It's one thing to pull back the curtain on the creative choices that went into a cherished part of our childhoods. It's quite another to fiddle so much with those memories as to raise the question of whether they ever existed, or if in the future whole college departments will study the alterations to the "Star Wars" canon like they delineate "Leaves of Grass" or "Happy Days" spin-offs.* Let's just say what with Vader's new shouty side, we're down with Swine's comment on the Star Wars-themed Celica:
Hey George,
I found it; I still have it. Although, it may look slightly different than when it rolled off the assembly line in 1977 Toyota has assured me the car maintains all of the greatness of the original. As you know, the Celica was a great car and continued to sell well in 1980 and 1983, there were some minor tweaks but overall the car was very similar to the original. The 1980 version was cold, evil, and badass, and the 1983 version had a whimsical sing-song air about it. This was the last year it was found in it's proper form, and the last year your original Celica was seen for some time.
In 1997 Toyota called me out of the blue and said "Swine, I need the car back, we need to fix it". So they swarmed in to my garage and took the car. Keep in mind my family and friends had been driving this car just as it was for almost 20 years and we loved it, strangers loved it, children loved it, the whole neighborhood loved it. It was the perfect car. A few months later they gave it back to me, stripped of all it's original paint, no longer a beat up and beloved car that I cared for. It still drove the same, so when I was in the car it was alright - I didn't mind it. But on the outside, it was starting to change. For two years I was happy driving it as I once did, but it felt like it had lost it's soul with all this new paint. Then, in 1999 Toyota called me again: "We need the car now, there's some new technology out that will make this car really be memorable". Since Toyota owned the car (A price I had to pay to get the car in 1977) they took it from me. They gave it back to me in the same body style you see in the picture. Devoid of any looks I cared about, an ugly, soulless and terrible car. The RWD was replaced with FWD because "people love new technology, and it's safer for the children". My manual transmission was replaced with an automatic. But - Toyota painted the original Silver/Black paint on it! Hooray! C-3PO even delivered the car. It sucked. I didn't want to drive it. I stopped caring about it. Toyota called again in 2002, I ignored them. They called again in 2005, I told them I no longer cared - the car isn't driven anymore, it's dead to me. Then, 6 years later in 2011 they said "We realize we made a mistake with the car, we'll return it the way it was - it will be the best version of the car ever. Pristine and infallible like it rolled off the line in 1977. A drivers car, it will be the original version of the car you fell in love with." I said sure, take it back.
...
They returned it to me September 16th of this year, with just a new paint job. The badass Celica, which became a plain Celica, then a boring Camry with the original Star Wars paint job was now just Gray Camry. No more awesome paint job, no more awesome car. When I asked why they changed the car so much the Toyota representatives only response was:
"Yoosa should follow me now, okeeday?"
Fuck You George Lucas,
Take the car back. I don't want it anymore.
*Yes I know "Happy Days" was itself a spinoff.