smootharchi wrote:
I think the Japs designed these cars back then for us to enjoy now...in the distant future. It can't be (it can) that they got it so right back then...it's like they knew what our future desires would be.
1974...
JAPS: We design affordable car for now but only later will they appreciate...
CONSUMER: I'll just buy a Toyota to get me from A-B and then I'll sell it before it depreciates too much!
2013...
JAPS: TE37s expensive... HAHA! Only now they appreciate!
CONSUMER: I don't think I'll ever sell my TE... It's my baby... *goes for a meaningful cruise* Ahhhhh...They just don't make 'em like this anymore...
Japs = Genuis
Lovely car, Brah! Just awesome...
It's funny, really, how much the context of the times affect our tastes in automobiles. Back in 1974, my purple TE27 would have been a joke to most people here Stateside. And why not? You could have a gently used 454 cubes back then for relatively nothing. Maybe not as fast in the corners, but America is a land of long, flat, open roads. Who cares? It sure can light 'em in the straights. And the Japanese styling on the whole simply does not mesh with the American design language of the period (some exclusions apply).
Now all those cubes are either impossible to afford the entry price for (thanks to venues like Barret-Jackson), or they are impossible to afford the gas for, or both. But old Japanese cars...light, RWD, simple, manual transmissions, etc. etc....have those not all been the buzzwords tossed around by the industry the past couple of years? It's really just amazing how things change...
Don't get me wrong. I will one day also own a classic American car. I love them as much as anybody. But I also say long live the TE Corolla (and all the other Nihon steel, for that matter)!
