What ever happened to 90's coupes: Toyota Celica

To start my journey into the world of 1990's coupes I am going to look at a car that had a rather good decade; the Toyota Celica. Of course the Celica nameplate goes much further back in time, to 1970 in fact but for this feature we're keeping it strictly Windows 95 and looking at the 6th generation Celica. Arguably the most affordable way into a reliable front wheel drive (mostly) sports car.

Gone are the pop up's 

Visually the 6th gen car broke away from the very awesome but very 80's pop up headlights of the previous generation cars. Quad headlamps dominate the front combined with the sloping roof line we expect from a coupe. The result is a car that bares more than a passing resemblance to it's bigger more powerful siblings the Supra and Soarer. Personally I think the rounded design has aged well the pumped arches give it road presence and crucially make it look wider and lower than the 7th Gen car that succeeded it.

   

Choices, but not many

Australia got to choose from three Celica variants SX, ZR and rare as unicorn poop GT-Four. The first two were both powered by a 2.2 litre 4 cylinder engine. It served up a not particularly sporting but adequate 100kw and 196Nm of torque, however that great marker of how quick a car is, the 0-100km/h time is best mentioned quietly, ahem, 10 seconds. Fast it is not, but teamed to the crisp shifting 5 speed manual (an auto was available) the Celica proved to be a fun car to hustle along, with direct steering and a competent chassis underneath. GT-Four's however where a different ball game, a homologation special that allowed Toyota to take the car rallying GT-Fours scored a turbo'd 2 litre, 4 wheel drive, massive wing, bonnet scoop and natty 3 spoke alloys. Only 77 of these 178kw, 306Nm monsters made it to Australia, so the chances of finding one are rare and expensive, but if you have one can I have a go?

This is a UK delivered GT4, it didn't score the big wing, boo

 

Inside

Inside it's all very 90's, so expect hard plastics and optional extra's stretching to the dizzying heights of a CD player and front fog lights, oh and the ZR model also scored, wait for it... 15 inch alloy wheels, sweet! Reports say that the standard of fit and finish inside was good though so wear and rattles should be minimal some 20 years later.

  

With reliability comes value 

The biggest selling point of this 90's coupe is that unbeatable Toyota reliability though. Most of the cars for sale today are pushing 200,000km's some are past 300,000. And you can't really get a better argument for longevity than people still trying to sell them with that many km's, whats more, the Celica will keep going, sure a new gasket, hose and the odd service won't go a miss but really that's all you'll need to keep your sleek coupe on the road. Those high km's combined with a distinct lack of popularity nowadays also means 6th gen cars can be bought for next to nothing. A fully functioning example with rego can be had for under $2000.

The reliability of a Toyota wrapped up in a coupe body style, essentially it's a curvy 2 door Camry. Many people may find it dull, but this is a crying shame, a 6th generation Celica is an increasingly rare under appreciated modern Toyota with a sweet chassis and just, and I mean just enough power to put a smile on your face. Bring back the 90's coupe!

Image credit 

What ever happened to 90's coupes?

Supra, Celica, FTO, MR2, 200SX, Calibra, Cougar, CRX, NX Coupe, Prelude, RX7, Probe, MX-6 and MX-3. Remember when car makers used to make cars you actually aspired too? Forget sports utility and lifestyle vehicles. In the 90's all the big brands made coupes, strictly 2 doors with a emphasise purely on sport rather than utility. It is about time we appreciate a decade when manufacturers didn't listen to consumer focus groups and just built what they damn well wanted.

Over the coming weeks I'm going to do a series on all those lovely cars mentioned above and why you need to buy one, dare I type the phrase #bringbackthe90scoupe?

To get started though lets ogle some oddly posed period press photo's and give you a snippet of information on why I have chosen the aforementioned machines. Also note how many of these press shots depict the car on either a beach or simply off road, an odd way to promote sports cars don't you think?  

1. Toyota Celica, Supra and MR2

Let me start this series with Toyota, a company whose model range once bulged with coupes. I've picked out 3, the legendary Supra, mid engined MR2 and affordable Celica.

Celica in a quarry, naturally 

MR2 on a pebble beach, obviously

I'm unclear why a chef is taking boxes to a Supra though?

2. Honda CRX and Prelude

Another company who once had a much more expansive and exciting model range, blame the financial crisis and lack of consumer interest for robbing car guys like you and me of the CRX and Prelude name badges.

I'll just park my CRX on your patio thanks

Sandy beach? Park the Prelude there 

3. Nissan 200SX(Silvia) and NX Coupe

Another Japanese brand now lacking in coupes, Nissan nowadays is all about the SUV. But here are a proper rear drive sports car and a quirky gull winged doored oddity that would never see production green lighted today.

I'll just hide the 200SX in the heather dear.... 

Beach huts, oh lets park the NX coupe there.

4. Mitsubishi FTO

You'd scarcely believe the company making hideous pink Mirage's, ageing Pajero's and family friendly Outlanders had it in them to build a little V6 engined coupe, but between 94 and 00 they did exactly that.

FTO, much faster than a single prop aircraft

5. Mazda MX-3(or Eunos 30X), MX-6 and RX-7

If you want a sporting Mazda today your only choice is the wonderful MX-5, but what if you wanted a roof, a choice of wheelbases and drive layouts? Mazda in the 90's had the answer.

Hold on, Mazda parked the MX-3 on tarmac?

That's better, shove the MX-6 on the grass

Wait, this is actually quite a sensible picture of an RX-7

6. Holden Calibra

Perhaps because all the Japanese brands were doing it Holden too marketed a European sourced coupe down under in the 90's. Based on the total pudding and quite frankly awful Vauxhall Cavalier sedan the Calibra is forgiven thanks to that angular swoopy coupe look it has going on.

Ah nothing quite shouts sporting intentions like a Calibra in an office car park

7. Ford Probe and Cougar

Not to be mistaken for names of adult toys Australia's other big home brand Ford had a go at marketing coupes sourced from elsewhere in the 90's too. Firstly the unfortunately named Probe which was based on the Mazda MX-6 above. Then in 1999 the much better looking Mondeo based Cougar. Both flopped, massively, but like all the others I'm happy Ford tried.

A field, yup put the Probe over there

A blind bend, there are better places to stop your Cougar. 

Seven manufactures, fourteen coupes. Over the coming weeks I will explore what makes these cars so special and reminisce about a decade when car makers gave us sports cars to aspire too, not SUV's to grow into.                    

Sacre bleu! Paris banning all pre 1997 cars

If the title did not elude to it enough, this is going to be a rather niche piece, however let me give you some context. To combat an ever increasing smog problem Paris's governors are going to implement that from the 1st of July all cars built prior to 1997 will be excluded from the city centre on weekdays between 8am and 8pm. The rules are set to change further in a few years too, by 2020 all cars in the city centre will have to be no older than 2010 and those older will be banned 24 hours a day. This is of course a very sensible idea, the 2 and a bit million people who call the centre on Paris their home and the millions of tourists who visit it every year deserve to breath better air, but for me and probably 3 other deeply dull anoraks the news is very sad indeed.

It's a nerd thing  

You see the joy for a nerd like me is seeing European streets crammed with an array of cars. Spotting increasingly rare and obscure 80's and 90's tin in Paris was as important to me as getting a blooming nice pain au chocolat and a coffee. In fact its one of the great joys of going to any European city, the diverse nature and varying condition of the vehicles adds to the atmosphere and brings character to already great cities. Old cars are the warriors, by merely surviving for such a long time in such harsh environments they should be celebrated, they wear their battle scars with pride. But with this legislation they are being forced out, imagine if you said "sorry no old people in the city, they smell and clog up the place", its shameful!

Modern cars are wimps

Leaving the city's motoring landscape to be populated by modern cars just doesn't seem right. They lack the character of their predecessors. A bloated Puegoet 207 for example has zero sex appeal whereas a Pininfarina penned 205 has more jua de vive than James Bond in a tux sipping a Martini. These cars need to be on the streets, generally cars post 97 and certainly 2000 are bigger, heavier, uglier and literally take up more space on crowded European streets. They are also a bit soft, take the new Citroen C4 Cactus pictured, yes it is quirky, cool and unmistakably French but it has air bumps all around it to shrug of city knocks, what a wimp! Its grandfather the Citreon ZX just had bumpers, for doing exactly that, bumping. And now the city officials want to force out hardened residents like the ZX?

Air bump, pah

Bumpers are for bumping, obviously

It's sad both that I care and that it's actually happening, but alas it is for the greater good. However, I can not help but feel that some of the cities character might be lost. Here are some pictures of traffic I took in Paris a few years ago to celebrate the diversity, 10 points for every pre 1997 car you spot.

Classic Range and Opel Manta

yes, that is a BMW CS behind the bike

(Some of those Mini's pictured are indeed Cooper Sports so are in fact post 97, but they're cool so they stay)

photo credit, photo credit