The Tercel wagon, especially in the 4WD verssion, was once one of the all-time classic Eugene-mobile. Obviously, most drivers of these have moved on to…Subaru wagons, natch. But these are rugged little beasts, nearly unkillable, and there are still a reasonable number in front line use. But like anything else this old, they’re at risk. Especially when a certain bright orange note is on the windshield.
Eugene has a very CC-friendly laissez faire attitude towards long-term parking on the street. Well, unless someone reports a long-term parker, because technically, one is only allowed 48 hours. But this violation is only acted in response to a complaint. I’ve seen cars parked for years; yea, decades, with the grass growing up through the cracks in the pavement. But that won’t be happening to this Tercel.
I’ve written a CC to one of these before, although that one was a 2WD version. And it’s still going strong. This is the more desirable 4WD job, perfect for making Jeeps look like overkill on rough back roads and such. The live rear axle was lifted straight from a RWD Corolla.
And this is also the preferred stick shift version, which features a six-speed transmission, with an ultra-low 4.71:1 “first” gear, roughly comparable to Low range on vehicles with two-speed transfer cases. The little stick is for shifting in and out of 4WD. Since there’s no center differential, 4WD should only be used in slippery/loose surfaces.
Under the hood, the Tercel’s 1.5 L 3A SOHC four made all of 65 hp @4800 rpm. Sounds pathetic, but with a bit of rowing of the gears and realities expectations, it would always get one there, no matter if there was down the street or Tierra del Fuego. These have a rep for being as bullet-proof as just about any engine made, which explains why there’s still so many old Tercels of all kinds on the streets.
In case you’re worried, this one got moved before the tow truck arrived, and I continued to see it for some months afterwards, but not lately. maybe its owner decided to take that trip to Tierra del Fuego after all.
related reading:
Love this car! My buddy in high school had one just like it but in white! I never knew about the live rear axle, but that helps me make sense of a near accident he and I had. We were on a jeep road in the adirondacks, and on a particularly smooth dirt section, he was in 4WD and driving like a rally driver. Well he must have overpowered the rear end through a power drift in a high speed curve (maybe 50mph) and he lost control of the rear end which went into the mulch filled ditch, then when he corrected, it swung around and his front end was in the ditch. We came to a stop, and got out, looked at the car, not a scratch!
I never fully understood why the rear end was so easy to break away in that circumstance, but the unsprung weight of the live axle probably explains it!
When all of the companies making station wagons in the mid 80’s were jumping ship to minivans, there were still a few fresh ideas at approaching the wagons of the future. There was a slew of these around and I’ll need to look up your other entry on this car Paul cause I’d like to read it.
In the four years that I’ve been living in Florida, I’ve seen one of these Tercel wagons on the road and it was in worst shape then this one.
Nice shot of a classic racer bicycle too – that looks very elegant. In the UK the Tercel was not a big seller – too kooky before the crossover became fashionable. Invisible these days on UK roads – moving or parked.
Thanks. That’s my bike. A late 70s Japanese bike rebranded as a Novarra (REI’s house brand). I bought it new in LA. It was a ten speed and I converted it to 18 speeds.
Good possibility that’s a Bridgestone frame – which is about as good as it got for a mass market Japanese bike back then.
Style-wise, the Toyota Corolla wagon we had in the late nineties looks like an evolution of the Tercel Wagon.
That was the frogeye Corolla generation.
Oh dear lord, hope you had plenty of bleach up there to clean your eyes.
Luckily Toyota redesigned its front shortly before we ran out of bleach.
That’s because it was. The Tercel wagon was Sold as the Toyota Sprinter Carib on its local markets over three generation. The first one was the Tercel Wagon, the second was the Corolla All-Trac(4WD in Europe) and that’s the final third generation. Presumably the Rav-4 would be the successor of sorts.
@featured car: the most desirable spec in the most desirable color. Too bad I’m so far away.
Right, thanks.
The next generation Corolla wagon (the last gen in Europe, before it was superseded by the 2007 Auris) was more traditionally styled.
When I was a little kid my neighbor across the street owned a light blue Tercel 4WD wagon like this. This was the mid-90s so by then a decade of New England winters had made it quite rusty. Around the time he and his wife had their son (1997 I believe) he replaced it with a slightly used ’95 Camry wagon in a beautiful mint green. Was still driving it when we moved in 2011. I never appreciated these Tercel 4WD wagons when I was young but they are kind of interesting now.
Same with me–my family moved into a new house when I was 10 years old, in 1991. The family next door had one of these Tercel SR5 wagons in silver, along with about the most basic Toyota pickup you could buy. They used to pay me something like $10 to wash the Tercel every so often. Eventually the Tercel was traded in on a 626 in probably ’92 or ’93, but I remember it well. Didn’t particularly care for it, but remember well.
I never appreciated them too until now either. I can’t tell you the last time I saw one of these in RI. They were somewhat popular back when they were new. Different looking, to say the least.
They are indeed unique looking with that trapeziodal shape, but they’re rugged and look like they’d be a blast to tool around in, especially when equipped with a stick and 4WD. The first iteration of Honda’s CRV seems like a soul successor to these. I found the first CRVs jarringly ugly at first, but have softened to them with time.
True Scott – the original CR-V’s were somewhat odd looking too, but I have grown to like them as well.
Back when I lived in town my neighbor’s son had one of these. It was the 4wd model and he must have had some special skills. He managed to kill something in the 4wd system frequently. I liked it anyway but since I owned an AC service company I really had no use for it. It wasn’t heavy enough.
Like the concept. Could absolutely fill all my needs with something like this but about Camry size.
When I lived in Memphis in the 90s there were a “handful” of these Tercel wagons around. 4wd outnumbered 2wd by about 4 to 1. When they were advertised in the AutoTrader (remember when it was a free paper), about 90% or more were automatics. Aside from the ease of operation, I never could understand why you would want to buy one with automatic. It seems like it would make a slow car even slower.
I don’t remember seeing one moving under it’s own power since moving to Florida 5 years ago.
Must be the LHD version of what is better known to me as the Toyota Sprinter Carib (JDM). Always liked the concept, but it could use some extra road clearance IMHO.
These, along with Pontiac Azteks, enjoyed some minor notoriety when Breaking Bad was on. Not as much fame as the 1974 Dodge Monaco got from The Blues Brothers, but there were undoubtedly a few Tercel wagons that were advertised for sale as the car Jesse Pinkman drove.
The Tercel/Subaru ratio seems to be going the other way in Spokane. This is, of course, Subaru City… but that generation of Subaru wagons is quickly fading, while the same generation of Tercel is holding its own.
Always liked these things, never knew they came with a 6 speed tranny; nice work-around for not having a low range. The last one of these disappeared here not too long ago, looks like it was claimed by mileage and not rust like so many before it. These used to be the beater of choice in the Canadian prairies, but rotted away too fast.
Until recently these things kept popping up in So. Cal.’s self service junkyards , always in VGC with low miles and good paint & upholstery .
Who the hell wanted a 4WD wagon in So. Cal. ? .
Pity , I thought they’d prolly be better used by selling them up North .
Nate
It’s not really hard to solve the problem, as long as the vehicle moves back and forth significantly enough on a regular basis, it’s fine.
I have a neighbor and his black Park Avenue was given a similar citation, probably because the car is so beaten up: no hub caps at all, rusted all over, missing pieces here and there, big dents, and very dirty as if sitting for years. He tore off the citation, moved the car from one side of street to another, and parked back after a while, and he is fine for a long time.
I remember these 4WD Tercels in Aussie just before they introduced a 4WD Corolla for one model, NZ is littered with the JDM Carib versions but manuals are rare.
I didn’t really like these cars when they were on the road but now that I look back I can see the appeal. The 4WD versions were especially popular here with our winters, but the bodies didn’t take well to the road salt. It seemed by the mid 1990’s they were getting less common, then within a few years they were all gone. I wish there were more options like this today instead of the ever popular CUV’s. I had a couple of friends who owned one of these cars and still to this day claim these Tercels were one of it not the best car they ever owned.
Looks just like the one in the king of queens
There is a copy of this Tercel next door here, in white, but 2wl dr, not far from Eugene that has been sitting for over 4 yrs; first in the front yard, looking pretty good, then in the side yard. Next I noticed they took out the radiator, that went in the back end, now they have put it on a dolly and moved to the back 40 of their large lot, to make room for a wedding. I just don’t understand people like that; they are obviously not going to ever fix it up; why not put it up for sale, somebody might be able to use the parts, if not get it running again? It’s not bad looking, sad to see the quirky old Toyota disintegrate into the ground. I like these more then when they were new; then I needed more space to haul my herd around; but now they would be the right size.
I wish I could find one of these things up here on the salty side of Canada, would make a great winter beater and Gaurentee I would get out of my road when there is a foot of snow down. May have to make a trip west to find one of these soon.
That sucks! I hope you were able to keep the car! I own a 1987 DLX 4WD Wagon (also US market) and it’s Steel Blue Metallic with a black interior and automatic transmission!