Yesterday, Stately Wayne Manor's garage sale elicited squeals of joy and an 80% Nice Price vote in hopes that someone would pick up the mantle of Gotham defender for another dark night. While thatmobile was ostentatious in its presentation, and unremarkable in its practical manifestation, today we have a car that is the exact opposite.

The number of desirable older Japanese cars sold in the U.S. can pretty much be counted on one's fingers- S2000, NSX, Fairlady, Miata, RX-7, WRX, Evo. . . and from Toyota, the 2000GT, Supra and Corolla. 2000GT, Supra and. . . Corolla? (Cue Moe Sizlack- Wha...?!) The Corolla today represents one of life's duller choices for keeping your ass from scraping the pavement while plying the roads, but that wasn't always true, and this mid-eighties example is one of the cars that keeps the flame alive for the hoontastic nature of the brand.

A favorite of the drifter crowd, the rear-wheel drive AE86 - sold as the Levin and Trueno in the land of the rising Yen - represents a high-point in Corolla evolution, and there are few Jalopnikadians unfamiliar with these 4AGE-powered coupes and hatches. Today we have an '85 Levin (fixed lights) GTS coupe with the JDM front clip and a ricer body kit. The seller claims that it's a real GTS, and not a converted SR-5, and further says that, while the car has 170K on the clock, the rebuilt Blue Top has only turned about 80K.

That 112-bhp 1587-cc iron block four is backed up by the T50 5-speed manual, and this car has the desirable LSD rearend. TRD suspension upgrades, cross-drilled rotors and a JDM cat-back are other mods that make the $6,500 asking price something worth ruminating over.

That $6,500 is more than what you would reasonably consider paying for a 24 year old Japanese tin box, but this car isn't your average Corolla. That factor, the mods, plus the general condition (these things are hard to kill) may make it a compelling choice, and as the FT-86 is still a few years away, one of these will have to suffice if you're jonsing for some Toyota rowdiness.

So, does $6,500 for this Corolla make you want to drift over and check it out? Or, is that oversteering into Crack Pipe territory?

You decide! And remember- Zip Ties Save Lives!

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Both the 1986 Toyota Corolla GT-S and 1979 Cadillac Fleetwood Limousine live in my neighborhood, so I've been forced to watch their respective downward spirals in recent months.


The Corolla parks on Alameda's main downtown thoroughfare, in a neighborhood packed with apartment buildings and businesses. Parking is San Francisco-grade maddening, especially when the street-sweeping parking tickets get dealt out, and tensions often run high. That means that the guy who owns this street-parked project AE86 is forced to play a game of automotive musical chairs with the car as he works on obtaining parts and fixing stuff… and the large quantity of cop-issued "move this car within 72 hours of git towed away" red-tag residue indicates that some of the locals are reporting the car as abandoned on a regular basis. It gets worse, though; after two years on the same block, it appears that enraged parking-space vigilantes have turned to vandalism to get their point across. It wouldn't bother me so much if we were dealing with just another Excel or Sable, but the GT-S is a genuine classic.

The story of this '79 Fleetwood limo is a little different. It's been anchored at the same spot for nearly a year now, and (since it's across the street from a mall and not in front of anyone's house) nobody seems to care. Could it have a trunk full of decomposing mob victims? Bales of banknotes? No doubt the reality is less romantic, but at least it's interesting to see a huge abandoned vehicle find a tow-truck-proof spot on Red Tag Island.

"The compact rear-wheel drive sports car is envisioned to offer a new 'fun to drive' experience based on an all-new vehicle platform."

No names have been given for the two new vehicles, though the fan-boy forums are abuzz with rumors like "Subaru Impreza Coupe" or "New Toyota Supra." Both valid options and ideas. We guess we'll have to wait a year or so. Although the last drop of information wrung from Ken today was that the two new cars will be made at a new Subaru factory in Gunma, Japan. Although that facility hasn't yet been built. All of this comes on news Toyota confirmed that it's increasing its ownership stake in Subaru's parent company, Fuji Heavy Industries, from 8.7% to 16.5%. What a day, eh? [AutoCar, MotorAuthority, Automotive News]

...one as well, although the Toyota one will "look different." The magazine's also hearing both will still get Subie's 2.0-liter and 2.5-liter 4-cylinder Boxer engines in both naturally aspirated and turbo flavors. Now here's the fun part — we're also told Subie's version of the RWD Impreza Coupe will be signed off on in July with production set to start sometime in 2010. If that's the case, how the hell can this be a sketch of the final design? Just askin' the question, you know. [Autocar via CarScoop]