That era of Corolla was awesome. A friend had one and we used to cane it all over the roads near there cottage.

Funniest experience I ever had driving was in that car. We were exiting the highway and my friend, who was truly an outstanding driver, had it a controlled 4 wheel drift with all four of the all-weather tires howling.

There was a guy on the inside of the curve trying to remove a flat. He heard, then saw, us coming. He had this look of abject terror in his face, he literally threw his tools in the air, and ran and hid behind his car. I can still see his face and even now I am laughing out loud thinking about it.

I bought a new 1989 Corolla SR5 in late 1988 when I graduated Ga Tech and was commissioned as a 2ndLt in the USMC. This was my Lieutenant-mobile. The 1.6L 1 bbl carbuerated engine was smooth, a high rever, and the 5 speed manual was a hoot to drive. This car had that (sometimes intangible) feel of quality to the rich interior and with the engineering. I had fun with that car, and only sold it in ‘94 when I got caught up in the 90s SUV craze and bought a Mazda Navajo (Ford Explorer).

Fast forward to 2005: I bought a new 2006 Corolla CE (Classic Edition – stripper). I needed wheels fast as the previously mentioned Navajo died hard. I assumed the Toyota Corolla was still the way to go based on my pleasant experiences with the ‘89. I have grown dissappointed in the ‘06. Yes, I test drove it, but as mentioned earlier, I needed wheels fast and was not being too picky at the time.

This car is the most boring appliance on 4 wheels. The interior is chintzy and cheap with the hard plastic and the tupperware feel to it. The 1.8L engine and the NVH in general is rough and crude. This is not an easy car to bond with or even like. This thing will drive me to drinking with how damn boring it is! Like driving a clothes dryer.

VW: Volkswagons used to be simple, fun to drive, useful cars, The reason they worked (kinda like MB) was because VW did not install anything that could breakdown. Today VW was adopted the stupid image of “so-called” affordable German luxury and the cars have become absolute disasters. For the sake of some nice feeling vinyl interiors VW appears to have short-changed engineering.

Toyota: While I still own a 93 Camry wagon I have come to hate the direction that Toyota has moved in lately.
Toyota IMO has become GM but they are to full of themselves to see it yet. Their cars are boring, the once rich, high quality is gone, the over-engineering is also gone. Toyota used to lead the Japanese in terms of introducing new technology and sophistication into their cars now they are fightings on volume and price. There was once a time were an Accord was like the Camry’s very eager little brother now the Camry is a joke compared to the Accord.
Does anyone else remember when Toyota used to have that print add with all of their performace models in it. You had the Supra Turbo, The Celica All-trac, the MRs Turbo, and the Corolla GTS. Toyota is going to wake up 5 to 10 years from now and realize that marketshare and volume are not what makes for the best/ most successful car company in the world.

The KJ (Liberty) which replaced the XJ was a great seller for Jeep (I even own one that is very well built), but it would have been nice for Jeep to keep the old Cherokee around (simple yet tough 4×4 with front and rear solid-axles).

Back on topic… two Civics that I use to own. Great cars, but boring and not a car that I would want to drive to a high school reunion. And I am currently buying another one as a third vehicle. LOL

1984 Corvette

Revolutionary design with Third-world build quality.

Amongst cars I have owned, it was my one and only Mercedes, a C220. I got it because I believed in Mercedes rep, it was comfortable for a tall person, the fuel mileage was excellent, and the dimensions made it a great city car.

Anything and everything went wrong. By the time I got rid of it I was hoping for a lottery win; not so much so that I could get a new car but so I could pay a Sikorsky Skycrane pilot to drop it on MB headquarters.

…but at least I got to know a lot of tow truck drivers. And guys at mechanics shops, parts suppliers and junkyards that specialize in Mercedes.

Also LOVED the S-type. It was quirky looking too, and really fast. REALLY FAST. Looks weird and Kiaish now.

Back when I was in high school it was, of course, the car to have. I drove a V6 pony car through my young driver’s test and on my road test. That was the first taste of how awful that car was. But I held out hope that perhaps the GT was a fundamentally better car… One day dad and I went to a dealer and took a brand new GT convertible out for a ride. I remember telling him to floor it. He responded with “Um, I am.”

Nuff said.

Then I realized they were terribly small on the inside, but big on the outside. They weren’t really fast for all of that engine, and they seemed to fall apart. (Seems 9 out of 10 left on the road today are in the condition roughly akin to “1995 Dodge Neon.”)

I also grew to view the Firebird as gaudy and the Camaro as boring (especially after 1997).

In a reverse, I grew to really appreciate the “IROC” body style of the previous Camaro. But I’d never buy one.

Chrysler PT Cruiser. When they first came out there was nothing like it on the road. Within a year we were seeing them coming back to the auctions with peeling paint (Chrysler repainted silver ones black as a result) and rattles aplenty. Chrysler could have invested in it come 2004 since it made money but… nope! Instead what came out was an increasingly cheaper and cost cutting version of the same old 1990’s Neon-based vehicle.

Out of all the vehicles out there, the PT Cruiser likely represents how NOT to manage an already successful model. VW on the other hand represents how image is no substitute for substance. I would exempt the GTI from that description though.

Sportscars are ok. Sitting two inches from the ground in a 1998 Corolla is no fun.

Oh, and a Wrangler. Putting up a roof on a convertible shouldn’t be such a knuckle-buster, and driving a vehicle should feel like being inside a bass drum.

911s burn up because of a variety of unfused circuits, they have ignition switches that routinely fail every 10 years, the camchain tensioners quit and the engines are rubble, shifting the 915 transmission is an art as demanding as playing the lute…the list goes on and on, but I’m always amazed that these ass-engine Nazi slot cars–famous P. J. O’Rourke quote–are so idolized.

Just before I came to Car and Driver, a top-rank redneck Nascar driver of the time–his name escapes me at this instant, but the article he wrote is so notorious that somebody is sure to come up with it in minutes–tested the IROC 911RS that he was to race and concluded that it was the biggest POS he’d ever been forced to drive. Porscheniks were horrified, but I should have listened.