Theory: the Toyota Tercel is the cockroach of economy cars (in a good way)
 

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1516983381

I snapped the above picture yesterday during a little road trip where I saw 5 examples each of 2 notable vehicles:

1) 5 Tesla Model S sedans (notable because it's the most I've seen in a day)

2) 5 Toyota Tercels

The Tercel is notable because the last new ones were sold in 1999, so that means every one I see is at least 19 years old.

It's also notable because, aside from possibly the Honda Civic (which is really a step above), it has seriously outlasted its contemporarly competitors.

There are about half a dozen Tercel daily drivers still running around my little city. But I rarely or never see...

• Metros/Fireflies (there are none left, excluding mine)
• Any 20 year-old Mazda 323/Proteges (rust!)
• Ford Festiva/Aspire
• Any 20 year-old Hyundais/Kias
• (What else am I forgetting?)

This tells me a few things:

1) They're reliable (duh)

2) They're cheap to maintain/repair

3) Critically, for around here, they don't have a rust-related Achille's Heel which would otherwise send them to an early grave. (Like the Metro front control arm mounts, or the rear axle mount of Toyota Echos.)

You can tell the owner of the Tercel I photographed has done a bit of rust repair/touch up (the tell-tale black paint job on the lower doors/rockers). But the wheels are still attached, unlike most 20 year old Metros. And they're still driving it through the salty mess of an eastern Ontario winter.

All hail the trusty -- and not too rusty -- Tercel!

I've always wondered why there aren't more Tercels on EM.

Well, we've had a few members with 'em...

Maybe it's because the EPA ratings were in the middle of the competition?

But if people were looking for low overall cost of ownership, in hindsight these cars would have been a good bet.

If I hadn't gotten in to later model Metros, I probably would have gotten in to a Tercel...

Half the reason I haven't is the toyota brand...there are tercels for sale, but for the milage/age, they're asking 3x as much as they would for a Metro. (meaning the few that show up under $1000 are totally trashed...or automatic).

Hereabouts, where we don't have much of a rust problem, there are Metros. Wouldn't recognize the Fords or Hyundais. Quite a few 20+ Mazda Miatas on the road. (Mine's a youngster at 16.) And once I get the new clutch &c in my '88 Toyota pickup, it should be good for another 30 years :-)



*Saw a non-restored '60 Chevy on the road a couple of weeks ago.

Toyotas usually don't overwhelm, but also don't disappoint.

Yep. Toyota makes pretty good cash on bland cars that run good.

Good point!

I remember when I was keeping an eye out for an Echo a couple of years ago, they were all pretty expensive, and mostly still are.

There's one at a local GM dealer right now with 330k km / 205k miles on it, and they want $1500 (without the mechanical inspection required to put it on the road). It should be selling for closer to scrap value with that many miles on it.

The irony is a Metro, mechanically speaking, is just as reliable if it's been looked after. Though the Echo I had briefly definitely puts the Suzukiclones to shame for the subjective feeling of "quality".

It's such a treat for me to visit regions where the cars don't rust. It's like automotive time travel. Even just seeing the ones from the 80's is fun, never mind something unrestored from 1960!

Why? For a Toyota (and neglecting any rust issues), 200K miles is just nicely broken in.

Salt on the road had never been an issue for me, but when I lived in a coastal city there were some concerns with salt mist. But anyway, some 20 years ago it was not so unusual to see some old irons from the '50s being still daily-driven, and even some older ones still in service.

The first car that I ever purchased, not including earlier hand-me-downs, was a 1991 Tercel S. 2-door, 4 speed manual. IIRC in my younger dumber days it got around 38 mpg. I didn't notice when I bought it that it already had a wrecker engine (obvious yellow paint pen numbers written on the valve cover). Turns out that the early SOHC 1.5 motors had a real problem with valve guides seals that led to piston rings gumming up and subsequent lack of mosquitos within a 2 mile radius. Mine eventually started burning oil (it turns out again), so one summer I did an inframe ball hone overhaul - new rings and valve guide seals, which solved the problem.
I always wondered if the later DOHC engine had this issue. I have always thought that a late model Tercel would make fantastic EV conversion.

My college car was a Tercel, which subsequently went to my oldest sister when I took my grandfather's truck to grad school in Rochester. Rest assured, unlike cockroaches, it is possible to kill a Tercel through neglect.

ETA: Here's the last time I ever saw it, four years after I gave it to her, on her street in Coeur d'Alene. I was driving a Viper at the time. How times change!

https://scontent-ort2-1.xx.fbcdn.net...30&oe=5AD9971B

Just by looking at it made me feel nostalgic with our '88 Honda Prelude that my dad used to drive.

today
 

Random sightings within a couple of minutes...

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1519317010

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1519317060

The odometer on the green one: 66k kms = 41k miles. Autotragic though, and it hasn't moved in a while. It's always in this spot.

Wow, the bodies are so clean on those.

Notice how there's rust / staining on only the bottom of the wheels on the second one.

I barely see Tercels, though I see a fair number of Echos. I see even more Echos up in the snowbelt. I seriously can't remember the last Tercel I saw. Kind of a shame since I think they are handsomely styled.

I'll agree on the pricing though - when I was shopping last year, both Echos and Tercels were priced right alongside cars from a class up and sometimes even some midsize cars, such as the stick Ford Fusion I kinda wanted. I see tons of 6th gen Civics absolutely everywhere I go, though.

speaking of vanilla, I just picked up an 05 corolla, 5sp, crank windows. My 6 year old had never seen manual windows. I showed her, she tried em and exclaimed "that's cool ".

Nice find! How many miles? What's it replacing?

I've had that same funny experience showing wind-up windows to little kids (currently my whole fleet has crank windows).

I had no idea you could still get crank windows in 2005.

I think crank windows are still kicking around on utility vehicles. I had them on a brand new Nissan cargo van I rented in 2013.

The base versions of the 2018 Mitsubishi Mirage and Nissan Micra have crank windows and manual locks in Canada. (Cranks in the rear, power in front in the Mirage though.)

Also no A/C.

I actually bought it just for a temporary driver between cars. Rebuilding crashed ctsv in my garage right now. <-- that's a real eco machine eh? Just filled the tank on the corolla, we'll see how we can do despite winter formulation gas and cold winter weather. I expected my daughter to bust me this morning for not letting it warm up before taking her to the bus stop but she didn't notice.

Edit: forgot to add, 140k miles, 4 almost new Pirelli tires, a new looking Toyota brand battery, embroidered Toyota floor mats that I don't think have seen a shoe because they are covered with Toyota branded rubber catch all mats. Oil change shop sticker on the windshield says it was changed 200 miles ago. Was a nice find.

Now that most of the cars I've driven in the last 10 years have power windows, I'm starting to miss the good old crank windows that still seem less prone to fail.

Another local one, hiding in the bushes...

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1522765510