"Raphmoe" (raphmoe)
11/04/2014 at 08:56 • Filed to: Toyota, Reviews, Classic Cars, Tercel
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"Raphmoe" (raphmoe)
11/04/2014 at 08:56 • Filed to: Toyota, Reviews, Classic Cars, Tercel | 2
| 15 |
Good afternoon fellow friends and country men, women, children, and car enthusiasts. Today is election day and with that I bring another edition of Classic Car Focus. I love old, boring, rusted out, boring cars that are no longer new, one of these cars that now oozes nostalgia is the last generation Toyota Tercel.
I can't help but find mid-'90s Tercels handsome, beautiful, perfect.
They represent the last of the line for Tercels in America, and these pre-1998-facelift cars strike me as somehow gorgeous. Remember this feeling of American beauty and joy when you vote for someone today during the election of American republic democracy edition.
On a good day, Tercels can't even go 80 mph; this is exactly what a want in a car. It should have stable handling at low speeds with nothing to catch me off guard if I get dumb and aggressive on a back-road twisty, it shouldn't be hard to get fixed, and it should be cheap as hell to buy parts for. Gas mileage is probably well over 30 mpg which is great for a budget.
The Tercel is the car you bought if you had more style than the civic crowd, more brains than the cavalier crowd, and well, nobody wanted the Dodge/Chrysler/Plymouth Neon. The Neon was the class clown; nobody loves the class clown.
The Tercel, on the other hand, is perfect.
The Tercel had an engine and either a 4 speed automatic or 5 speed manual - the only things you need in a great car. I hope to buy a Tercel one day for under $1,000 in mint condition. The quintessential car for affordable back road jaunts and wide eyed hooning. 93 horsepower and 100lbs/ft of torque are more than enough for any car enthusiast that subscribes to the old maxim: drive slow cars fast for maximum pleasure.
Thunderface
> Raphmoe
11/04/2014 at 08:57 |
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A guy near me has two of these
They're tiny
jkm7680
> Raphmoe
11/04/2014 at 08:59 |
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Tercel Classic.
PRBot II
> Raphmoe
11/04/2014 at 09:03 |
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Oh my God, women love Tercels.
I know this because I don't drive one, and I'm single.
Hahayoustupidludditeshutupandgohandcrankyourmodeltalready
> Raphmoe
11/04/2014 at 09:03 |
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Another lovely piece of writing by Raphmoe.
cletus44 aka Clayton Seams
> Raphmoe
11/04/2014 at 09:04 |
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Nice write up! These always reminded me of E36 BMW's when viewed in profile. I did something vaguely similar a while ago on my own website. Linky
sm70- why not Duesenberg?
> Raphmoe
11/04/2014 at 09:08 |
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Also, de-badged Tercels make great cars for use in commercials.
thebigbossyboss
> Raphmoe
11/04/2014 at 09:08 |
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Two things: 1) I drive a Cavalier and have lots of brains. *looks at state of life in general*
Well okay. Maybe not that many brains.
2) The clutches on these were really light. Especially if your only other experience driving stick was a 5.0L V8 New Edge Mustang. Now I'd probably do better, but when I drove this thing I damn near put the clutch pedal through the floor.
SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie
> Raphmoe
11/04/2014 at 09:09 |
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I always thought that a two door Tercel or Paseo would make a decent budget rally car.
Kate's Dirty Sister
> Raphmoe
11/04/2014 at 09:11 |
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Have you considered a Kinja sub blog where you could post your journalistic work ?
Could be called MOETOWN
duurtlang
> Raphmoe
11/04/2014 at 09:12 |
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It looks like the Americanized version of our 1990-1996 Starlet, which was available as a 3 door and 5 door hatch, but obviously not as a sedan. They're very durable little cars, although rather rust prone.
1996-1999 the last generation of Starlet was offered here, as 1999 brought the first gen Yaris.
I'd rather have that mid-late 80s Citroën AX in the background.
NonDriftingS13
> Raphmoe
11/04/2014 at 09:23 |
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I have a '96 Tercel with a 4 speed manual. I remember it gets at least 32mpg if I dog it and 35 easily if I drive normally. And your right, it takes some effort to get them up to speed!
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Raphmoe
> NonDriftingS13
11/04/2014 at 10:30 |
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What a fun classic car!
AUDACIA
> Raphmoe
11/04/2014 at 10:32 |
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Could it be that they were amongst the last factory 2-door sedans?
PushToStart
> Raphmoe
11/04/2014 at 11:26 |
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Raphmoe, you're weird.
But in a good way, I guess. :P
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Raphmoe
> PushToStart
11/04/2014 at 11:27 |
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Thanks friend!