“Dependability.” Roy Martinez says it without hesitation when asked why he and his family have chosen Toyota through the years. It’s a word that could also characterize his 30-year career as a firefighter with the City of Miami Department of Fire-Rescue.

“I really enjoy it,” says Martinez, a lieutenant who usually works 24-hour shifts (followed by 48 hours off). “There’s no typical day for me.” What makes his job even more interesting is that he lives in Jupiter, Florida, 100 miles north of his home fire station. Martinez commutes in his 2003 Toyota Corolla S—“still going strong” at 170,000+ miles. “It’s a blast to drive,” says the 57-year-old New York City native.

Martinez was originally looking for a hatchback, but Sandra, his wife of 25 years, pointed out that since he carries his work gear in his car, he’d need a secure place to put it. “So I had to have something with a trunk.”

Martinez’s Corolla isn’t his first Toyota. It all started with a 1970 Corolla coupe, which he bought when he was 18, for “$2,016, out the door,” he recalls. Then there was a ’92 Corolla station wagon, followed by a ’96 Corolla station wagon. In between those he bought a ’94 Toyota pickup truck (the model didn’t have a name) which, at 175,000+ miles now, “has earned its keep,” Martinez says with a chuckle; their youngest
daughter, Amanda, drives it to school. The rest of the family’s current Toyota “fleet” includes Sandra’s 2001 Sienna and a 2007 Tacoma Pre-Runner, driven by the Martinez’s oldest daughter, Ann.

“We love our Toyotas,” says Martinez. “None of them have ever let us down.” Just like the firefighters who are always there to answer the call.