They were part suppliers for other, non-automotive products before then as part of Japan's reconstruction after the war. Pull apart an old Sunbeam sewing machine, and the parts might be stamped Toyota or Honda. The Toyoda company actually started in building looms, and I now see they made, and still do, Toyota sewing machines. Toyota - Wikipedia
Yes - between the three . . . if you could have one, what would it be . . . . The GM? The Ford? The Toyota? .
The first Toyota in our family was my dad's brand new 1966 Toyota Corona. I remember he bought it from Dom's Toyota and Checker. They had a Corolla, Corona and a Crown in the showroom, along with a Checker. It came with a wheel chock, a 1/2 pint of touch-up paint and a 12 volt drop light you plug into an outlet inside the glove box. I still have the wheel chock.
My dad's Corona had the Optional American type automatic transmission, with Reverse next to Low on the shifter. When we took it to NC to visit my grandparents, I'll never forget my grandfather looking at it and saying, " What the heck's a Tyotee?".