The life and times of Australia's Baby Boomer generation
Motoring of the Baby Boomer Years: The 1980s  Australians have
always had an affinity with what are known these days as people
movers. Back in the 1960s, it was cool to cruise the countryside
in an old Volkswagen Combi - I should know, I toured around the
Pilbara region of WA in one with three friends back in 1969.
That love was rekindled by many Baby Boomers in the 1980s as
they sought a suitable vehicle in which to trasport their
growing families. Volkswagen's Caravelle was very nice but way
beyond the budget of most, and Daihatsu's Wide 55, which, in
spite of its name, wasn't much bigger than a Mini inside. Its
name referred to its width - 55 inches - which may have been big
enough for a Japanse family but it was inadequate for an Aussie
one.  It was Totoya who came to the rescue with its 8-seater
Tarago and its cheaper cousin, the Lite Ace minibus. Sales
soared and Toyota went all the way with a chisel-nosed Tarago
that was the class act of the fie