Toyota had a rough start in the US market. Its first export was the Toyopet Crown, sold out of its Hollywood, California dealership – its sole location. But the underpowered and overpriced sedan was not ideally suited for the land of long highways and high speeds, and sales sagged. Toyota was determined to crack the US market, so it reconsidered its approach. Downsizing the Crown while maintaining a roomy interior and generous trunk space, providing an engine good for at least 70 hp, and offering plenty of features found in upscale cars made its new Corona – launched in 1957 and exported to the US in 1965 – a hit. Today’s example, found by T.J. here on craigslist, is a 1981 Corona Luxury Edition. The seller wants $12,500, and the car can be driven home from Marietta, Georgia.
I can imagine keeping this car for forty decades: it’s a tidy package with its 96 hp 2.4-liter, 22R four-cylinder; automatic transmission; front disc brakes – and in the luxury edition, “wall to wall” carpet, extra instrumentation, an upgraded audio system, and reclining front seats. I’d have been impressed with its features compared to its price when new; I would have appreciated the ease of servicing and repairing such a simple car once it became middle-aged; and later, I would be happy to own it as it turned into a vintage ride. Today its odometer reads 96k, so I’d expect a bit of mechanical tinkering to keep it ship-shape, but this car ought to run reliably for well over 100,000 miles.
The Luxury Edition Corona received velour-cloth upholstery on bucket seats, faux woodgrain trim, and a host of options not available for the base model. This example has air conditioning, cruise control, and a tilt steering wheel. The window sticker mentions the “Elegante package”, a dealer-installed dress-up kit. This package usually featured a 1/4 vinyl top with coach lights, a hood ornament, and special alloy wheels, though buyers could opt for some or all of these items.
The body, panel gaps, paint, trim, glass – all are looking pretty spiffy except for minor paint damage near the top of the rear right fender. The boxy styling might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but show up at a local show with this car and I’m sure you’ll receive plenty of questions – perhaps even a trophy. What do you think: is this Corona a show car for occasional drives, or a daily commuter?
Ma ma ma my Corona ( couldn’t resist) whooo, “Elegante”! ( whistles), meaning,,,elegant. I breezed through HS Spanish, just add a vowel to the end,,,I still failed. Not this car, however. By 1981, Toyota had a pretty good hold on Americans. Folks that bought the, um, cheaper ones, in the early 70s, were ready to upgrade, and the Corona was it.
HOWEVER,,,,,,,,,,,this car wasn’t cheap. Those are some hefty options here, on a car that was already over $2grand more than a Citation or Fairmont( about $6400) a/c $610, Elegante package almost $600, the freakin’ wheels were almost $400,,,in 1981, mind you. I don’t know man, we had some pretty nice cars for $10 grand. Not top of the line, I believe that was the Cressida, but for most in the US, this was what they bought and never regretted it.
Michelle, this is the nicest 400 yr old Corona around. Forty decades of Toyota quality 👌 😉
I agree, Howard, I didn’t hear many regrets from buyers of ’80’s era Toyotas – and most would be driving their cars long after the Fairmont or Citation owner had thrown in the towel. I remember reading that the Citation was one of the most recalled automobiles, involving both quality and safety issues.
Junk, every one of them. I worked at a toyota dealership as a Technician in the mid 80’s. All of their 4 cylinders are poorly designed the oil return holes are too small and if you do not stay on top of the oil changes they clog up, the oil stays on top the heads and the bottom end is starved for oil. And there isn’t enough room here to talk about the inline 6 problems in the Supra. I made a real good living fixing those cars that have “legendary quality”. What they had was legendary marketing.
You wish!
Hi Don, and thanks for your candid opinion. Many think Asian cars are these high and mighty objects of ultimate design, and rarely a negative word is heard, but truth is, they are machines designed and built by human beings, and were just as prone to problems as any other car. You seem to have the qualifications to call them “junk”, but I don’t think that’s entirely accurate. Many had great luck, with proper maintenance. I knew folks that had 150K on a Vega with maintenance, others that neglected that, paid the price, like any other car. I had a Toyota pickup with this motor with 240K and never opened up, so there it is. Everyone has their own ideas on what’s a good car, heck, I’m in a thin group that likes Ramblers, and that will never change.
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The 20R/22R is one of the most reliable 4cyl ever made.
Lovely looking car. Although I was too young at the time to drive a car, I remember cars like this Toyota Corona.
Wow. A gussied-up Toyota, all Americanized. Special (ugly) wheels, a (no fun) slushbox, extended drip rails (found at every Pep Boys), 1/4 vinyl top (worst option ever). Was this what the US buyers really wanted?! I’ll take my Toyota in the standard form please.
Right. A wheezy 4 cylinder mid-sized (at best) car for $10K in 1981. WOW!!!
I owned an ’81 Corona station wagon from new. Great car, it always started in sub- zero weather in the Colorado Rocky’s where we lived. 5-speed manual transmission was great. Towed a small pop- up trailer on vacations. 28 mpg on trips. At 136,000 miles a drunk teenager destroyed it while it was parked. I still miss that car.
I was selling Toyotas at this time. Prior gen was still out there, roundy and ugly.
Maryland was in the ‘Mid Atlantic Distributor’zone, a bunch of dis-honest people.
There was a shortage of available cars, so, they “grabbed” some from Florida.
All doodied up with chrome drip strips,mudflaps,vinyl roofs,etc. Yellow seemed to be most prominent color. Did sell them though.
The base Corolla and Tercel were the best offerings,besides the FJ.
In my opinion…
I think it’s funny that Toyota downsized the Crown and called it Corona, which is Latin for “crown”.