafest is located at toyotaclub.org.
About The Authors
Roy Nakano gave birth to LACar in the late '90s. As LACar's Editor, Roy shapes the content and assigns the stories. As a writer, Roy likes to stray off the beaten automotive path: "Six Degrees of Reparations" reflected on the ethical limits taken by car companies throughout history. "Traveling Through the Past and Present of the Green Book" looked at businesses that took a stand and the man that wrote the book. "Best Cars to Drive in Rush Hour Traffic" was an LACar guide published in the pre-GPS era. "In Search of the First Datsun 510 Tuner" looked at one of the milestones in the origin of import tuners. And "Us vs Them" examines the instances when rivalry among automotive enthusiasts crossed the line to violence and even death.
Together with
Christopher Carreiro is a photographer and life long car enthusiast, passions for which he combines around the LA car scene in equal measure. Born in Long Beach, Chris feels lucky to attend the Grand Prix his city hosts at his leisure, however, he prefers checking out the dazzling array of cars that show up annually at the Japanese Classic Car Show, held on the same grounds. Further marrying his hobbies of cars and photography he has turned to writing about the car scene in LA to offer a unique glimpse into the culture from the lens of a native Angeleno.
