This is a certain line we are all quite familiar with. Magazines do it, journalists do it, but I have a certain problem with this. It fails to capture the individual soul of the ‘answer’ and always requires elaboration, without which, the essence is absolutely not delivered.

They said that the Mark I Toyota Celica is Japan’s “answer” to America’s pony car, the Mustang. This is quite evident. Why? You can notice the styling similarities between this sporty coupe and the massive V8 engines monsters churning down the American highways, almost instantaneously.

At first, I would have felt this would be a recipe for disaster since Toyota was not innovating, but rather recreating. Worse, it was not even their own brainchild.

But in this situation, things most certainly took a turn for the better. The Celica came, instead of trying to fit in where it didn’t belong, carved out it’s own niche, in a market saturated with competition. It managed to hold its ground to stand out and was a massive success.

The Japanese won. They took their inspiration from a lot the positives of an already established category and succeeded in making an authentic automotive section of their own. This, I respect.

The Celica at that time looked the business, was very affordable to purchase, maintain and upgrade, and was very reliable. Most of all, it was fun. As a result, it garnered a massive audience, with over a million produced.

Fun fact : The Celica was the first Japanese car to be manufactured on a robotic assembly line.

There were a variety of engines to choose from. They ranged from a 1.4, a 1.6, a 1.9 and a 2.2. All were four bangers and did their jobs very well indeed, garnering praise from owners and critics alike.

There were 3 transmissions (Not for each car, obviously 😉 ). A 4 speed for the 1.5 and a 5 speed for the others. There was also the 3 speed automatic…. But let us not talk about that. At least for today.

Toyota engineered the Celica with independent front suspension and a 4 link rear setup with separate dampers. This was all geared towards excellent handling. An attribute which would help it to reign supreme as a full on full rally legend.

As a result, the Celica is still very popular as a Japanese classic, with values strongly on the rise (as it is, with any major classic these days)

This is definitely one on my wishlist. Why? It is a complete package. Fun, practical, lovable status, affordable, etc. And all of these form together in a beautiful fusion of convergence. What is there not to love?

The stats are not really worth mentioning since there is simply too much diversity. This is a true “personal car” since the lucky owners can edit anything they want easily. But at the core, it is a small engined, powerful and beautiful coupe enclosed in a package that is quite light overall. This is a recipe for fun, more fun and even more fun.

–  Abhyjith. K. Ashokan