CLANCY OVERELL | Editor | CONTACT

Australia’s Pacific Islander Community are today reeling from the heartbreaking news that the iconic Toyota Tarago is set to be retired by the end of 2019.

Toyota announced yesterday that when the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve, they will be farewelling the manufacturing of the sturdy people mover – which has become a family favourite for the usos and tokos for over 36 years.

The Tarago went on sale early in 1983 with a the never-before-seen four-cylinder engine, which had less than half the power of a modern Toyota Corolla.

It’s discontinuation has been felt hard by Pacific Islander community, who have been sharing photos of their childhood people movers on social media, under the hashtag #MyMumsFootyRun

“We will never forget this high performance vehicles ability to carry an under 15s state rugby league side” said a spokesperson for the community, Lote Kefu.

“Not to mention the amount of spares you can find at the wreckers”

“The new replacement [Toyota Granvia] looks hideous”

“Our community will not yet commit to crossing over to the Kia Carnival, but it’s not looking good for our brand loyalty to Toyota at the moment”

While particularly popular within the Polynesian community, the Tarago was also not uncommon in the driveways of thousands of regional Irish Catholics around the nation – or pretty much any family that had children who required as much room in the back rows as their parents had in the front.