"Green Mountain Car Guy" (williamleedy)
09/11/2018 at 10:00 • Filed to: None
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"Green Mountain Car Guy" (williamleedy)
09/11/2018 at 10:00 • Filed to: None | 8
| 25 |
It seems that everyone in the automotive journalism world is obsessed by something. For some, it’s a make that is special to them. Others like turn signals. Some just like to find the most minute quirks. Me: I like doors. Whether they are gullwings, falcons, vertical, suicide, or a dihedral synchro-helix actuation system, I find doors interesting. Now, while the dihedral blah blah found on the Koeniggsegg is my favorite design, it’s not my favorite car of all time. That honor goes to the Mclaren F1. It had some neat doors too. The were cut into the roof panel, like a Ford GT, yet hinged at the front and top, so they came out and up at about a 45 degree angle. Amazingly, Gordon Murray’s inspiration for the F1’s doors came from a very unexpected place. Toyota. Yes, Toyota made a car with doors so cool, the designer for the greatest supercar of all time wanted them on his car. It was called the Toyota Sera, and I got to drive one.
The opportunity came about thanks to !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! in South Burlington, Vermont. They graciously let me spend all day there driving all their cool imported cars.
The Toyota Sera has precisely three cool features. The first is the driver’s door, the second is the passenger’s door. They have huge glass panels that go pretty much to the center of the roof. Now, since obviously all that glass can’t be rolled down, they split it. However, they didn’t split it into “side” and “top” panels like many people would d. No, they gave it a top bubble, which extends down the side to nearly eye level, and the first few inches even go all the way to the door panel. The remainder is what actually opens.
Much like the F1, the doors open upwards and outwards, which no one expects to see when you pull up to the gas pumps in a little Toyota. The struts that hold the door up are pretty strong though, so it could be difficult to close after bicep day at the gym. However, aside from being cool, the design does allow very easy rear seat access.
From the inside, the top of the door does have a removable panel to allow light to come in, giving you an impression of what it would be like to drive a fish bowl. Also, the small window that rolls down does offer increased airflow through the cabin, but, since it doesn’t start at the front of the door, none of that fast moving air reaches the driver. Also on the inside of the door is easily the best warning sticker I’ve ever come across. Clearly, a roof rack was an available option for this car, but, given the door situation, you couldn’t really use it for anything longer than, say, the doors. In the cartoonish drawings, you see that skis and other long objects are dangerous because you could open the
rear hatch into them. Or when you open the door, you have to be careful that the skis don’t hit anything going up in the back...or the hood going down in the front.
The third cool thing on this car is its stereo. It is an option that this car has, but, Toyota called it the Super Live Surround System and as awesome as that name is, nobody would fault you for thinking it was a custom after-market job. This system gives the car 10 speakers. Two of which can be found in the doors, which is normal. Also relatively normal are the one in the center of the dashboard and a subwoofer mounted in the trunk. Less normal though are the two that sit like frog eyes near the A-pillars. Even less normal than that are the four that are mounted in a tube that sits on top of the rear parcel shelf and home to the Multi-Reflection speakers. A “Warp” button on the radio itself switches between, and I’m not joking here: “Causal Mode” which is indirect sound and “Funky Mode” and it’s direct sound. Now, I have zero idea what direct and indirect sound mean, but, I’ll bet
you don’t have Funky Mode on your car.
The experience with the car after that is much less interesting. Power comes from a 1.5L 4-cylinder engine, which feels as though it’s not interested in doing anything other than idle. This isn’t helped by the 4-speed automatic which does a great job of sucking pretty much any remaining excitement out of the driving experience. When the car met with some corners, I was expecting it to turn-in well, grip nicely and be willing and eager to make a beeline for the next corner. Something like a Celica or Paseo of the time. Not fast, but, still fun. Boy, I was wrong! The handling is as sharp and precise as trying to thread a needle while wearing a baseball glove. It pitches and rolls like a troller in a storm and inspires no confidence to drive it quickly. Inside, it just feels old and outdated, right down to the color and font used for the instrument cluster.
In stock form, this is certainly a case of form over function. But, it’s just a drivetrain swap and some suspension upgrades away from being a mini Mclaren F1...and who wouldn’t want that!?
SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media
> Green Mountain Car Guy
09/11/2018 at 10:18 |
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JDM is JDM for a reason. Sometimes they shouldn't be allowed to travel. This Corolla with a fancy hat and coat is one of them.
GoodIdeaAtTheTime
> Green Mountain Car Guy
09/11/2018 at 10:20 |
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I drove one of these with a black top/ 6 speed with limited slip. Makes many smiles. I should have bought it, but it wasn’t for sale.
Duck Duck Grey Duck FTMFW!
> Green Mountain Car Guy
09/11/2018 at 10:26 |
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I love the bizarreness of it. But why autotragic?
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Green Mountain Car Guy
> SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media
09/11/2018 at 10:43 |
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But, I mean...those doors!
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Green Mountain Car Guy
> GoodIdeaAtTheTime
09/11/2018 at 10:43 |
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That sounds like it would make a significant difference in the fun factor!
Wacko
> SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media
09/11/2018 at 10:50 |
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Tercel not a Corolla
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GoodIdeaAtTheTime
> Green Mountain Car Guy
09/11/2018 at 12:07 |
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Well, definitely the scares per mile factor. Nothing else was upgraded. Basically a freakin’ Tercel with 4 times the power. Sounded glorious at WOT, but then the screaming started as it under-steered through the corner, coupled with those brakes that felt spongier than a stress relief ball. Oh yeah, it w as worth it.
404 - User No Longer Available
> Green Mountain Car Guy
09/11/2018 at 12:24 |
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mini Mclaren F1
But you don’t even have the best feature: sitting in the middle.
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Green Mountain Car Guy
> 404 - User No Longer Available
09/11/2018 at 13:06 |
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or a gold lined engine bay....you can’t forget the gold lined engine bay...
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404 - User No Longer Available
> Green Mountain Car Guy
09/11/2018 at 13:23 |
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Well consider it’s a 90s Toyota, should gold the badges instead.
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Green Mountain Car Guy
> 404 - User No Longer Available
09/11/2018 at 14:08 |
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classy af
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SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media
> Wacko
09/11/2018 at 18:05 |
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And what a difference that doesn't make!
Nauraushaun
> Green Mountain Car Guy
09/12/2018 at 17:07 |
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I gotta get me one of these. If only I had the storage
Jason
> Green Mountain Car Guy
12/12/2018 at 08:02 |
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I now own this car. The handling was horrible because the rear engine mount was completely toast and the wheel alignment was all screwy. With those fixed the handling is now much much better. The rear brake cylinders were also leaking, which wasn’t helping braking any.
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Green Mountain Car Guy
> Jason
12/12/2018 at 16:09 |
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This exact car or one like it??
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Jason
> Green Mountain Car Guy
12/12/2018 at 16:22 |
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This exact car.
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Jason
> Jason
12/12/2018 at 16:26 |
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Green Mountain Car Guy
> Jason
12/12/2018 at 16:46 |
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Congrats! I see you have a thing for unconventional doors! *I talked to the sales manager from Carters a couple weeks ago and he said they sold it to someone in Philly. Did you get it home in time for Radwood??
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Green Mountain Car Guy
> Green Mountain Car Guy
12/12/2018 at 16:47 |
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Also - I never did test the Super Live Surround Sound system! Please tell me it sounds as glorious as it’s name!?
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Jason
> Green Mountain Car Guy
12/12/2018 at 17:25 |
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I took the DeLorean to Radwood, and it was seeing a couple of Seras there that led to me buying this one.
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Jason
> Green Mountain Car Guy
12/12/2018 at 17:52 |
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I haven’t been able to hear it in its full glory. The head unit has seen better days. The display and the CD eject button don’t work (I had to listen to the same CD over and over again for the 6 hour drive home after I bought the car), and something is off either the head unit analog out or in the amplifier. Funky mode sounded good, except for a random clicking at high volume. Causal mode sounds muffled.
I swapped in an aftermarket head unit, and using the rear and side speakers it sounds really nice. I’m still working on getting the subwoofer and front center speaker hooked up. Of course this is all without the custom signal processing from the SLSS amplifier.
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Green Mountain Car Guy
> Jason
12/17/2018 at 11:34 |
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Nice!! Next year then! So, just purely out of curiosity: Did you buy the car from this post or buy the car and then find the post??
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Green Mountain Car Guy
> Jason
12/17/2018 at 11:36 |
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Well, that’s too bad! But, at least some of it is working!
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Jason
> Green Mountain Car Guy
12/19/2018 at 00:32 |
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Bought the car and then found the post.
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Green Mountain Car Guy
> Jason
12/21/2018 at 10:01 |
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