why does the ae series corolla the underdog?

[boroEF]

people dont know about these cars..it's only recently that the ae86 became a fad here in north america.....and the ae92...no one knows diddly squat about those.

i just met up with my uncle today...he's a professional race car driver and has participated in lemans...i drove around with him in the passenger seat so he could give me pointers. anyhow, after driving he was quite impressed about the car...so i popped the hood....

he was surprised to find a 4age....especially a non-tvis one here in north america(he's from HK). not only that, but he pissed his pants when he found out that the car had oil cooler from factory...and he found the strut bar surprising as well.... wtf...no one knows what an ae92 is?

[boroEF]

edit: i just recalled that they never got the gt-apex in HK

[project trueno]

no i think they did, but if you ordered the GT-APEX (4age) there was no warranty, whereas the "SR5" model (4af/4afe) is covered

so many many many AE92s in HK are "SR5"s, and thats why 4AGE AE86/AE92 are also pretty rare in HK

[boroEF]

Originally posted by project trueno
no i think they did, but if you ordered the GT-APEX (4age) there was no warranty, whereas the "SR5" model (4af/4afe) is covered

so many many many AE92s in HK are "SR5"s, and thats why 4AGE AE86/AE92 are also pretty rare in HK

oh i guess that kidna makes sense.....and he thought my car was rwd when he first looked at it must'a thought it was an '86.

anyhoo, some so called "car nuts" dont even know much about these cars..for example: my father. he's been into cars ever since he was young...he's nuts about them, used to work on them and even owned a body shop. he has subscribed to car and driver and automobile magazine since the 70's!!! and yet he doesnt know diddly squat about these cars

[ekvtec]

In HK (1988-1991)they use to have a 2 door hatchback named Corolla GTI, has 4 age (redtop) and pumps out 140 horse. In those days we name this car as "Giant killer" cos she can outbeat almost all of cars on the road..... even B16A Vtec

[wunderboy]

Well here in NA, the import scean has only gotten big in the last 6-8 years. 15 years ago, none of these "car-guys" gave a torque wrench about Japanese/European cars. Maybe European cars a bit, but only higher end Euros. Today, a lot of people know about Honda's, Supras, RX7's, etc... most manufacturers higher end releases, and every Honda. Honda has been the largest transition car for all new to Import-fans. I myself had an 87 prelude as my first import, after loving bigblock chevy's in my pre-driving years.
I guess to answer your question, this car (corolla) has yet to reach the status of the civic in the mojority's eye, It could one day become just as popular as its rival the 2nd/3rd gen civic, except there is not as many of them around and on the road. Guess the new question is... do you really want it to be?

[brink]

Yeah, new mechanic here at work drives one and when I complimented him on his car's badassness he was surprised. He said he doesn't get comments about his car very often cause people just don't know about it. Heh, that may change once he gets this gz all worked out and starts racing again. He's got a line on one originally from japan, but he's got to check it out first to see if it's legit. His main problem right now though is finding decently priced suspension bushings. Apparently nobody sells them at less than an arm and a leg. Again, cause no one knows about or supports the car.

[gzus13]

You're right - no one knows about these cars. Before I found my hachi, I went looking in used car lots, hoping I would get lucky. I went to the local Toyota dealership to browse the lot. This salesman comes up to me and says asks if he can help.
Salesman: "You guys looking for anything special?"
Me: "Yeah, I'm looking for a Corolla GT-S."
Salesman: "I've never heard of that kind of car, are you sure that's the right name?"
Me: "Yeah, I'm sure. They stopped making them in the early '90s. That's probably why you've never heard of them."

So even the guys at the Toyota dealerships haven't heard of these cars. That's why they're so special and their value is only going up.

[Xenon]

Originally posted by project trueno
no i think they did, but if you ordered the GT-APEX (4age) there was no warranty, whereas the "SR5" model (4af/4afe) is covered

so many many many AE92s in HK are "SR5"s, and thats why 4AGE AE86/AE92 are also pretty rare in HK

That would explain why all the AE92's I saw in Jordan so far are all 4AF engines!

[cosmicbutthairs]

Originally posted by wunderboy
I myself had an 87 prelude as my first import, after loving bigblock chevy's in my pre-driving years.

I had an 87 Lude too! 2.0 Si!
What a piece of shit!