One week out of the year, the entire car industry pulls their vacuum-sealed bag of clothes labeled “If I Ever Sell My Soul to Join a Country Club” from under the bed and descends upon Pebble Beach, ready to walk around and nod in approval of cars that, alone, are worth more money than they will amass in their lifetime.
You do not need to experience such things. You do not need to see millionaires and billionaires scowling at each other on a golf course, from behind their Delahayes and Bugattis and Hispano-Suizas. You have better things to do with your time, like hoarding personal resources ahead of the apocalypse.
(The vintage racing at Laguna Seca is, however, good.)
No more, says the humble Toyota Corolla, its sub-$20,000 base price a stain on the cardigans of the wealthy. We need to bring this week back to the people.
Toyota announced a new special-edition 2020 Corolla Nightshade on Thursday, the day before the Bugatti Centodieci, which will also apparently be black and white, debuts at Pebble Beach. They came to the party wearing the same outfit, except the Corolla showed up first and they got theirs on major sale.
The Nightshade Edition, Toyota said in the announcement, will be on both the sedan and hatchback versions of the Corolla. It’s an appearance package Toyota has on several other models already, and the Corolla one will be based on the SE trim, which is around the middle of the lineup.
Both the sedan and hatchback Nightshades will only be available with a continuously variable transmission—the transmission created by the people, to be bemoaned by other people.
Toyota’s offering the Nightshades in black, white and silver paint, with black badging, door handles, outside mirrors, spoilers, 18-inch wheels and the like.The sedan’s MSRP will be $22,750, Toyota said, and the hatchback’s will be $22,290. They look pretty good, too, to be that low on the price spectrum.
But go ahead and ignore the Corolla in favor of whatever Millenary Anniversary supercar is debuting this week at Pebble Beach, designed to operate exclusively on social status and fruity cocktails. It’s the newest evolution in zero-emission vehicle technology, because the rich care about the environment, too.
After all, the Corolla doesn’t need you and your fancy friends. It’s the car of the people, for now and forever.
