Minneapolis Street Sighting: Toyota Corolla Deluxe Liftback

To most people born in the late 1980s, and early 1990s, the Toyota Corolla is a car conceived as a generic appliance to get merely from point A to point B, and nothing more. Sure, it gets marginally decent gas mileage, and it's likely cheap to purchase, even more-so second hand. But it's slow, everyone and their mother drive one or knows someone who does, and more often than not, the owners are not only non-enthusiasts, they barely know how their own car works, let alone how to maintain said car. But, the earlier, pre--1985, and pre-FWD cars aren't the Corollas the majority of this generation knows; they're a different breed altogether, and they represent Toyota's classic "Oh, what a feeling!" slogan best.
Often found either neglected behind buildings, covered with plastic tarps and not being driven, the beater Corolla is a common sight; I don't see many at all in the neck of the woods, mainly because of Minnesota's (and many other Midwestern states) catastrophic rust plague. Up until the mid-1990s, the rust-proofing was either hit or miss on Japanese cars. Some Toyota products rusted out faster than an MG Maestro that was left lingering the showroom floor; others simply let the paint go the way of the dodo quite quickly, but never developed cancer. Unfortunately, all of the vintage Corollas I've seen fall into the first category instead of the latter.










Equipped with either a 55 horse carbed 1.2, or a 75 horse carbed 1.6 four, this old 'yota surely was lacking on power. Then again, cars were light, and power was down; it was the Malaise era, and these cars were bought for their gas mileage figures, as are today's equivalents. Back then, though, Corollas (and most other Toyotas) were driver's cars if you will. Proper stickshifts, relatively lightweight, and rear wheel drive ensured that while these cars were popular as grocery-getters, the weekend racing told a different story. Sadly, the idea of Corollas being weekend "race" cars would diminish in the 1980s, with the exception of the AE86; from 1985 onward, the Corolla lineup would be relegated solely to boring front-wheel-drive buzzboxes that made the nameplate a household item for people looking for a cheap no-nonsense car.
So what does the enthusiast who is a Toyota fan do for an exciting car now? Toyota have just introduced what they hope is the successor the Corolla AE86 hatchback--which in-turn was the successor to the wildly popular Corolla liftback seen here. Like these Corollas of yore, the FT-86 packs a four cylinder, a stick shift, and rear wheels. Spiritually, it should work. But it doesn't. With its bland styling, and so-so appearance, it's doubtful that the FT-86 will be taken seriously--although it is a good driver's car, not unlike the Corolla of which its supposed to remind people of.
Does it make sense that Toyota is trying to rekindle the spirit? Absolutely. Will the younger generation use the FT-86 as a gateway to learn more about the cars that inspired it? It's too early to find out, but having already been a fan of the pre-FWD Corollas, I can say that Toyota has a bit of work to do if they want to emulate the success of the Corollas of yore.