images by Tim Finn
It first appeared in a country in the Far East. Nobody anticipated that it would find its way to America. We knew better than to let such a thing come unto our sacred soil. There had been a couple of earlier attempts to infiltrate us from that same source, but they were quickly vanquished. Yes, that nasty little European bug had been very contagious and had made serious inroads, but it wasn’t seen as a national existential threat. It was just too weak for that, although certainly some died from its unpredictable behavior. And we built defenses against it, although of rather dubious effectiveness.
But sure enough, a few of these novel Corona 1.9s found their way into California. And then into Washington and Oregon too. They came unsuspected, stowed away on ships. Why were there not better controls against such an invasive thing? Didn’t those who had the most to lose realize what a threat the Corona 1.9 was? Did they really think it was just going to be an isolated few, as in the past? Couldn’t they see that this latest Asian mutation was profoundly more compelling and contagious? Or were they just incompetent, or deluding themselves?
And why did these infestations always start on the West Coast? Reduced resistance due to too much sunshine or orange juice? The West Coast was already infected by so many other foreign bugs and odd behavior, so presumably it was some inherent deficiency of the population there. And now they were falling like flies for this Corona 1.9.
But those in charge of such things assured us that would never happen to the rest of us. We have the greatest defenses in the world against the Corona! They are very big, and very powerful, and utterly irresistible! That nasty little Corona 1.9 has no chance against them. And as long as Americans believe in them and keep buying them, all will be fine and life will be as it ever was. Better buy two, or even three! You can’t be too safe. And we’ll throw in some free clear plastic seat covers for additional protection!
But despite all of the efforts to contain it, the Corona 1.9’s progress was unstoppable. Before long, it started popping up in some of the big cities on the East Coast. Even in Washington D.C., to the great embarrassment of the government and president, who had promised that our economy and jobs and well-being would not be affected by these kind of foreign threats.
Things got ugly when the Corona 1.9 finally appeared in the Midwest. Folks who succumbed were shunned (and worse), especially in the cities of the Upper Midwest like Detroit. They saw the Corona 1.9 as an existential threat.
And not without reason; the Corona 1.9 and its many subsequent mutations seemed quite literally unstoppable. Its progress was temporarily slowed due to a major direct government intervention, so that our resistance could be built up. But that ended up backfiring, as it just stimulated the evolution of ever more contagious strains. And the strains started to reproduce right in our own land. Now it wasn’t just an alien anymore.
Yes, there was collateral damage and there were deaths, some quite notable. And a lot of panic and finger-pointing. In the end, it was futile even trying to resist, and we eventually just learned to live with it, and accepted it as part of life. The Corona 1.9 and its mutations came to be seen as American as apple pie. Of course some Americans held out longer than others, and some are still resistant, thanks to their stoic nature or inherent immunity to such things.
Yes, some Americans had bad experiences with the Corona 1.9. But the overwhelming majority that succumbed to the contagion got over the initial adjustment (and some possible discomfort) and went on with their lives. And many even willingly let themselves be re-exposed, numerous times even.
Sure, nostalgia for that time before the Corona 1.9 arrived ran strong, and there was much to be said for how cushy and comfortable things were then in that more innocent time. But things never stay the same, nothing is guaranteed, and nobody was entitled to a world without the Corona 1.9, despite the wishful thinking, posturing and false assurances. Some things are just unstoppable. It wasn’t even quite as ugly as it was first made out to be, and people just got used to it.
A novel approach.
But despite the hysteria, the Corona never went truly viral. The Camry did.
In my hometown, the Coronas existed but Corollas were ubiquitous from the mid ’70s on. While Coronas and the tiny early Corollas were both represented in graduate student parking lots, Corollas were one of the most common cars from as soon as they grew big enough to compete with Chevettes and Sunbirds. The Camry may have been Toyota’s first number one best-seller, but it didn’t seem like a surprise for someone who grew up in a college town surrounded by Corollas, Hiluxes and Celicas. Little Datsuns were ubiquitous during the malaise years too.
Well, of course, since all viruses undergo constant mutation from year to year requiring constant updates of your vaccine. Clearly one needed to do more than wash their hands free of it as it was viable for a long time out in the open. You know door knobs, parking lots and so forth…
The early Coronas didn’t have a great reputation for reliability. That had to wait until after 1975, when Toyota came out with the 20R engine. They also had a reputation for sluggishness and disappointing fuel economy. But they were known to be solid and durable, the upside of all that performance-draining weight.
When Toyota was first coming into my consciousness at the close of the 60s, my main impression was of how nerdy they looked. One time I saw what looked like a FOTB Japanese family in an early Corona and their car complemented their nerdy look perfectly. That incident burned the stereotype into my mind for a few years,
And the domestic leadership has their head in the sand while lining their personal parachutes to the detriment of those they are supposedly leading.
I remember well a road test of a Corona in “Car Life” in late 1965, and the editors were really impressed with it, making a lot of glowing comments. I wished I had kept that issue, unfortunately it got pitched. The domestic auto manufactures never took the Japanese threat seriously until it was too late.
Excellent Paul!
When the virus first hit my home town it was in the form of the weaker Corolla mutation, and no one took it seriously. I remember a conversation with my girlfriend of the day and her older brother who was working his way through college at a distribution center. He summed up his opinion of ‘the virus’ thusly:
“Those little things use exactly the same size tires as my forklift….”
Who can worry about something so small and insignificant as a virus?
Seriously fun read! (on behalf of us who also write posts here on CC…”we’re not worthy, we’re not worthy…”)
If the Corona opened the door to Japanese contagions, it was the “Corolla virus” that started doing widespread damage. This was then surpassed by the Camry epidemic. Conditions were also exacerbated by Accord and Civic diseases, and the America that emerged was forever changed.
These were very popular in western Montana in the late 1960s, but then there also a lot of Datsun 410s and 411s at that same period of time. As a child, I remember visiting Butte, Montana and seeing them lined up, shiny and new, at Knievel Imports (run by Evel Knievel’s grandfather). When the Corolla came along 1968 or so, most people thought it was too small. The Corolla got off to a slow start but sales gradually went up and up as both it, and the Corona grew larger over the years.
Soon we would all discover that life with the disease was better than life without.
It turned out not to be a virus but a probiotic.
“Yes, there was collateral damage and there were deaths, some quite notable.”
I seem to recall that these deaths were averted at the last minute by a costly experimental procedure. It called for a surgery called a debtectomy. One patient received follow up infusions of ipocapitalus, while the other looked to trials of an untried treatment that was being developed by Italian researchers. The details are covered in Chapter 13 of the 2010 edition of The Merck Manual.
Probably not in my copy from 1981 and which I had forgotten all about till you mentioned it here.
Then followed the Zombie Apocalypse, when hordes of undead brands (AMC, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Plymouth, Mercury) roamed the land until market forces hunted them down.
In Australia, Holden is the latest victim of the virus.
Excellent read ripped from today’s headlines!
This virus didn’t disappear as soon as the weather started to get warmer and it “mutated” into a Mark II before both eventually disappeared after a decade or two.
Unfortunately, there never was a vaccine against this Corona.
Rumor has it that Corona beer prevents Coronavirus. I’ll let you know if it works.
The reason why imports were so popular in the West Coast was the relative lack of rust.
American cars might have had their shortcomings, but lack of rust resistance certainly wasn’t one of them.
…unless you had a Vega, which, unfortunately, we did back in the day.
Or a Ford, or a Chevy truck, or a colonade, or a Volare/Aspen, or a Monza, or… Some Japanese, Italian and German cars were quick to rust, but my grand parents’ last GM car was a 1969 Chevrolet Nova that rusted beyond use in five years. It had so few miles that a neighbor actually welded it all back together in 1974.
Japanese cars hit California first because it is on the Pacific rim and many Californians…had an open mind about imported cars. They probably also associated their smog issues with big American cars of the post-war period.
Indeed, application of large amounts of sodium chloride to the roads was effective against the Corona but caused immense collateral damage.
Volare…oh…ohhh…..Volare, oh, oh, oh, oh…..
Sing it Dean…
Let’s not forget it was the Land Cruiser that creaked that door open just enough to allow the Corona to come crashing in.
^This. Our local Toyota dealership in Ames is the oldest in the state. They sold Land Cruisers (and other brands) well before carrying the complete Toyota line
If only we had stayed awake and listened to Kevin McCarthy as he ran down that California highway, shouting “You’re next! You’re next.” But our families say we are much better now.
Well Paul had a good day. I’m just gonna go wash my hands, again.
Loved this from start to finish. Cleverly written, and I still think these are one of the best-looking Toyotas of all time. They’re memorable, while most other Toyotas of this era get blurred together with their contemporary rivals in my mind.
I wonder* if the Corona might have been the first car (the first one intended for the mass market, I mean, perhaps excluding one or two near-zero-production Italian exotics—to be sold in America with turn signal repeaters.
*because of course I do
What it lacked in style, it certainly made up for in quality. And as it’s turned out, those lines have worn well to these eyes.
I had one of these in the late-70s for a few months before selling it to a friend. One odd thing about is that it had what looked like a standard ungrounded 110v receptacle in the glovebox. For the up and coming Japanese junior executive’s razor? Turns out it was for a factory12v trouble light:
Agree totally with the thematic concept of this article. Little foreign cars were definitely a virus that made American cars sick. Ever since I was a teen in the late 70s, I have always resented that they killed all the cars I loved, slowly, like an inexorable virus. Now I am approaching 60, and am resisting the virus in the only way left…insisting on driving Town Cars. 🙂
Too bad the American car companies didn’t act on what they knew, they certainly were aware of the future.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7tzuZQ24TE&ved=2ahUKEwipxIz66f_nAhUPFzQIHesqChEQjjgwC3oECAUQAQ&usg=AOvVaw0P0ce6tCbyEdRYwBHjzZdZ
Can’t edit, wanted to point out all the Vegas shown being built, more then a little ironic.
The Vega vaccine was just another fungus among us, it was a disaster. Nobody knew how hard doing things that make sense was. Needs to be investigated, and then the investigators need to be investigated. Fixing things is hard, nobody knew!