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Alfa Not Running? Take The Corona!
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Circle Of Automotive Life Nearly Complete: DOTS '67 Cougar Now In Junkyard

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LTDScott
08/23/09

In reply to Alfa Not Running? Take The Corona!
yeah, that has just the right touch of racerness. I dig. The wheels are rad.
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MushyHeirloom
08/23/09

In reply to Alfa Not Running? Take The Corona!
The dirt, scarcity, and the emptiness/
Of our Snow Belt...

Seriously, I've never seen one of these in the, er, steel. And this one has enough metal left on it to be redeemed for five cents, no problem.
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theeastbaykid
08/22/09

In reply to Alfa Not Running? Take The Corona!
Actually this Corona's owner is one of the few of us east bay crazies who doesn't own a small armada of Alfas. That said, his other cars include a rotary-powered Sunbeam Rapier/Alpine (?!) and a Kaiser-based 1950s special. So yeah, I'd imagine the Corona gets some use.
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The Dead Inside Grp. Co. Ltd.
08/22/09

In reply to Alfa Not Running? Take The Corona!
Does the inside driver's head light look like an intake to anyone else?

Hey Murilee! Did your fellow party goer tell you what's under the hood?
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I gotta job, I'm gonna pay the rent promoted this comment

that ain't the way to have fun, son
08/22/09

@The Dead Inside Grp. Co. Ltd.:

Yep, and that's a perfectly valid reason to want a vehicle with quad headlamps!
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Novaload
08/22/09

In reply to Alfa Not Running? Take The Corona!
So if he drives it when the Giulie isn't running, it must have lots and lots and lots of miles. But seriously, I want to know how long ago that fender was replaced, because it speaks of a time where there were enough of these around to get spare parts. And bonus points for the wheels. Perfect.
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FTGDWolverineEdition'09
08/22/09

In reply to Alfa Not Running? Take The Corona!
I think all Italian cars sold should come with a cheap Japanese Toyota run-about as a standard feature.
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If FromaBuick6 has to watch one more Chevy commercial, he's going to punch Howie Long in the face
08/22/09

In reply to Alfa Not Running? Take The Corona!
I've always been a big fan of Coronas. Simple, durable, unkillable cars, provided you lived someplace that was road salt-free.

My parents had an '80 sedan - white with a red vinyl interior and zero options. I always liked how old Toyotas all had their own emblem - ours had the same basic "star inside a C" logo that this '69 has.

(Oops, posted this on the picture page...somebody really needs to eliminate that)
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tonyola
08/22/09

In reply to Alfa Not Running? Take The Corona!
A rare sight these days, but a very important vehicle in that it was this generation of Corona (beginning in 1965) that established Toyota's reputation of being nearly indestructible. Large numbers of these were all over the roads even into the late 1980s. No beauty (though the coupe wasn't bad) but a truly landmark car which signalled the decline of cheaper European cars in America and made the Detroit makers shake in their boots. Nobody laughed at Japanese cars anymore after these Coronas.
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If FromaBuick6 has to watch one more Chevy commercial, he's going to punch Howie Long in the face
08/22/09

@tonyola: What's remarkable is that, as much as this car made Toyota in the United States, it's pretty much unheard of now. When was the last time you saw a Corona that wasn't one of these late '60s models?

Of course, the big problem was rust, like most Japanese cars of the era. Even into the '90s, Honda and Toyota still didn't have rustproofing down - which is unfortunate, because that's when they were building some of their best products.

Does anybody have an idea of how many Coronas Toyota sold here?
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ferric oxide
08/22/09

@tonyola: I don't know. The Corona was a solid car, but it took the arab oil embargo to bring japan into the limelight and that wasn't until 73' when K engine Corollas had come over.

Lots of people remember these cars, but like most imports rust demolished most of the examples outside of Alameda,CA.
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tonyola promoted this comment ferric oxide was starred ferric oxide was unstarred

tonyola
08/22/09

@ferric oxide: Part of it depends on where you were. In the pre-malaise days, these Coronas were very common in Florida, California, and other predominately coastal states, along with other Japanese cars like the original Datsun 510. They slowly pushed out the cheaper European cars which were also sold mostly on the coasts. Even the Beetle was threatened by the Japanese cars. By my observations, Toyotas and Datsuns weren't so common in inland America at the time.

I don't recall rust being much worse on these cars than many other cars of the era, but Florida doesn't salt the roads in winter, so cars generally don't crumble from the bottom up here like they do up north. Besides, owning a Plymouth Duster in Cocoa Beach, Florida taught me as much about rust as I ever needed to know.
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Novaload
08/22/09

@FromaBuick6: Toyota says that the Corona was the first of their vehicles targeted for the US, launched here in 1966; they tarted it up with wild luxuries like sun visors, arm rests and a glove box. In 1966 it sold for $1760 and was 4 door, 3 speed 90 hp. In 1966 it broke 10,000 units sold, a first for Toyota. For all years, 1966 - 1981 (last year, I guess, since the Camry launched the next year) ALL sales were less than a million--Toyota says 725,000 total.
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HoonThatFerrari
08/22/09

@Novaload Wants the Jez 9 Back: ***they tarted it up with wild luxuries like sun visors, arm rests and a glove box***

Cupholders? No cupholders?
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Novaload
08/22/09

@HoonThatFerrari: Some people are never satisfied. Hey, you got tinted glass too. Did I mention the tinted glass? It also had carpet. That's real luxury for you.
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coupeZ600
08/23/09

@Novaload Wants the Jez 9 Back: A buddy of mine had one (a '69) back in the late-70's that had the Zero Option package, and I remember the incredulous disbelief that it didn't even have an AM radio. It was a great car though, and when I saw him about 6 mos. ago I asked him what ever happened to it, the blood drained right out of his face. He said he had kept it until about ten years ago and never really had any major trouble with it, when his new (and now ex-) wife had him trade it in on a Ford Windstar mini-van for the family they were planning but never had. He told me if he could find the guy who bought his car, (he checked with the dealer who said it was sold, but he couldn't divulge the name of the buyer), he would give him the Windstar and up to double KBB value. That was probably the liquor talking, though
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HoonThatFerrari promoted this comment Edited by coupeZ600 at 08/23/09 12:25 AM coupeZ600 was starred coupeZ600 was unstarred

HoonThatFerrari
08/23/09

@coupeZ600: Chances are - just because that's the way life is - that the more recent owner didn't take care of it as well as your buddy, though... I mean how many people really do? He must've maintained it really well for it to have lasted that long. It's probably just as well that he hasn't found the car again, because the likelihood that it would not already be a junkyard resident, or right on the verge of it, is rather low.

So, pick your Thomas Wolfe reference... which one is it: "Look Homeward, Angel"? Or: "You Can't Go Home Again"?
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Edited by HoonThatFerrari at 08/23/09 12:10 PM HoonThatFerrari was starred HoonThatFerrari was unstarred

LostAmerica
07/12/09

In reply to Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser Gets Last View Of California Sky Through Roof Windows
I love me some junkyard vista cruiser action. Especially when they are left open and the interior fills with sand, tumbleweeds and animals. A Vista Cruiser Microcosm, floating above the desert floor.

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feeble
07/11/09

In reply to Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser Gets Last View Of California Sky Through Roof Windows

I know where there is one of these sitting complete with a 455 Rocket Olds. Been there since I was teenager, I had my 20 year HS reunion in 2006 and I went to check to see if it was still there, yup... still there and smells worse than ever like mouse.

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Edited by feeble at 07/11/09 7:17 PM feeble was starred feeble was unstarred

Mad_Science
07/12/09

@feeble: Bummer.

At least the one in the yard is going to use.
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Six Flags Over Tomsk
07/11/09

In reply to Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser Gets Last View Of California Sky Through Roof Windows
Sigh...an inglorious end for the King of the Longroofs.
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Illini300C
07/11/09

In reply to Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser Gets Last View Of California Sky Through Roof Windows
Somewhere, in an alternate TV universe, Red Foreman is shedding a tear. This Oldsmobile will no longer be able to "cruise the vista."
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philibuster
07/11/09

In reply to Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser Gets Last View Of California Sky Through Roof Windows
Someone really wanted that side-view mirror, and fast.
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Novaload
07/11/09

In reply to Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser Gets Last View Of California Sky Through Roof Windows
I would be upset except it's clear this basket case is getting picked clean so that others may live. Noble sacrifice!
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Anaximander
07/11/09

In reply to Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser Gets Last View Of California Sky Through Roof Windows
That first picture looks like a Bechtle painting that's run off the tracks. Rich metallic earth tones, hazy California sky... and an empty radiator just begging to kiss the oil and ATF-soaked dirt.
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