Toyota Celica was the rich kid of the sporty coupe ranks. There was a fresh set of high-style fenders ready long before customers tire of the old sheet metal. Every few years, hundreds of astute engineers gave it a full going-over. And when a major course correction was necessary-such as the shift from rear to front drive-Toyota management willingly dug into deep pockets to pay the tab. As 2+2 sports coupes go, the Celica led a charmed life.
For 1990, the Celica celebrated not only its 20th season in America, but also another major rejuvenation, the 5th since the skinny tired original rolled off the boat in 1970. Once again, the engineers did their share of delivering new engines, better suspensions, and sound systems ever more capable of wowing your date. That, was expected. The surprise was what the exterior designers had wrought. Stylistically speaking, the new Celica was sculpture from some uncharted Galaxy. When Toyota, purveyor of sedans that virtually disappeared in parking lots, suddenly hit us with space art, it’s a grade-eight jolt to the retinas.
Ordinary citizens jerked their heads and gawked. Mustang mavens cast envious glances. Integra owners rubbed their eyes in disbelief over what appeared to be a Porsche of the future wearing a Toyota badge. For Probe proponents silently wondered if they made the right purchase decision. This is one car that reached out and touched just about everybody with the radical warp of its fenders.
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