Toyota Mark II most of all, its reliability; the Cressida was quickly gaining a reputation for outstanding ownership. In August 1983, Toyota chairman Eiji Toyoda initiated the F1 project ("Flagship" and "No. 1 vehicle"; alternatively called the "Circle-F" project), a clandestine effort aimed at producing a world-class luxury sedan for international markets. This led to the creation of an all new, full size luxury sedan designed for export markets and was called the Lexus LS. The US-market 1981 Cressida was the first car to come with motorized automatic shoulder harnesses which wrapped around front seat occupants when the door was closed and the
Toyota Cresta five generations, and production eventually ceased in 2001, when it was merged with the Chaser to form the short lived Verossa, a sporty luxury car. The first Cresta was introduced April 1980 and was available exclusively at the renamed "Toyota Vista Store" (formerly Toyota Auto Store) sales channels across Japan, joining the recently introduced Chaser. The Cresta was positioned as a high-level luxury sedan just below the established, traditional luxury sedan, the Crown. The sales goal of the Cresta was to provide buyers with a luxury sedan, but not incur tax consequences for exceeding dimension regulations, the vehicle was limited