Continuing with another R&T issue and its Ads- and about to enter the Eighties.
once you turned the cover, you were faced with several pages of the new-for-1980 Toyota Corolla:
How many “Limited” editions were there?
Do you know the company still exists? you could still get a lashious cover like that for your car.
Pretty, ain’t it?
Note the TWA logo inside the suitcase. They’re gone also- times have changed indeed.
I think this maybe is the first AMC ad we’ve seen in our posts.
Anyone wants to call and see about the Cunningham Hurst/Olds?
That’s it for now, more articles as usual during the remainder of the week.
Wasting my time waiting for my next appointment with a client I couldn`t resist to google the Briggs Cunningham Hurst Oldsmobile to check out whether it might still be with us.
I actually found it!
A dealership called “Vetteculture” has it for sale on their website, it can be yours for 100.000,00 $.
Love the Porsche Boutique ad, and I thought Ferrari were whores in recent times with their non car merchandise! Porsche Bikini lol
I remember those laser 917s too, and not in a positive way. As a kid I remember going to flea markets especially swap meets with my parents in the 90s and seeing a couple of them specifically on occasion, either in someone’s booth or in the parking lot on a trailer, always incomplete, totally disproportionate, with faded (spray?)paint finishes. eThose among many others I remember seeing hocked in that time period really ingrained my thoughts on kit cars. I think one was in one of the Herbie movies too
I like the Porsche wallet/keychain comb. Combs were a wise investment in 1980.
> Note the TWA logo inside the suitcase. They’re gone also- times have changed indeed.
Woah, there was a suitcase in that ad? I didn’t notice until you pointed it out.
I was amused by the “Turbo Stallion” ad. It appeared to be just a turnkey version of an AC Cobra replica. However, I found that these were actually longer and wider than an original Cobra, with quite a bit of reengineering.
http://www.kellisonstallion.com/
From the site:
Stallion: Jim Kellison shut down his company in 1970, but soon missed the car business. In 1976, he introduced his own version of the Cobra replica, built by his new company, Eagle American Racing (later Red Stallion Ltd.). The Stallion was longer and wider than an original Cobra, and had a very sturdy frame to take the power and weight of a big 429ci Ford engine. The front suspension was based on Ford parts, as was the 9-inch Ford live axle in back. There were three brake options, with one being racing discs all around. The body was subtly massaged, with a “droop” nose, egg-crate grille, and doorbars for more protection. They were sold in kit and turnkey form, with new or rebuilt parts. Eagle built a reported 117 before Kellison sold out to his partner in 1980. Amazingly, Eagle also sold Stallion bodies to fit on uncut VW floorpans. Stallions (with V-8 engines) continued to be built in Texas and California by other companies. West Coast Cobra still sells a kit very similar to the old Stallion.
The E70 Corolla was such a clean design. That liftback would be a nice one to have today–I’m sure there are still some about, I’ve seen coupes and sedans recently, but it’s been a while since I’ve seen a liftback.
Also, that Mirada. Want. Always did love those.
I want a Mirada (or same gen Cordoba..) too!!! And they’re less complex than equiv. Imperial! Readily available M body components make these “doable” minor collector cars.
Notice that the ad for the Mirada lists “Working Gauges” as a standard feature. Quality so bad that you had to advertise that all of your installed gauges actually work?
Scirocco 5-spd! on the cover—one of my dream cars in the late 70s!
I liked the Fiesta, “new” Civic, and Rabbit too!
RX-7 was a winner!
I didn’t see the 79 Mustang Turbo, or 302,but I like those too!
Life as a pre-driving license teen….
1980, Last model year for US spec Fiestas, until 2011!
And look at all the different 2 door Corollas available then and the Tercel.
A 1980 Fiesta was my first new car. The ones I cross shopped are also here, Civic and Rabbit.
Growing up in the Midwest, I wasn’t aware of a lot of those cars even being available in the US. I don’t know if I have ever seen a Fiat or Peugeot or Alfa Romeo in the flesh, and Japanese cars in that era were rare.
I like that Mirada. Looking at all the ads it’s pretty apparent to me the domestics weren’t all wrong at the time. From a looks and interior comfort perspective it’s the most desirable car of any of them IMO. I suppose that’s the issue though. You can’t have all that plus great engineering at a competitive price, something had to give.
But what about the 1,200 HP, 12-wheel Italian Luxury Car??
It was an article about this crazy car an Italian dreamed up. Might be interesting but had no place on CC. if you’d like to search the internet, the car was called: Cyclops X11…
I looked for evidence of people collecting the collectible 1979 Alfa Romeo Sprint Veloce Mille Miglia. There was one on a salvage website a couple years ago that asked for offers over $100. The only other evidence of a survivor I found was one that was on the market seven years ago for $3,500. It was far from original, unfortunately. It seems like most of them became parts cars for people that wanted Ronal wheels and spoilers.
That Alfa is the only car in these ads that evokes an emotional response in me today. What a beauty!
Hey hey, that’s pretty close to the Mirada Dad had.
I had a yellow Corolla that model but in four door weak chested 3k engine 4 speed box, it had a rattling 18T in it when I got it but since it was illegal there was no point in repairing that one, good little bomb for a go to work car, Ultimate car a Fiat 131 yeah nar, I’d rather have the Alfa or the Peugeot diesel.
Love the brava and the mirada!! My baby sitter had a brava and I always loved it!! Can you imagine bragging about a 2 year power train warranty today??!!
Brings back memories when there were true differences between the various models of the Toyota Corolla (bodystyles, powertrains, FWD vs RWD…). Now the only choice are various shades of gray for both the interior and exterior…..
Wait,What??? There are VARIOUS shade of gray available???
Again, a neat trip back in time. I remember most all of these ads. Neighbors had a 504 diesel wagon. It gave a new definition of slow, but, hey, what utility! My Pop looked closely at a Brava. He’d had a 124 Spider a number of years before and loved the way the Italians could make a car handle. Alas, he also remembered the stereotypical lack of reliability of, and difficulty of finding parts for, the 124 and looked elsewhere.
Weren’t 1980 Corollas the ones that came with 4 round headlights?
My memory is a bit fuzzy, but I think the ’80 Corolla was a “facelift” of a model introduced in 1978. The 78 and 79 had the quad round headlights, the facelift cars had dual rectangular headlights.
I really wanted one of these Corollas when they were new, but I was still prejudiced against Japanese cars….and would stay that way until 1989. So in 1980 I went to a “factory sale” lower Bay Area dealers were having at the soon to be NUMMI factory in Fremont, California. I bought a 1980 Fiesta, instead of a Corolla.
There is/was an ad on my local Craigslist recently for one of those 1980 Corolla liftbacks. Ad said it was “restored”, but it had red vintage “mag” wheels and was painted a non-stock blue color. Price SEEMED decent, though.
It takes A LOT of looking, but these Corollas still turn up….every 8 or 9 months.
You are thinking of the Celica, which was redesigned for ’78 and refreshed for ’80. The Corolla was redesigned for the 1980 model year, and the Tercel was introduced as a submodel at the same time. Later of course, the “Corolla” prefix was dropped from the Tercel’s model name.
One of my cousins traded in her 1972 Dart for a 1980 Corolla liftback. It was a revelation for her, and she adored the car. Like so many people, once she got hooked on the Toyota she drove nothing but imported cars ever after.
Toyota was really on there game in 1980, and the range of models was impressive. Hers had the brown striped seats just like the one in the ad, though the car’s exterior was a light brown metallic. They definitely had a broad color palette back then too.