Junkyard Gems: 1991 Toyota Cressida

Toyota’s The first major sales success in North America was coronawas released here 1966 model And proved to be a lot of cars for money (My first car was a 1969 Corona sedanI bought it for $50 when I was 14, so I’ll admit it. a little corona bias here).toyota did well car sales Here, in the 1970s and 1980s, 1990 model Lexus LS 400Before that, Toyota Motor Sales USA tried to get Americans to buy luxury goods. crown and Corona Mark II, with no notable success. finally, 1978 Toyopet Corona Mark II appeared here With Cressida badgeand Several Americans were happy to buy luxury cars with this large six-cylinder engine.Cressida sales never really took off here, but Americans could buy Cressida all the way through 1992A 1990s Cressidas is nearly impossible to find in an auto graveyard today, but I did the feat a few months ago in Sparks, Nevada.

of LS400 An engineering masterpiece with a brand new V8 engine and all the other innovations that scared the daylight out of the suits of the big European car companies. Also, the Cressida seemed a bit small and dated, so it’s surprising that Toyota kept selling it here between his 1990 and his 1992 models.

Under the skin, Cressida has always been a close relative of the same age aboveIn other words, its suspension and powertrain general Similar in hardware to contemporary Supra (as much as rear-wheel drive) Datsun 810/Nissan Maxima We share a lot of engineering DNA Z car).

The car has a 7M-GE straight-six engine rated at 190 horsepower and 185 lb-ft (the Supra version had a little more power).

The 1991 Mark II Japan It could be purchased with a 5-speed manual transmission, but American Cressida buyers had to buy a 4-speed Aisin automatic.

These cars were very well put together, but this car only managed 172,794 miles to the end.

In 1991, Lexus LS The 400 has a suggested retail price of $36,955 (about $81,490 at $2022), which is an undercut. mercedes benz s class But it caused trouble for a Toyota salesman who was trying to get a new Cressida for $22,198 ($48,945 today).

Cressida that year was very luxurious and very well made, but the new Lexus At the time, it seemed like more cars per dollar.

Toyota continued to include CD/cassette player combinations in Lexus well into the current century. Naturally, this Cressida has that rig.

I think it’s the first Ouija board I found in a junkyard vehicle.

Sadly, we never got the supercharged version here, nor did we get the Cressida Grande.

The most trouble-free car sold in America!