Caught up with an all too rarely seen petrolhead cousin at a family gathering yesterday. He's currently smoking around in a 1991 Celica GT-S Japanese import.
All history is fully documented and here are some staggering statistics:
244,000 miles on the clock (he bought it with 195,000)
Original engine, gearbox and clutch
In his ownership it has been serviced four times and has had the rear suspension rebushed and a pair of CV joints.
A quick blat round the block showed is drives absolutely superb. Steering taut and responsive, pulls like a train, and even the gearchange is tight.
How do they do it??
Cheers
DP
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04 Grand Scenic 1.9 dCi Dynamique
00 Mondeo 1.8TD LX
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IMO First class management. The most important by far.
A business policy of 'repeat customers' NOT bought once never again.
Some makers policy i think 'you bought it cos it looks pretty on top, and we couldn't care what its built like underneath either', just so long as it lasts till the warranty expires.
Plus not using the buyer for R & D.
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Cars designed by engineers rather than accountants.
At Ford the number of accountants is several-fold that of the number of engineers. At Toyota the reverse is true (as at most Japanese companies).
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Cars designed by engineers rather than accountants.
Absolutely!
The classic sign to me of a manufacturer run by marketing men is the proliferation of "special editions" - think Ford,Renault,Peugeot,Citroen etc.
Badge engineering in place of automotive engineering!
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I'm sure that another factor in how cars of this age and mileage age is how well they've been maintained...
I've recently driven a number of older BMWs (E30 tourings from '88 to '92), most with 130k - 140k miles on the clock (plus whatever has been wound back over the years... ;-)). Some felt nice and tight, some felt like complete sheds...
Peter
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it will say something like 4r on the rocker cover,these engines were always the best when everybody including myself used to kid ourselves that the ohc pinto engine was a good design
i remember a guy used to run a mk1 celica and he used to get me to change the gearbox and engine oil every other month as it used to be constantly driving to london and back on a ganja run i always reckoned,i cant remember the mileage but it was very very high but i do remember the wooden steering wheel and the factory fitted radio connected to power amps and large boom boom fane bass speakers before the word chav was even invented
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Celica's are incredibly reliable.
I've had two; an '88 and the newer shape 1990 model.
The '88 was 10 years old when I got it and was mechanically perfect - everything worked and it pulled like a train. Dreaded tin worm was the reason for parting company - it was just too expensive to keep on top of the bodywork (the wheel arches and the sunroof are notoriously bad). I'd bought the newer shape Celica, so I sold it as I couldn't justify running two of them at the same time.
The 1990 was fully galvanised, and body wise was near perfect (it WAS perfect when we eventually parted company!). Mechanically it was fine, but I had the (noisy) gearbox reconditioned (known weakness), and a full stainless steel exhaust fitted. I'd intended to run it for a year, and sell it on, but ended up keeping if for 7 years!
In all those years, and over all those miles, neither car let me down. They would start first turn of the key, even when covered in ice and snow.
Servicing is critical though - I think its a maximum of 6000 miles or six months between visits to Mr Toyota (or preferably Mr Toyota-Expert-But-Not-Franchised-Dealer)
Back problems caused me to sell the Celica - access for someone 6'5" isn't easy, and a manual gearbox is now a real no-no. Saying that, once in the car, it had the most comfortable seats I have ever found, and loads of head and leg room (with seat in the lowest position, but not pushed back fully).
My dream garage has a 1992 Celica GT4 Carlos Sainz in it - even if I couldn't drive it!
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Colin-E
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