15:09
jcreator
By the late 1970s, the third-gen Toyota Corolla had become legendary for fuel-sipping— if boring— reliability in America, so when Toyota started selling the smaller and cheaper first-gen Tercel on these shores they opted to paste the Corolla name on it, in an attempt to reassure buyers that this weird-looking little front-drive econobox was going to be just as good as the familiar Corolla (the even more spartan rear-drive Starlet appeared in the US market a couple years later).
The Tercel was a dirt-cheap disposable car; it disintegrated quickly in rust-prone regions (and a bit less quickly in areas not generally known for rust), so almost all of the 1980-82 Corolla Tercels disappeared long ago. Here's a rare survivor that I spotted in a Denver self-service wrecking yard recently.
Only 1980-82 US-market Tercels had the Corolla badging. Photo by Murilee MartinThe Tercel was well-known for its great fuel economy, and it wasn't any less pleasant to drive than such competitors as the Dodge Omni or Datsun F-10. But it was never loved; when something expensive broke, the junkyard awaited.
It looks rear-wheel-drive, but it's actually a longitudinally-mounted front-drive setup. Photo by Murilee Martin The first- and second-generation Tercels used a longitudinally-mounted engine with the transmission bolted to its rear, which then sends power forward to a differential mounted beneath the engine. This made the hood a bit tall, but enabled Toyota to add a driveshaft out the rear of the transmission for the four-wheel-drive Tercel wagons that appeared in 1983 and sold pretty well.
Absolutely typical 1980 subcompact interior here. Photo by Murilee Martin Like all Malaise Era subcompacts, the Tercel had a cramped interior full of hard plastic and slippery artificial-fabric upholstery, and it was bouncy and buzzy at highway speed. Still, I've owned a few of these cars and they were good, dependable transportation appliances.
Not many of these cars are left. This one will be crushed and shredded soon. Photo by Murilee Martin These cars suffered from a bad problem with rear control-arm corrosion and were the subjects of some heavy-duty recalls. The handful of first-gen Tercel owners trying to restore these cars have taken to buying used control arms from the desert Southwest. The ones on this car don't look so bad.
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