I know I’ve given Toyota a hard time on here before for making boring cars, but that’s just because I’ve had a couple of them, and they were boring. But they were also well-made, reliable, and user-friendly, and I can certainly understand why people are so loyal to the brand. Today, we’re going to look at a couple of rare older Toyotas. Does their rarity make them more interesting? We’ll see.
Yesterday, we looked at a little truck, and a little truck substitute, and it was another one of those matchups that I had no idea which way the vote would go. As it turns out, it was pretty close: the Subaru Baja is in the lead by twenty votes at this point, so I’m going to call it the winner. Sorry, Chevy fans.
I guess that’s the way I’d go, too. The Colorado isn’t a bad little truck, but it’s not the sort of vehicle I want to be weird. It’s a Chevy; it should be straightforward and fixable with a hammer and some duct tape. The Baja is even weirder, but it’s a Subaru; it can get away with it. Besides, I kinda like that it shares its livery with a Sony Sports Discman.
I’m sure Toyota fans get tired of the “boring” trope, just like Camaro fans must get tired of mullet jokes and British car owners get tired of snide comments about Lucas electrics (those are all true, though). And yes, I know about the twin-turbo Supras and the GR Corollas and whatnot. But for every one of those sold, Toyota unleashed thousands of silver and beige Camrys, Priuses, and RAV4s upon the world, and before that, whole battalions of white Tercels and dull little pickup trucks. But once in a while, there was an interesting variant of one of those cars, and even though they’re not any more exciting to drive, they’re at least more intriguing to talk about. The sellers of both of today’s choices make it a point to mention their rarity, but at least they didn’t try to jack up the prices too high because of it. Let’s check them out.
1986 Toyota Camry LE Liftback – $2,900
Engine/drivetrain: 2.0-liter OHC inline 4, four-speed automatic, FWD
Location: Alhambra, CA
Odometer reading: 166,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
It’s hard to remember a time when the default answer to “what’s a good car” wasn’t the Toyota Camry. Its predecessor, the rear-wheel-drive Corona, was a well-regarded car, but it didn’t have anywhere near the dominance in the mid-size sedan category that the Camry achieved very quickly. By the time this final-year first-generation Camry was built in 1986, everybody knew what it was, and everybody knew it was good. There was no station wagon variant of the first Camry, but this one has the next best thing – a hatchback.
Power for the Camry in these days came from a 2.0-liter four-cylinder making a little under 100 horsepower, which sounds pathetic now, but it was in line with other midsized sedans at the time. And the Camry came standard with two niceties that those others lacked at least one of: electronic fuel injection, and a four-speed overdrive transmission. You could get a five-speed manual too, of course, but most buyers opted for the automatic. This one runs and drives well, and has just had a bunch of recent work done, including a full tune-up, a new fuel pump, and a new exhaust.
The seller calls the interior “clean,” but I think they have a different definition of that word than I do. The upholstery is decent, except for a stain on the rear seat, but the steering column trim is missing, as are some bits and pieces of the driver’s door panel. Good luck finding those pieces anywhere; there’s no market for restoration parts for an ’86 Camry (yet), and even if you found one in a junkyard, odds are it wouldn’t be blue inside.
Outside, it’s mostly just tired-looking. A couple of the door bump strips are coming unglued, the black paint is peeling off some trim, and I don’t know where you’re going to find a replacement for that cracked turn signal lens. I mean, it’s not bad for an inexpensive beater, but I certainly wouldn’t call it a potential collector’s item like the seller does.
1997 Toyota Paseo Convertible – $3,400
Engine/drivetrain: 1.5-liter DOHC inline 4, five-speed manual, FWD
Location: Lone Tree, CO
Odometer reading: 186,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
The Toyota Paseo is the sort of car that simply doesn’t exist anymore, a sporty two-door based on an economy car. Once, they were everywhere: Sciroccos and Preludes and Storms and ZX2s offered a sporty alternative to their more workaday cousins. The Paseo was based on the humble Tercel, with a little more style, a little more power, and in this case, a whole lot more sunshine.
The Paseo is powered by a 1.5-liter twin-cam engine and a five-speed manual gearbox. This one has had quite a bit of work done recently, including a new oil pump and oil pan. I bet someone ran over something and punctured the pan. The seller says it runs well, but the oil light comes on at idle – which makes me wonder if the repairs were done correctly. I’d want to see receipts, and have an independent mechanic verify that the oil pressure is acceptable.
It’s a little fancier inside than a Tercel, but that’s not hard to do. The white gauge faces are a nice touch. I see what looks like a piece of duct tape on the seat, where the seat belt comes across, but other than that it’s clean. The seller says the air conditioning works too, and the top is in good shape.
It’s a little faded outside, but that’s not uncommon with red cars. You could probably bring it back with some buffing compound. But it’s straight, and it isn’t rusty. Honestly, I almost forgot there even was a convertible version of the Paseo until I saw this ad. It didn’t sell well, and this 1997 model was one of the last. I guess you could kind of consider it a collector’s item – but not a particularly desirable one.
Collectibility aside, these are both still decent, reliable cars, assuming a couple of things check out, and still capable of being driven daily. That’s not true of all old cars, as we all know. Maybe that’s the advantage of collectible Toyotas; the reliability and durability is baked right in. So which one would you call a classic?
I like the Paseo, but I’m having a hard time getting past the oil pressure issue. If it just needs a new sensor, why not fix it before selling the car? Who spends hundreds of dollars on repairs and won’t spend $20 to replace a sensor? I’m calling BS.
I still voted for the Toyota Walk, though. That Camry is awful. The ad is giving me “I know what I got” vibes, yet the seller does not, in fact, appear to know what he got. I could see a nice first-generation Camry having appeal to the right collector, but I doubt there will be much enthusiasm for a broken, dirty example like this. Also, one of the photographs appears to show the Camry broken down on the side of the highway. Huh.
I wish there was a both option! Both of these are fucking awesome 😀
But since you can only pick one, I voted for the Paseo due to being in better condition. The Camry has too many broken bits inside to get the vote if only one can get a vote.
Yeah, the Paseo is a sporty Tercel, which means all the reliability and economy of a 4-cylinder Toyota but with some sporty shit to make it fun 🙂
I do like that first-gen Camry tho. That one has a sunroof which is awesome. Too bad it doesn’t have the digital dash tho.
I was going Paseo, even though I’m not much of a convertible fan, until you said the oil light comes on regularly. Nope, nope and nope.
Guess I’m picking a Camry. – a statement I never thought I’d make.
(And looking at that column, do you still need to use a key?)
As much as I like the firstgen Camry hatchback as a period piece, the Paseo checks too many boxes for a cheap weekend fun car you’ll do more driving than wrenching on – convertible, manual and OBDII are a combo breaker.
Me voy a dar un Paseo hoy.
Pass me the Paseo! what a cute little car, the oil light is a bit concerning, could be the sender (was the problem on my Grand AM)
I voted Paseo. It’s pretty rare, but would still be kinda fun.
Did y’all know there’s an ever rarer version of the Paseo? A company called Solar Electric made an electric version called the Aesop back in the 90’s. It was… not great.
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-10-23-vw-733-story.html
I have come to realize that I am not a convertible guy, but I am a manual enthusiast, especially when it comes to cheap cars. I don’t want either car, but I would take the Paseo if it was cheaper, or the Camry with the Paseo’s transmission. Fine, I guess if I have to pick the Paseo, but only because it will be easier to resell.
This is my sentiment as well.
I had a weird like of the Paseo in my youth, mostly the later ones like this. It didn’t last far beyond ’97 outside the US so adding the convertible seems like a lot of trouble for such a short run.
My sister’s first car was a 97 Paseo in that gorgeous red. Hers was a hardtop. It was miserably underpowered, even for that tiny little car. But it was small and super fun. That would be my pick.
I picked the Paseo, I miss small, tossable cars like these. Reminds me of Honda’s Civic Del Sol
Here for the DelSol comment, exactly right. There’s a lady who works at our local Honda dealer who has the obligatory Kermit Green t-top model and parks it right out front with all the new cars. By far the oldest Honda I’ve ever seen at a Honda dealer. Probably good, free advertising for them!
I didn’t know Toyota did their own version of the Malibu Maxx. Don’t care, either.
I’m not super into either of these, but there’s a local guy who’s been trying to sell an identical Paseo convertible for 6 months – he’s asking $14,500 last time I checked.
I was going to pick the Paseo, but the whole oil-light-at-idle thing is a *bit* concerning.
voters conveniently ignoring that the bearings are probably cooked
I miss the whimsical days when economy cars could be bought as convertibles. This Paseo is practically a kei car that your DMV can’t try to take from you. It gets my vote today.
I’m usually a champion of tired, old, fogotten, and neglected cars that just plain work but looking at that Camry makes me exhausted. I’m sure it will probably run til the end of time but it screams to me that it just wants to be put out of its misery. Especially when you can visually see the massive improvements a decade made.
Both?
Daily drive? Camry
Weekend drive? Paseo
That Paseo is across town from me. My wife would KILL me…but damn it might be worth it. Slow car fast kinda thing. It’s not a canyon carver by any stretch but I bet that thing would be great out in the mountains where the speed limit rarely gets over 45 on most of the 2 lane twisties.
Do it. Tell your wife that it was our idea and we bullied you into it.
‘A big boy did it, and ran away’
Every time I’d look at the Camry it would just remind me that what I really want is a Cressida or a Maxima from the same era but every time I’d look at the Paseo it would take me straight back to the good ol 90’s. Paseo for me.
You can’t go wrong either way.
I disagree, you go wrong either way.
If I wanted an 80’s liftback Toyota it would certainly be a Celica over this ugly thing. Preferably the Supra Variety, but a GT-S is fine too. Paseo for the win, hopefully there are still plenty of old Tercels out there to swap motors with. That 5E is past the OBD1 mark too, so it should be pretty easy to work with still.
That’s what I was thinking with my vote. But either car is a bog slow driving appliance.
Camry: I might become The Invisible Man, but I’ll be The Invisible Man with a hatchback!
Never saw a Paseo convertible before and this one looks decent enough. 5 speed made the decision easier. If I’m buying an old Camry I’m holding out for a wagon.
Picking the Camry because I actually owned a 86, though it was the standard sedan. Comfortable but the timing went and I had no money to fix it then, so it became disposable. Unfortunately happened to a lot of my cars early on, Camry didn’t deserve that. Replaced with a 91 Plymouth Voyager which was burgundy everywhere, including the crushed whatever fabric seats. Would have made more sense to fix the Camry than buy that POS, but young parent + not a lot of money + need a car NOW meant Voyager.
Paseo would be fun, but the Camry has a hatch.
I’m gonna betray my lack of knowledge of cars and admit I had no idea they made a Paseo convertible! This thing is adorable and gets my vote for the day
I owned a Paseo for 9 years and didn’t know they made a convertible, so don’t feel bad. My Paseo was a great car by the current metric of cars today- it got me to places without ever breaking down and only required the smallest amount of maintenance that could be largely ignored until it became an absolute necessity. Boring in nearly every regard, but it was never going to die. I gave it to brother after 190k miles, he passed it on a few years later, and it’s probably still living a boring life somewhere out there in the world, unable to ever truly die, yet never having really lived