Who turned the clock back a couple of decades? This would have been a typical sight 20, 15 or even 10 years ago, but not so much in 2021. Both of these are becoming scarcer, so finding them together talking about the old days was a pleasant surprise. And they’re both cars I’m rather familiar with, although not the V8 version of the W124.
If they don’t have things to reminisce about, I do.
The 400E is a post face-lift version, so 1993 or later. Jeez, these W124 sedans were made for eleven years (1985-1995), and the wagon, coupe and convertible went on even longer. I’ve written up the W124 here, and it’s been used as a citation in Wikipedia. My own 300E’s story is here. And Jim Klein wrote up his 400E as a COAL here. And there’s more in the archives, so I’ll try to restrain myself here, although it’s not easy. I still get a pang every time I see one…
I’ve also done a full CC on the gen1 Tercel here. I have a lot of respect for these little cars; they were Toyota’s first mass foray into FWD, and they utterly nailed it. These were exceptionally tough, reliable and durable, just like GM’s first foray into mass-production FWD cars, the Citation.
My utterly unforgettable Tercel experience: On January 13, 1982, the same afternoon of the tragic Air Florida Flight 90 crash into the icy Potomac River, we arrived at the Baltimore Airport expecting my parents to pick us up. They weren’t there, and the weather outside was a nasty mixture of ice rain and snow.
I called them up from a pay phone (remember those), and they said it was impossible for them to come, as ice rain followed by snow had closed the streets and even the Beltway. You’re on your own. What to do? Check out all the rental car counters and hope to find a FWD car, not a given in 1982 (certainly no AWD vehicles then at a rental company). There was only one, a blue Tercel SR5 hatchback.
It took us almost four hours to get to Towson, for what usually took barely 30 minutes. I had to wend myself through the city, mostly on obscure side streets, as the police had shut down most major arterials due to ice-rink conditions. I also had to consider geography, and constantly avoid anything that looked remotely like it was going to head uphill. At one point, I drove down several blocks the wrong way on a one-way street, as it was the only way off another closed-off street, or un-navigable. All this without a map, and in parts of the city I didn’t at all know, except in a very general way.
It was very intense; I’ve never had a more demanding drive in my life, and keeping the Tercel from sliding into parked cars and moving forward took every last bit of concentration. I slammed into one curb with locked wheels pretty hard, and the Tercel bounced right up over it, fortunately without any damage. We pushed it back into the pavement and kept on slipping and sliding.
Our two-year old daughter slept through it all in the back seat, except for the crash over the curb. I love intense drives in bad conditions, but this one was almost a bit too much. But it makes for a great memory now. And my respect for the Tercel has never diminished.
There goes the Mercedes; that leaves just the Tercel. I’d take it…
This Tercel has the updated front end with the rectangular headlights. This was a narrow car, typical of Toyota products at that time. The challenge of rust was ever-present in Colorado with these Tercels. They were not a great value either. Toyota definitely had a premium price on their first FWD car.
It was a good car. However, the second generation Mazda GLC was a modern design that was a better price, as was the Honda Civic.
The Corolla Tercel was actually Toyota’s price leader when it arrived for 1980, and the Starlet had a $350 higher base price when it arrived for 1981. Tercels had one of the lowest base prices of any car, but they usually sold for considerably more than MSRP. I guess not everyone perceived their lack of value.
I clearly remember shopping for cars in 1981 and Toyota Tercel being a more expensive small car compared to many others at the time. The Starlet was Toyota’s attempt to sell a cheaper car against all the others undercutting the Tercel. My room mate was a Toyota fan and ended up spending far more money on his Tercel than my brother did with his Mazda GLC.
When Toyota released the Tercel, it did not match the VW Rabbit, the Omnirizon, or the Civic in that it did not embrace the same engine FWD layout those cars already proved was a better design. Toyota was a bit behind with the Tercel and FWD. Even Ford already had the Escort ready for the market, and the Mazda GLC was another completely new design.
All those newer cars, except for the VW, were priced at the Tercel level or lower. This is why Toyota released the Starlet. The Tercel was being undercut by competition. The Starlet was a smaller, cheaper Tercel.
Toyota catches up with the competition later. Until then,
1981 Toyota Tercel 2 door MSRP was $4,748.
1981 Toyota Starlet 3 door MSRP was $5,148.
The Starlet had more standard equipment and few options, while the Tercel was available as a very basic car. I know it is mysterious why their version of a Chevette cost more than their first front wheel drive ‘Corolla’ Tercel, but that doesn’t change the fact that the Starlet had a higher price than a basic Tercel by a significant amount.
https://www.nadaguides.com/Cars/1981/Toyota/Corolla-Tercel/2-Door-Sedan/Values
https://www.nadaguides.com/Cars/1981/Toyota/Starlet/3-Door-Liftback/Values
No. 1980 base Honda Civic 1.3 was $3,999. Tercel, with a better performance 1.5:
Can’t edit, the Civic was $3699. My apologies for sausage fingers.
Probably starting in the late 70’s I recall people buying new Toyotas and selling them used for more than they paid for them….of course inflation was great as were interest rates, but for me at the time looking for a used car (1981) it probably kept me from buying a Toyota (never have gotten around to owning one, though my middle sister eventually had an ’89 Tercel) though the Scirocco I did buy wasn’t inexpensive either, nor were any VWs at that time, but for some reason I preferred VW which has continued, as I’ve owned no other brand in 40 years (having owned 3 of them, only owned 5 cars in 47 years as licensed driver).
Boy, I wish that was for sale!
Toyota looks to be a bit dated, but the MB looks like a recent model. Get some nicer wheels tho.
When I picture a first-gen Tercel in my head, it is in that custard color. Interesting spot for the rear window wiper. Did many other cars have the rear wiper overhead?
Sounds like a harrowing drive. One of my most white-knuckle drives was in your part of the world, when I got caught in an ice storm in the Columbia Gorge on my way from Portland to the Tri Cities. But that was in a luxurious rented Maxima with traction control, and no loved ones in the car with me…
I recall them also being in a (slightly) brighter yellow. I would guess the wiper at the top of the glass is because it is a frameless glass hatchback. Wipers on the bottom of the glass were usually hinged with the hatch. Being Toyota, they probably decided that a wiper at the top of the frameless glass would cause less trouble when it is out of a adjustment than one at the bottom of the glass. Were it at the bottom, even a minor misalignment would cause problems when the wiper is parked and the hatch is opened.
If the wiper were mounted at the base of the hatch, it would have to park below the glass in order to open the glass. Also, the arm would need to accommodate the handle of the glass hatch. With the wiper at the top, it only needs to flex enough for the movement of the glass hatch when fully open.
Toyota likes overhead rear wipers. The previous generation Sienna (2011 to 2020) also had it, well hidden under the rear spoiler.
The 1976 Corolla liftback had the wiper at the bottom of the glass in the metal hatch frame, just like the 2nd generation Tercel and the 1988 Corolla 4WD Wagon. I’m guessing Toyota only put them at the top of the glass when they had a good reason.
Wow, quite the story there, Paul! I’ve always loved W124s, not sure I’ll ever muster the courage to own one myself but they sure are handsome. Growing up my friend’s mom had a ’95 W124 estate, I really enjoyed riding in those rear-facing back seats!
I’ve had my 124 for quarter of a century, will never sell it. In the garage awaiting a full resto this and next year even though it doesn’t need it.
I enjoyed my 400E tremendously, all the positives of the W124 and then a smooth and creamy V8 on top of it. This one is even nicer, being the refreshed model with the different grille, metallic paint, and a glovebox (which was lacking on the ’92 due to the airbag). Very reliable and easy to maintain, but if something did need fixing, parts were reasonably priced and the repair methods were logical and easy to understand.
Suddenly I am back to mid80s when I was first leaving China and lived in Toronto. W142 was very prestigious car then, and it is among of my all time favorite vehicle . Many times I wanted to get a used one. I just like everything about this vehicle except maybe it’s high rpm engine rotation at above 70 mph due to its transmission setting.
Then the first generation of Tercel has also bought up a lot of my memory when I lived Toronto. Neighbour had two Tercels, one gen 1 4-door sedan and another gen 2 4-door hatch back. More when I was still in China in early 80, family friend had access to a first gen Tercel sedan—back then in China there was not private own car. That car was acquired from Macus via unofficial means. In comparison with other passenger vehicles like BJ212, SH760, Gaz M20 & M21, Crown and HiAce, this was really small vehicle. But we loved to use it for short trips. Sometimes we ran up to 120 kilometers per hour, that was unimaginable for BJ212 and SH760. I also learned it was front wheel drive and had four wheel independence suspension. Note then Crown didn’t have fully independent suspension.
I sure don’t remember that Toyota being fwd. I knew a guy who had one almost exactly like the one shown, same color, although his had some stripes or some other graphic on the side. He inherited it barely used from a relative. I distinctly remember him showing it to me and popping the hood to have a look at the engine and him being very proud of the 5speed transmission. I never did get in it or take it for a ride though. We both had been driving VW Beetles and he was very happy to upgrade to the Tercel. At first I expressed doubt that it was an upgrade from the Beetle but then he showed me the cargo carrying capacity, informed me of the 5speed, and explained the engine was expected to go 3x as many miles as a Beetle before a rebuild. Strange how I remember it being RWD.
You might be confusing it with the Starlet, which was sold during the same period, and at a roughly similar price point. The Starlet actually was RWD, bucking the trend among subcompact cars of its era.
Starlets were the darling of Canadian snowbirds, pulling them behind their motorhomes on I-15 from Alberta to Arizona. Just remove the driveshaft and put it back on when they got to Yuma.
That sounds possible. However I do not remember the name “Starlet”. After googling the Starlet and discovering the Starlet Sprint with Corolla GT-S wheels, I’m curious if anyone ever transplanted a Corolla AE86 drivetrain into a Starlet. That would be a fun car!
Great snowstorm story. I’ve had to go down one-way streets the wrong way in the city after a snowstorm but it was because fallen trees were in the way, and even then in a 4WD 4Runner. Your Tercel trip is pretty amazing.
First gen Tercels are good looking subcompacts, maybe even the best of that era.
I’m surprised that an airport rental agency back in 1982 had a Toyota at all — I don’t remember seeing many foreign cars at car rental places until the mid 1990s, and I thought that Toyota had been particularly averse to fleet sales.
Regarding the snow/ice storm, in this part of the country (I’m not too far from Baltimore) we get just those types of storms every few years, and I can remember several times of having a similar experience. My last such experience was about 6-7 years ago when a sudden ice storm at the evening rush hour created the type of havoc you experienced on your Towson visit. I got my Honda Odyssey stuck on hill, since I had to come to a complete stop to avoid an out-of-control car. Fortunately, an F-250 4×4 was behind me, and I had a tow strap… he pulled me up the rest of the way… the nicest act of random kindness I’ve ever experienced on a road.
Honda is the one that’s really adverse to fleet sales. Toyota has had them going way back, but obviously not usually at the level of the more desperate companies. My Chief Engineer always insisted on a Camry when he flew somewhere, going back to the early-mid ’80s.
I also got a Toyota Corolla coupe in San Jose at the airport in about 1983-1984. I’m not sure I asked for it specifically. I always made a point to ask what was available in my size/price class.
Eric: Hertz had Toyotas going back to the mid-70s. First were the RWD Corollas and Celicas. By the early ’80s the FWD Tercel was in the Hertz fleet . I remember Toyotas I rented from Hertz in the spring of 1983: a RWD third generation Celica coupe at Montgomery, Alabama and a FWD Tercel four door from O’Hare that I put a lot of miles on – Peoria, Milwaukee, St. Louis. The Tercel was a manual but I can not remember how many speeds it had. It was very basic but fun. I loved a manual back then and still do.
I had other manual Hertz rentals over the years. I remember a Ford Fiesta from St. Louis and before that a Pinto in the fleet in Denver. Odd that they were there but it was possible to get a manual rental from Hertz.
Thanks everyone – I had no idea about Toyota rental cars back then. Always good to learn something new!
Yes, I worked as a transporter for Hertz 2 years 1977-1978, and though our location had mostly Fords back then, I do remember a Toyota (Corolla liftback, I liked a lot) and a Datsun 510 (my own car at the time was a Datsun 710, so I was pretty interested in the successor). We had some Mopar (mostly Dodge Diplomats and Aspens, but also drove a Magnum) GM (some B bodies, but mostly Novas) and even AMC (Pacer). But imports were not too common at my location (the mix varied from one location to the next).
I remember in 1981 (exactly 40 years ago) my Datsun had been in an accident caused by black ice, where I bit the guardrail, and didn’t have confidence in my light RWD Datsun, so I was shopping around for something with FWD, since I still wanted a small car due to gas mileage (big deal back then)…I did look at some new cars like the GM X (Pontiac Phoenix) and Dodge K cars which had just come out, as well as the Omni (my Dad had an Omni at the time). Don’t know why, but I didn’t really look at Datsun, though one lady in my carpool had a nice ’79 310 Coupe, and I don’t think the Tercel had come out yet, as I recall someone at work buying one a bit after I’d bought my car…..a ’78 Scirocco. Got a good deal on loan at the Credit Union at work (my Boss was president of the Credit Union, it was a volunteer job besides his management regular job) think he arranged for me to qualify for $500 more loan than my tenure would otherwise justify. Don’t know why I was looking at new cars though I was new professional at the time I didn’t want to spend a big part of my salary on a car note….even though I got a good rate for the time, it was 16%.
Two years later I was looking to relocate to my current state and my mother (my family had previously already relocated and I was following them even though I’d lived in another state for 3 years a that point) found a manual Starlet for me as a rental, as I was interviewing in a nearby city and as both parents had jobs back then didn’t have a spare car for me to use.. Pretty neat, I’ve never since gotten a manual rental (even in Europe!). Since we’d located to the sun belt I was back to considering RWD cars, but by that time the transition to FWD by car makers was well underway, and despite not having air conditioning in my Scirocco, I was a couple years from trading it in on my GTi which did of course have it. Couldn’t have waited with the traffic nowdays, but back then you could still rely on a breeze when moving as the traffic was nowhere near as bad as it is now
We had a string of ’77 Corollas from Hertz when we were in LA for a year on my Dad’s corporate dime. At first he got himself a Ford Capri and then when the rest of the family came over a week later us boys loved it but my mom was having none of it. Two days later came the first Corolla. Then a new one every month, the max rental period was a month before it had to go back to be checked over and just replaced with a different one.
I honestly don’t remember any imported cars as rentals in that time period.
From behind the Tercel looks like a modern interpretation of a Saab 96.
Me too Paul. I miss my 93’ Mercedes dreadfully. It was my first decent car I owned and I felt like a star in it. Had to put it to sleep when I was quoted nearly $800 for a replacement silencer box. Replacing it was a mute point anyway. The engine was blowing oil through the valves, the gearbox was starting to slip and the only panel that wasn’t dented was the roof; it got badly hammered in a typhoon with the neighbour’s bloody tree falling on it.
My best rental story was collecting a car from LAX and then trying to find my way to West Hollywood with a A4 size map of LA given out on the buses driving between the airport and the car rental lots. Add that to the fact that I hadn’t driven a left hand drive car in forty years.
My family were gobsmacked I made it to the hotel at all. So was I.
I’ve known two people who owned this generation Tercel. The first bought his new, to replace his Triumph Spitfire. Quite a change, I imagine, in more ways than one. The second guy, probably 15-20 years later, sadly told me that he had to sell his beloved Tercel when his wife inherited a Mercedes C107 coupe, 350SLC. The MB became his car when they had kids and added a Camry to the fleet and didn’t want three cars – and his wife didn’t want to get rid of the SLC, though he told me he much preferred the Tercel.
The 400E is a post face-lift version, so 1993 or later.
It’s called E 420 after Mercedes-Benz revised its model nomeculate and introduced the W 124’s second facelift for 1994 model year.