It’s not always easy to tell the bigger 20-year-old Toyota and Nissan saloons apart. There were so many variations on the same theme – Laurel, Cedric, Gloria, Crown, Mark II, Skyline, Cresta… Apart from the Skyline, which does have its own identity, they’re all pretty interchangeable. Just like this Chaser – the sporty version of the Toyota Mark II / Cresta platform. Nice machine, but what makes it stand out?
Nothing, really. If you wanted to stand out from that crowd, you were either a Skyline or you went FWD or AWD (think Mitsubishi Diamante or Subaru). The point of having 10 different nameplates for four platforms was all about distribution channels. But that kind of ate into the advertising budget and old loyalties to particular names faded away with time, so most of these old names were retired. It’s not dissimilar to the wave of marque deaths that took place in the US around the same time, only the JDM culls did away with long-running model names, as opposed to ancient (and not-so-ancient) marques. It hurt a bit less, but it still stung a bit.
Our Chaser here is the last of its lineage. Just like its Mark II and Cresta stablemates, it appeared in September 1996 as a “hardtop sedan” (a pillared saloon with frameless windows) and kept the paraphernalia of its ancestors since times immemorial – 6-cyl. engine, RWD, automatic gearbox, tons of gadgets, seat doilies and mouse velour galore.
The engines came in three flavours: 2.0, 2.5 and 3.0 litres. We are thus presented with the Goldilocks model, the 2492cc 24-valve DOHC straight-6, which is turbocharged and provides an adequate 197hp via a 4-speed automatic (a 5-speed manual was available, but I doubt many cars were fitted with it).
The six generations of Chaser (1977-2001)
After the customary mid-life facelift, which occurred in 1998, the Chaser soldiered on until August 2001, when Toyota decided to extinguish it, along with the Cresta. The Chaser name had thus lived for about 25 years and six generations – not bad for a gussied-up Mark II, which was never offered in any other body variant than the four-door saloon.
These cars are not yet rare in 2020 Japanese traffic, but are getting somewhat less common. I imagine that, as their owners eventually die out or are forced to quit driving (older folks are regularly tested for their aptitude to drive in this country, unlike in many others), in a few years’ time, encountering a Chaser will be something of an event. Kind of like Oldsmobiles will be pretty soon, too, I imagine.
Now that the flurry of the early 21st Century newbies (Progrès, Verossa, Aristo, etc.) have died out and that the Toyota Mark X has ceased production (since last December), the last remaining link to the Corona Mark II family tree has gone, leaving the Crown as the last traditional RWD saloon on the market for the common folk. Who knows how long that’ll last. In the meantime, I’m going to try and capture as many of these old-style JDM chariots as I can for posterity, just as my CCollaborators across the Pacific are doing with Olds, Mercuries and Plymouths.
Related post:
Curbside Cool: Toyota Chaser – Drift Version, by Thomas Kreutzer
To my eyes it looks like the ’90s Acura. I’m salivating at the depth of that trunk lid and beautiful velour seats.
In the North American Markets, the Chaser would have been also be the Corona (no pun intended) Mark II, Mark II and lastly the Cressida. The current Avalon is a “spiritual” successor to those lineage.
In regard to the seat doilies, is that something that one would have multiple sets of and wash periodically, like bed sheets? Or are they generally lifetime items (such as the seats themselves) or perhaps replaced every year or whatever? Your post made me realize that they may well be factory items with design options etc and there may even be thriving aftermarket for them.
And lastly, are the pretty much specific to Japanese makes only or would/could for example our own Jim Brophy have a set in his Volvo?
We had those doilies in our Crown Comfort and we washed them about 4-5 times a year. I’m sure some folks here wash them more often (e.g. taxis) and others probably never do. They’re surprisingly easy to take off and zip back on, and pretty durable too. No need for a separate set: they dry pretty quickly, being composed mostly of holes.
I’ll let Jim B answer your Volvo question, but AFAIK, only Japanese cars (of a certain size) have these, and it seems they’re less popular now than they were even a decade ago. But I haven’t been here long, so maybe Jim B has better insights into this subject.
Sorry a little late here. Much like the Chaser, I think the white lace “hafu seats” (half seat cover) are also slowly disappearing. I can remember in the 80’s and 90’s almost every car here had them – even Civcis and Corollas. Younger folks I’ve talked to said they find them passe and “old school”…
I had a set in all the Crowns I owned and the Mark II but none in the Volvo – didn’t seem to quite fit with the Scandinavian vibe…:-)
But if I do go the Crown route again later this year, I’ll definitely throw in a set. Jim.
The doilies were once quite common on Korean cars as well. Not sure if that is still the case.
Gone? rare?, dont be daft, they emigrated and seem quite happy in New Zealand’s traffic stream where these larger RWD Toyotas are quite popular along with their Nissan competition, they seem fairly well made in the usual Japanese style, at some point in time the Japanese learned how to make paint stick to every part and crevice of their cars making it difficult for rust to get a toe hold unless salt is being used something the Australians never figured out so these large ex JDM RWD sedans will be around for some time to come, some came with diesel engines for a while Ive seen them for sale with the 2.4/2.8 from the Hi lux range featured.
This particular Chaser is the luxury Avante trim, and as such runs Toyota’s 1JZ-FSE direct injection inline six (no turbo). The only way to get the 276 hp 1JZ-GTE (or the manual) was to specifically choose the Tourer V model. Those, along with the identically named trims of the Cresta and Mark II, are wickedly fast and unfortunately rare.