Tacoma breaks sales records..but....

I had a 2002 supercrew long box ranger, that truck was tiny and that was the largest variation.

 

I park next to a 1st gen Tundra at my apartment. Our trucks are nearly identical in size and mine sits higher even. I remember back then I used to think the tundra was unnecessarily big and now I own one lmao

 

I think a big part of the problem is even mundane cars today easily out perform the 90s cheap sports cars. A Camry today does 0-60 in 5.8 seconds and the quarter in 14.3!

Besides that, I've had the opportunity to drive a friend's manual FRS on the back-roads. It was... disappointing. Felt heavy and dull. The exact opposite of what the Japanese gave us in the 90s. He eventually traded it for a WRX. Funny how these hopped up grocery getters like the WRX, GTI, ST etc. all are so much more fun to drive even with a couple extra doors and a usable trunk.

Even a friend's Hyundai Veloster Rallye with the turbo was more fun than the FRS... and I bet it's cheaper too.

Oh, and not to forget the refreshed sameweightasa1990withtwicethepower miata that mazda released. Can't wait for those bad boys to hit 10-15k, gimme gimme gimme.

 

I owned a 2000 Lexus GS300 with the Supra-derived 3.0 liter 2JZ-GE I6. Sweet engine. Dual exhaust on an I6, sweet smooth engine. Governed at 148mph, I had it up to 130mph, smooth.

I6's are my favorite engine, easy to work on. Inherently smooth, good lowend torque.

 

For me, anytime I own a fast-ish sports car, I'm *never* satisfied with how fast it is and am always wanting to sink more money into it, rendering it even less practical. With putting money into the truck, it's mainly "practical" mods which can help in a lot of different driving situations. Plus, I'm getting older and echoing what others have said, I'm getting more into camping/hiking/fishing/etc. and the truck is perfect for that.

 

Woah there young fella!!! That ugly silver Ford Taurus looking thing is not the “original” Supra. There was a couple Supra generations before that. The 2nd gen were the best looking in my opinion. More machismo.

 

Meaning the original, now they’re bringing it back as the new version.

That’s a pretty cool Toyota Celica, though

 

Wrong

 

Well it looks the same

 

Totally agree about the Veloster but as far as the camry...I'm assuming you're talking about that XLE V6 which is gonna run you like $36k which is in the sports car price territory. It's almost exactly the same sticker price as the wrx sti...

 

^^That is a celica. Note the different headlights below. The Supra is part of the Celica family,so we are both right

 

I had a 77 Celica like the picture here it was Yellow and a fun car then

 

Yup, bring back a bare bones truck in the style of the old Ford ranger/Gen 1 Tacoma.
I had to get rid of my 2004 B2300 when we had a kid. (Apparently the wife didn't like straddling the gearshift whilst sitting shotgun on the bench seat so the childseat could be anchored in the passenger seat on 800km roadtrips. )
That truck was great for everything we needed, but not with a kid. It's the reason I bought a Tacoma, as it is the only thing a car seat will fit in, while still being fairly small and available with a manual transmission. For 95% of what most people "use" a truck for, it was more than adequate, and could get close to 30mpg on the highway, and still fit in parallel parking spaces.

 

I had the same car, Blue with the ESP system. It was fun, but the 20R wasn't the right engine for the car, I don't think.

 

Gen 1 and 2 Supras were Celica derivatives, with the interesting oddity being the Gen 3 Celica GT-S which used the Gen 2 Supra's independent rear suspension, and some other parts. Sorta like a Porsche 911/912 thing.
There was a Mark 2 here with collecter plates on CL for $5000, it was up for a bout a day before it sold. If I had a garage....

 

^ Interesting info. I’ve always loved the 80’s Supras. They were a rarity where I live. They just look burly to me. Great looking cars. Have no idea how they drove.

 

Admittedly I did the absolute minimal amount of research and chose the fastest Camry.

 

Around 1989, manufacturers figured out their emissions and performance issues and started the current hp war, which is still going strong. Never have engines been so clean, reliable, or powerful as now. It is a great time to be alive, but style and driving feel have to enter into this somewhere now that a minivan can destroy a 5.0 from the 90's.
Mazda has nailed it from the perspective of a driver. All the Mazdas I have owned have been great to drive. Fast? Not really, but I'm less concerned about how fast I can go compared to how fun it is to get there.
My $10K 2015 Nissan Micra is an absolute hoot to drive, the only issue being that the front suspension is too soft. There's nothing like mashing it through the gears only to look down and see that you are 10 km/h UNDER the speed limit. On board infotainment? Umm, it has a radio? Creature comforts? It has "Roll your own" manual crank windows.
I guess I fall into the "I'd rather drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow" camp
(Of course I'd rather drive a fast car fast)

 

The 86 is tiny, slow, boring, and expensive. The Z has morphed into a heavy turd. Sometimes car manufacturers just mess up.