Toyota: The Rise and Fall of a Performance Icon

In 1957, when Toyopet first sold its cars in the US, Americans were lukewarm with the idea of foreign cars catching on. While American car companies produced big, brash, V8-powered, stylish sedans, coupes, wagons, and convertibles, small was virtually unheard of. If American had heard of small cars, it was more likely than not names like Volkswagen, Morris, MG, Triumph, Jaguar, and sportier cars from the likes of the more expensive Porsches and Ferraris.
The VW Beetle was a huge hit in the US, with people from all walks of life buying up the small cars left and right. In addition to the more sensible folks, the car developed a cult-like following with hot rodders and surfers alike. Finished in matte colors, Empi wheels, and surfboards, a new trend was born. The rise of the compact "hotrod"/"tuner car".
But all that would change in the late 1960s, when Toyota's Corolla subcompact came over in 1968. First introduced as a coupe, a sedan, and wagon, sales of the little car took off. Learning from the success of its Corolla, Toyota set up shop permanently in the 1970s, bringing over their little truck and their Cressida luxury sedan, along with a host of other models suited to economy driving, as well as fun driving, too. Cars like the Corona, Cressida, Corolla, Sprinter, Starlet and Tercel began to fill our nations roadways, hot on the heels of arch rivals Datsun, Mazda, and Honda.
Not content with Datsun having all the fun with its Z cars, and Mazda rolling out its Rotary cars by the dozens, Toyota introduced its Celica for US consumption. Initially available in a distict notchback, as well as a fastback, this was Toyota's first real sports-oriented car. In addition to its Celica line, Toyota explored a new category of cars, when the SR-5 line was introduced; a sporty trimline to their already semi-sporty line of hatchbacks and coupes. Packing a stiffer suspension, 14" wheels, and 4 speed stickshifts, this line was today's first North American foray into what would become the tuner market. In 1985, this experience would pay off.
1985 was a big year for Toyota. The AE series Corolla was introduced with its legenday GT-S version, and the its stablemate, the MR-2 was born. The Celica was redesigned to fit the design theme established by the Corolla of 1983, and the Supra was awaiting its radical 1987 redesign. Both cars launched a cult following that continues today.
In the 1990s, Toyota' perfomance lineup was in full-swing. The Celica had a GTS-All Trac brother, the hot Corolla GT-S Twin Cam was one of the better handling FWD cars around, the MR-2 got a turbo variant, the Supra got redesigned in 1993, and, even the egg-shaped mid-engined Previa van got a supercharged version. Throughout the 1990s, though, Toyota's performance image took a backseat. Focusing more and more on fuel economy, and pleasing the bread and butter car buyers, performance versions of mainstream models were left to dry up. The AWD Celica was not brought back to our shores when the Celica was redesigned in 1994, the MR-2 left in 1996, and the Supra was discontinued in 1999.
The MR-2 was redesigned for 2000, becoming a Spyder, and losing its Turbo variant. While it was still a sports-oriented vehicle, the notion of it being a sports car is all but lost outside the circle of MR-2 enthusiasts. Also in 2000, the Celica was redesigned, boasting an angular, chiseled design language that managed to speak "Dirt Devil" rather than "sports car". It, too, lost its performance variations, with the exception of the GT-S, which produced no torque down low, and had to be driven hard to eek any ounce of performance out of its high-strung 1.8 2ZZ-GE.
However, with the rise in popularity of Nissan's 350Z/370Z, and Mazda's commitment to its RX-8, Toyota announced it would build a reincarnation of its AE86. Bowing in Tokyo 2009, this Subaru-Toyota venture uses a 2.0 Subaru flat-four for propulsion. Although it can't hold a candle to the original AE of 25 years ago. I'm glad Toyota is trying. This new FT may be the RWD car Toyota's needed for so long.
Long live the Japanese sports car, and long live Toyota. Welcome back-- we missed you.