There was as soon as a time when many automotive producers every supplied station wagons to American automotive consumers in a number of sizes. Through the early Nineteen Eighties, even Mercury had wagons obtainable in small, medium and enormous sizes, and Toyota was proper there with three of its personal: the little Corolla, the considerably greater Corona and the opulent Cressida. As we speak’s Junkyard Gem is a type of Cressidas, present in a automotive graveyard within the Northern California hometown of John Steinbeck.
The rear-wheel-drive Cressida was obtainable in the US from 1978 via 1992, going via 4 generations alongside the best way. It descended from the Corona Mark II, and actually retained the Mark II identify in Japan properly into our present century. Till the Lexus LS 400 confirmed up right here as a 1990 mannequin, the Cressida was essentially the most luxurious U.S-market Toyota automotive throughout its reign right here; the Avalon is the closest factor to the Cressida’s alternative in the US market.
This era of Cressida was offered in the US for the 1981 via 1984 mannequin years, and it was carefully associated to the Celica Supras of the identical period. Which means it has an M-series overhead-cam straight-six engine driving the rear wheels. One large distinction between the 1982 Cressida wagon and the 1982 Celica Supra is that the wagon did not get an unbiased rear suspension (the Cressida sedan did, although).
On this case, the engine is a 2.8-liter 5M-E with digital gasoline injection, rated at 116 horsepower and 145 pound-feet. Curb weight was simply 2,906 kilos (considerably lower than that of the present Corolla), so its efficiency was respectable for the period.
A four-speed automated with an overdrive prime gear was normal gear.
The MSRP for this automotive was $12,699, or about $42,294 in 2024 {dollars}. The one 1982 Toyota with a better U.S.-market price ticket was the $13,218 Land Cruiser four-door.
This was a California-market automotive from the start, as we are able to see by the underhood emissions sticker.
The 1982 Cressida got here with loads of normal options that have been extra-cost choices on most comparable automobiles (past the automated transmission, that’s). Air-con, cruise management, rear defroster and an AM/FM four-speaker audio system have been included.
I’ve discovered loads of high-mile Toyotas in junkyards over time, together with an Avalon that drove 949,863 miles and a Camry that did 648,928 miles, however this Cressida barely cracked the 100k mark throughout its 42-year life.
The wagon model of the Cressida was obtainable in the US from the 1978 via 1987 mannequin years, after which it was changed by the high-end trim ranges of the Camry wagon.
These automobiles have one thing of an fanatic following, however that wasn’t sufficient to spare this rust-free one from its junkyardy destiny.
No person else can provide the feeling!
Sadly, we by no means bought the turbocharged model on our shores.