Toyota Tercels - the true underdog! Had one?

[Vizzy]

i believe the starlet was as well. I worked in a Honda dealership back in the early 80s, and had a number of Tercels and Starlets as trade ins,......

WHile they weren't wonderful to drive per se...they did seem to have that almost Mercedes like durability about them, without of course the refinement ....

It WAS the golden age of Toyota and Honda too..they made brilliantly simple,durable, trouble free, inexpensive to buy vehicles that were cheap to maintain as well.

These companies need to revisit that time to recapture their glory, if they really want it back!

 

[XS650]

Originally Posted By: Vizzy


It WAS the golden age of Toyota and Honda too..they made brilliantly simple,durable, trouble free, inexpensive to buy vehicles that were cheap to maintain as well.

These companies need to revisit that time to recapture their glory, if they really want it back!




I think there is a market for a car like that. I have no objection to them meeting minimal required modern safety and emissions standards, but the major manufacturers should have at least one car that is available in it's base model with no extra fru-fru on it.

 

[Spyder7]

I wish! If it were ever produced they would have me for life. Safety features I have no quibbles with, its the emphasis on power everything and nanny features I don't need or want. Or have to fix/replace when they break.

For the next several years, at least, I'm ok as there are still even reasonably newish base models to be found that have the level of austerity that is mandatory for me for as long as it exists to be found.

With a very few exceptions, I really dislike the new models coming out. From the outside in. I loathe the - to me - freakish looking exterior styling combined with the bloat the bucket is weighed down with.

I like simple, clean lines and minimalist features. My elbow works just fine to roll a window down when I need to, and likewise for my feet to shift gears or maintain a desired speed without needing cruise control to do that simple chore for me. With the mandatory OBD-II interior connection, the most basic, analog instruments suffice since anything else I want to know I can read off my Scanguage, and unlike digital instruments, if it breaks its as simple as plugging in a $150 replacement that I can have the next day and installed in about 5 seconds.

The majority seems to feel otherwise, though. So unless some revolutionary start up company comes along with the mission of putting out low cost, nanny fru fru free cars, I'm not holding my breath. The current crop of automakers show no sign of ever doing anything more than they are: increasingly dumbing down the product while removing the driver from the driving experience as much as they can.

-Spyder

Originally Posted By: XS650

I think there is a market for a car like that. I have no objection to them meeting minimal required modern safety and emissions standards, but the major manufacturers should have at least one car that is available in it's base model with no extra fru-fru on it.

 

[IndyIan]

There was an old Tercel 2 door at work, early 90's, I think it was the oldest car in the lot which says something about their longevity... I think the owner is now driving a newish Sentra so I don't know what happened to it. Probably the need to replace the full set of rusty brake and fuel lines did it in...

 

[SubyRoo]

Check out this old Tercel 4WD video.