Years ago, a former manager had reintroduced an effective marketing phrase I had long forgotten from my ’80s childhood when she referred to the “Toyota jump”. Within the context of her and my conversation, I had put together and presented to her my proposal for a new business account I had wanted to insure (I’m an underwriter by day), but the account itself had a bit of “hair” on it, with an unfavorable loss history and a few other things about it that weren’t exactly ideal.
I did have a thought process behind wanting to write this account, but as much as I had tried to put “lipstick on a pig”, my manager (after pausing and shaking her head slowly) looked at me and said, “Joe, I hear what you’re saying… but this account just doesn’t make me want to do the ‘Toyota jump’. And here’s why…” I just looked at her, disappointed in sensing my proposal was about to be rejected, but also barely able to contain loud laughter for my memories of those ads.
The Toyota jump. Many of us of a certain age were used to seeing Toyota commercials on TV, where at the end of the advertisement, an enthusiastic owner would leap into the air (often visibly holding the keys), as an effusive choir would sing, “Oh, what a feeling…TOYYY-O-TA!” These commercials completely sold the young me on the idea that these little imports were something really special, and that owning one, no matter how unglamorous the car actually was (I mean, really – the yellow example above is a Tercel econobox; a great car though it was, a Celica-lite it was not), was going to eternally brighten your days to come. I can imagine, though, that to many former Pinto, Gremlin, Vega or even Chevette owners, a little front-wheel-drive Tercel might have been cause for leaping into the air in ecstasy.
When I was growing up, I had thought that all of Toyota’s model names were completely coined, as if random syllables had been selected and sequenced together by a computer. It wasn’t until later that I had learned that a “tercel”, for example, was actually a male hawk, or that “Celica” was derived from the Latin word “coelica” which means “heavenly” or “celestial”. “Camry” is an anglicized, phonetic spelling of “kamori”, which means “crown” in Japanese. I was pleased to eventually find out that there had been a method to Toyota’s nomenclature madness, though I do remember thinking at the time that Toyota’s use of what I thought were completely made-up names seemed high-tech in the coolest, most 1980s way, possible.
When I had spotted this example, a facelifted ’81 or ’82 model, it had been years since I had last seen a first-generation “Corolla” Tercel (as they were initially called), which was introduced here in the United States for 1980. This one would be powered by a 60-hp 1.5L four-cylinder engine. The length of its short, 98-inch wheelbase is somewhat masked by its wheels being pushed out to its far corners – which likely contributed to maximum interior space utilization.
I love the particular accessories on this one, which show that at least one of this car’s owners had prized it later in its life: a nice window tint out back, chrome moldings for the wheel arches, and a little lip spoiler on its foreshortened trunk. While its body wasn’t in perfect shape, it was mostly rust-free in a way I would think uncharacteristic of a Japanese import of this era in the Midwest. I felt that the amount of mild customization bestowed on this example merited a “customized” depiction, hence the tinted image above that I had fashioned from my original photograph.
I was once walking through my neighborhood back to my house across the street from where I photographed this car, when I stopped twenty feet in front of a hawk that was feasting on a rat on the sidewalk in front of me. According to a neighborhood stranger who also stood watching in fascination, she had witnessed the hawk swoop down and seize the rat. I imagine the well-built, reliable, efficient Toyota Tercel did something similar by clutching once-loyal, American-only buyers who had been left unimpressed by their experiences with domestic small cars.
Edgewater, Chicago, Illinois.
Friday, March 4, 2011.
Wow, I cannot recall the last time I saw one of these. But I sure remember that TV commercial. The big lumberjack-ish guy finishing with “Tercel!” has never left my brain.
Your tinted photo makes this Tercel look like one of the early Hot Wheels cars, with that bright green color.
I love your final analogy of the hawk. The difference is that instead of feasting on the customers as GM and Ford and Chrysler had a tendency to do in the 70s/80s (I have felt like that rat a time or two in domestic service departments), Toyota served the customers with a high quality (if simple) automotive feast.
I actually saw this 4-dr. Tercel about 2 years ago — took some pictures, but couldn’t think of anything to say about it. So the pictures just sat.
This one has a fake Mercedes hood ornament, so similar to the mild customization of Joe’s example above, maybe after a few decades Tercel owners feel a unrestrained urge to customize their vehicles. Maybe to distinguish them from all of the other 38-year-old Tercels out there?
And I had not idea until just now that the name Tercel actually meant anything. I assumed it came from the same made-up marketing language as Cordia & Tredia.
Eric, I love little touches like the stand-up Mercedes hood ornament some owners use to embellish their otherwise humble cars. A good sense of humor and being able to laugh about any situation can go a long way.
I am now also curious to know if “Cordia” and “Tredia” do actually have origins in existing nouns.
“Tredia” was derived from the ‘three diamonds’ from the company logo, and “Cordia” was a similar deal but the root escapes me now.
“Starion,” however, is the subject of much debate where many think it was based on the Japanese (mis)pronunciation of ’stallion’.
JP, I think one of the most amazing things about that commercial is that the fisherman, who appeared to be of substantial heft, manages to get seriously airborne – even if he just appears to be standing (and not jumping) at the end.
Toyota was wise to change the name of their “Crown” line to Camry. The Crown brought back memories for many of a car that most people did not understand in the ’70s.
“An upscale Toyota? How can there be such a thing? I thought they made cheap cars – that’s why they sell the Corolla!”
Folks I knew once had a 1970 Buick Skylark or GS or something like that. That went from that, in rapid succession, to a Tercel. Both being rather portly, they looked kind of ‘close together’ in the front seat of that little Tercel. Ahem. They used that little Tercel for cross Canada trips and got amazing reliability from it. Great little car.
The Crown continued on in Japan, and is still available (below). The Camry was an addition to the line that kind of took the Crown’s place in markets where it was sold.
This car looked much better as a hatchback, with its frameless liftback and unique hexigonal taillamps. The notchbacks were boring.
Interesting how FWD cars were advertised back then like 4WD SUVs are now. I recall similar adverts for FWD Subarus and Plymouth Horizons.
Perhaps the passage of time has somewhat fogged my memory?
I recall the first front wheel drive Tercel as being not quite up to the high standards set by the Corona, Corolla and Celica models of the early/mid 1970’s.
The sloppy, vague manual transmission/transaxle shifter, cheap looking, noisy interiors and lousy air conditioning systems were quite unusual when compared to past Toyota models that I had driven and enjoyed.
At the time I owned a 1981 Plymouth Horizon. Driving the same year Tercel made me admire the VW-Mopar all that much more.
Well, previous CC articles on the Tercel do not match your recollection. I don’t have a dog in the hunt, but Paul makes a strong argument:
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/curbside-classics-asian/curbside-classic-1979-1982-toyota-tercel-toyota-nails-another-one/
Opinions, like your gas mileage, may vary.
My friends had a Tercel hatchback. I had a 1988 Plymouth Horizon with the deluxe interior, which was pretty plush for that sort of car at the time. There was no comparison between them in any way, with the Horizon the winner. Seats and interior, NVH, ride, all twice as good in the Horizon. And I always thought the Tercel body design looked cheap and awkwardly amateurish.
No, I did not discuss my opinions in this area with them.
In 1988 the Tercel went into its’ third generation while the Omnirizon (finally) added EFI to the (by then long-standard) 2.2 in its’ old 1978 body, still with its’ metal bumpers with a visible air gap between them and the body and its’ increasingly dated sealed-beam headlights.
That being said, a nicely optioned Omnirizon like yours cost less at MSRP than an ultra-stripped base Tercel or Civic, and was quicker and a comfier cruiser than anything else within a couple grand of it.
The Tercel (and IIRC the lower line Corollas) didn’t get fuel injection until 1990 or 1991. I autocrossed an Omni with the 2.2L back in the day; it was a little beast. By the time we got to the America series, these L bodies were pretty stripped down; the ones from the late 70’s early 80’s could be quite plush.
One of my former co workers had a 80 or 81 Omni (I think it was the last model with the 1.6L engine, but that was 35 years ago) and it was quite nice inside. The French engineering bones showed through with the big comfy seats and the nice smooth ride. All small cars should have ridden that well…
I remember that my grandparents’ own 1981 or ’82 (?) Plymouth Horizon also had a very, very nice interior for such a small car. To me, the Omnirizons seem like they were positioned substantially upmarket from entry-level subcompacts like this generation of Toyota Tercel.
That they had completely rebodied, swoopy coupe versions of them (Horizon TC3 and Omni O24) seems to support my theory. Of course, the Toyota Paseo of the ’90s was based on the Tercel, but between the styling of the Chrysler L-body coupes and the Paseo, there’s no contest in my opinion – Chrysler nailed it for the most part.
Such a joyless little turd of a car!
True, the Tercel didn’t draw out many strong emotions, unlike say, a Vega. It just started every morning, and ran and ran and ran. Sure, they rusted, but compared to a Vega, well, not so much, and as for running well, Vegas didn’t. Pintos ran okay and were fairly reliable, but there was always that emotional question of “Is today the day I get flambéed? Of course the truth was that on about 27 Pinto fires actually happened, but that’s not what the press was saying at the time. Besides, in 1978 Ford recalled 1.5 million of them just to make sure.
And speaking of recalls, Chrysler managed a (then) record eight recalls on their 1976 Volare.
Sadly the 1980 Chevy Citations promptly managed to break that record by being recalled a (then) record nine times..
So…. lots of Toyota customers of the day were absolutely thrilled to be bored. Guess ya had to be there to appreciate it.
Oh oh oh! What a feeling!
Going to the dealer to look at a Tercel in 1980 was an exercise in depravity, almost.
All the Tercels (Celicas and Corollas, too) on the lot had an aftermarket sun roof. Aftermarket AM/FM radio (no cassette), pinstripe package, paint sealant and Scotchguard. ADP, too. This was on a base car, no automatic, no A/C, etc. This took a $4200 car and punched it way up to $5000 before taxes. If you weren’t paying cash, you were financing at 18% interest rate…
Oh, what a feeling…
There are a few of these in daily service in Los Angeles, in the hands of working-class Latinos, who are pretty adept at preserving these old Toyotas.
These cars were cheap and reliable, but that’s about all that can be said for them. One always seemed to be available in my price range when I was looking at used cars in the 1980s, but I could never force myself to buy one. A Tercel was a depressing povertymobile, sure, a step up from a Pinto or Chevette, but I would never consider those. The Tercel always was a consideration, because even used Corollas were always just a bit too expensive for me. But both times I ended up with something else, a Mazda 323 and a Plymouth (Mitsubishi) Colt wagon, and I can’t say I’m sorry I chose them instead. I did own other Toyotas later on, but a Tercel just never would have made me jump for joy. I do agree they were a bit better as hatchbacks.
You are correct, but at the end of the day, what exactly is wrong with being cheap and reliable?
Thousands of folks just drive. They don’t care, really, other than the car starts, stops, and runs with minimal involvement. Just fill it with gas, check the oil once in a while, and that’s about it. This car, and many other cars like it, filled that niche.
Inspirational? No. Aspirational? Doubtful, unless moving up from something truly bad or no car at all. But a good choice? For many folks, yes. If it came down to a Tercel or a Volare, which would you prefer?
Nothing wrong with cheap and reliable, of course. But I’m a car guy. I like a little character even in my basic transportation. And yes, I’m the kind of person who’d probably take a Volare over a Tercel if that was my only choice. In fact, you made me smile here – I briefly owned a ’85 Chrysler Fifth Avenue, basically, a fancy Volare!
Thanks, you also made me smile with your response. I suspect that anyone on this site is an enthusiast, so the Volare would probably win every time.
The problem is that we enthusiasts are a very small minority, and probably a smaller minority of new car buyers. It seems that most of us buy a car that meets our enthusiast needs as a used car, as they are too expensive new. That makes OEMs even less inclined to listen to what we say we want in a car, as we don’t buy them. That’s probably why they build these penalty boxes on wheels in higher numbers than Hellcats, don’t you think?
I found the Tercel to be very frumpy especially when compared to its rear wheel drive cousin which was becoming a pretty good looking car
That generation of Corolla is rumored to have styling assistance from Pininfarina, no less.
I would believe this. Styling-wise, these (particularly the SR-5 fast/hatches like this silver example) were peak-Corolla for me.
Neither side will confirm it; but Pininfarina’s Cataloge Raisone (?) explicitly goes on about how Toyota called them in, if not for oughtrit design, on pretty much all their upcoming cars circa 1978.
The 4 door had a wiener dog look to it. The 2 doors unfortunate rear end suggested unfortunate rear ends of mid 50’s British cars. These are what you bought when you couldn’t afford the monthly payment for a Corolla.
My dad had a white 82 sedan with a blue vinyl interior. I recall it being pretty basic with exposed metal in the interior and no passenger side mirror.
The ads for these were all over National Geographic at that time:
I was actually alive and drove these things in the day. College friends actually bought one and drove it. It was traded in quickly..
I saw one last year in LA:
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/cc-outtake/curbside-outtakes-1980-82-toyota-tercel-1970-76-porsche-914-baby-i-love-la/
The “Oh what a feeling!” never ended here in Australia. That’s always been Toyota’s tagline here and they still do ads with people jumping in the air. I guess if it ain’t broke…
Will, I think it may be time for Toyota’s North American marketing arm to bring back the triumphant “Toyota jump” commercials and the “Oh, what a feeling” tagline. I’m hard pressed right now to remember the specifics of any recent Toyota commercial.
Toyota doesn’t make many mistakes, but replacing the Tercel with the Echo was a big one.
I had a final generation (’95) Tercel, it was incredibly compromised for its’ styling for something so anodyne-looking. It’s the only car I ever bumped my head entering, which I did repeatedly especially in winter. The trunk had decent space but the opening was restricted enough that I brought home my first air conditioner and last CRT TV on the front passenger seat (on separate occasions) since they would fit nowhere else in the car.
The 2008 Yaris with its’ tall-car proportions and (finally!) the return of a hatchback, was a huge improvement.
Terrific find and article Joseph… and very nice Photoshop work! Toyota’s ‘Oh What a Feeling!’ and the ‘Toyota Jump’ was brilliant marketing. Their print ad graphic design was nicely done as well. I was a big fan of all things Toyota at the time. Though I wasn’t enamoured with the styling of the first gen Tercel, whether in hatchback or notchback form. But its no-nonsense design has grown on me since. As with the equally meek Toyota Starlet. A gym teacher at my high school owned a 1980 Tercel SR5 hatchback. Memories from the time really puts into perspective how so long ago it was.
Your photo edit has such a funky quality, and since this is a Joe Dennis post, I figured I’d supply some hot funk from the year of the Tercel’s birth. 🙂
Thanks, Daniel.
To echo Cjiguy’s comment above, I remember this nicely done Toyota print ads (not just for the Tercel, but also for the Celica, Corona, Corolla, etc.) in the front and rear pages of National Geographic.
I also wasn’t crazy about the styling (in any of the three bodystyles), but I didn’t find them offensively styled at all. I prefer the quirky first-gen hatchbacks over the linear, boxier, Ford Escort-looking hatchback that followed it.
And that’s a great tune, but this Tercel puts me in more of an ’80s “technological” place, a la YMO’s “Firecracker”. (I love that YMO played Soul Train. I was going to post another clip, but I couldn’t resist using this one.)
One more thought on the Starlet (I had to search through the comments to find the mention of this other car): It took me years to discover that the Starlet wasn’t a Tercel or Corolla variant! I had thought of it as the “Tercel Starlet” for years.
Then, when I realized it wasn’t a Tercel (or a “Corolla Starlet”), and also that it was rear-wheel-drive, I wondered the point of its existence. What could the Starlet do that the Tercel couldn’t? Was there a substantial base price difference?
Aside from the Tercel’s availability in three bodystyles versus the Starlet’s sole three-door hatchback, they seem to overlap the same target market and demographic.
I know a lot of folks get all hot and bothered about these cars, but I can’t see it. In the summer of 1980 my brother was looking at getting his first brand new car. He asked me to go along as an extra pair of eyes. He was a recent college grad and needed something practical and cheap to run. We looked at all of the usual suspects, Pinto, Monza, Chevette, Omni, LeCar, B210, Rabbit, Civic, Tercel and (Mitsubishi) Dodge Colt.
He’d been told the Civic and Tercel would be good cars, but the outright greed of the Honda and Toyota dealers was appalling. He looked at an Omni (as did my other brother two years before), but while in the dealership he saw a Dodge Colt. It had all of the equipment he wanted and was a small, FWD car with excellent fuel mileage. The Dodge dealer didn’t have any “mandatory” options, nor any extraneous add-ons. He was able to buy the car slightly under sticker. It was a good car for him for five years (not much lasted very long in NE Ohio winters) and impressed me, too.
I love how people defend these cars as “they ran forever” as if that were the only criteria for a great car. These were terrible cars to drive, true penalty boxes. This extended to the regular Corolla, too. When I was selling these things a decade later, nothing had changed. Noisy and slow but good on gas with the handling and ride quality of a shopping cart. They may have run forever, but that adds up to a punishment.
I don’t know much about the design history of the first gen Tercel, but the proportions of the four door notchback version always reminded me of the Simca 1100.
My parents had a 1982 tan on tan example when I was young; in fact it was the first car I remember them owning. I have a fair amount of memories about the car such as burning my legs on the vinyl seats in the Florida sun.
They really liked this car and had very good luck with it until one day we got t-boned in an intersection by a drunk driver which ripped the right rear wheel off and spun us around a few times, coming to a stop on the median. The impact was right where I was sitting, right rear passenger door. I can remember the accident like it was yesterday even though I was only in 1st grade. Fortunately, we all walked away unharmed except for a few scrapes on my face.
Always felt that slogan was missing some punctuation. Based on our ’84 Corona, it should’ve been “Oh, what? A feeling? Toyota?”
Hahaha!! Punctuation can make or break a sentence, as you’ve so clearly demonstrated. I also know this from often editing these drafts a ridiculous amount of times.
I wonder why Prince didn’t sing about the Little Red Tercel.
Little red Tercel
Baby you’re much too fast
Little red Tercel
You need a love that’s gonna last…
Alright, maybe it wouldn’t have quite the same ring to it…
I like the front end of this thing but then for me it always kind of lost the plot around the rear three quarters. The trunk is, uh, truncated looking and the hatch always looked sort of odd to me as well. So a swing and a miss in my book but they were reliable, did sell, and converted a lot of people to the club by always being ready to go etc. A righteous find in my book. And the green studio special is just missing the gold dubs to complete the look, JD…
Has *anyone* ever sang about a Tercel?
Sir Mix-a-Lot did in “Jump On It”
…and I spot two bad-ass girls in a Tercel….
The red-tailed hawks we have here in Chicago are truly fascinating, I had one land in my back yard, (when I had a back yard) and will never forget how all the birds suddenly went quiet. On occasion I will spot Hawks by Lake Michigan. Coyotes, skunks, opossums and raccoons are fairly common in Chicago too.
I do remember the Toyota jump. Toyota’s print ads had a common look from the mid 1970’s through the early ‘80’s with a metallic silver, gold, and bronze background.
Had a friend with a 1st gen Tercel hatchback (it’s unique taillights reminded me of an MG). I thought that Tercel was nicer than a 2nd gen Yaris hatchback that I rented around 10 years ago.
Yes, Coyotes are absolutey a thing in Chicago! When I lived in Rogers Park, I went out for an early morning smoke and practically tripped over one coming around my back door! I was in disbelief. A couple months later, the PBS program Nature had an episode about Cyotes, and had a large segment about how they had radio collared a bunch and discovered they even live within the Loop…
Wildlife is totally a thing, especially here in Edgewater (just south of Rogers Park – which I know you know).
I was coming back from grocery shopping on a Friday almost exactly six years ago, when I saw these two deer at nearby Berger Park.
What’s beautiful about this area is that it is urban, but also has lots of nature elements in it: trees, Lake Michigan, birds and animals, and also a lot less light (and noise) pollution than one might expect.
I can regularly see constellations in the night sky in my neighborhood. I love it here.
Great article Joe! Many what a flood of memories about the Toyota jump commercials. I haven’t thought about those commercials in many years. They are probably the only Toyota commercial series I can actually remember as being significant though. These were the first Toyotas I remember in any real numbers around the area I grew up. I didn’t have any first hand experience with them as few in our family were buying Japanese cars at that time. That said, those that I knew who bought these cars quickly became converts to Toyota. Unfortunately, they didn’t hold up well in the harsh climate we have here. I haven’t seen one around here in probably 25 years or maybe even longer.
These 1st gen Tercels felt cheap, our family had one growing up. The “carpet” was actually a rubber mat, and I recall scorching my young legs many times on the vinyl seats in back. I also recall comparing the thickness of the doors to Mom’s Caprice at the time and even as a youngster, I saw how much thinner the whole outer structure of the Tercel was.
Dad got rid of it after the 3rd time it shot antifreeze on his wingtips. Replaced the Tercel with a Geo Prizm, which was light years ahead of the Tercel and had what I recall to be really nice velour-like upholstery and actual carpeting!
Say what you want about the Pinto, Vega and Gremlin, but interior wise these early Tercels were definitely cheaper looking and feeling than any of those.
There was a huge recall for the 1980 models at least where the rear control arms would totally disintegrate from rust.
This is the one. Any idea as to what would be the value of it. 34000 miles only.
I have a 1981 Toyota Tercel, any idea what would be value of it. It has 34000 mile and everything works. It needs a carberator , I am looking for a mechanic that either rebuilt it or put a new one ($400), it also need a fresh paint ($650), but people tell me to not paint it and keep the original whic is fine . Any idea what my car is worth?