Pursuing art is about the only thing a Tercel could successfully chase. Inspired by a fun Audi trick we covered back in November, a '96 Tercel was covered in 3M Painter's tape prior to departing Chico, CA with Seattle as their destination. Much alcohol was consumed by all at the signing party, where Sharpies were employed to offer some personality to the blank blue canvas. Long story short, it didn't make it all the way - the little Tercel succumbed to low oil pressure in the Olympia area. At first, it was acting like worn main bearings, and frequent stops would return oil pressure, but the little mill could hold out no longer and ultimately threw a rod. There is a happy ending, though. After hanging out in Seattle for spring break, the ride home turned out to be a Mazda 6 with V6 underhood. That totally kicks the ass of driving a Tercel any distance.
Thanks for the tip, Sky!
[Source: tehnerdery]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Cheezedog @ Mar 30th 2007 11:35AM
Did it ever really live?
porker @ Mar 30th 2007 11:45AM
Sounds like a typical toyota- BLOWN ENGINE!
Carlos @ Mar 30th 2007 1:00PM
Ah. I once had a Tercel. I liked it; it had noticeably better build quality than its other almost equally sad competitors (like no visible signs of screws in the door panels), manual steering (taught me to enjoy turning hard), and my first manual transmission. Except the Civic CX, which was better in every way. But it was a pleasure to drive compared to say, the base Sentra E of the time.
But Tercel engines were all underdesigned, and apart from being weak, they eventually started burning oil earlier than other cars would. They'll all die and be forgotten, except the few with JDM 1.2L turbo engine swaps.
Peter @ Mar 30th 2007 1:04PM
Why so much hate for the Tercel? It's not any better or worse than a Civic...
Mark Nelson @ Mar 30th 2007 2:09PM
It's not about the car people, who cares what car. It's about our freedom to hit the open road. I'd take a TR6 and enjoy every repair along the way
Howard Kerr @ Mar 30th 2007 2:34PM
Two comments:
Who ever thought the words Tercel and Art would ever appear in one sentence?
"...not any better or worse than a Civic."
You are joking? The Tercel is the ultimate piece of crap from of all folks...Toyota. The only thing that redeems Tercel as being THE worst Toyota sold in America? The equally bad Echo.
Peter @ Mar 30th 2007 3:12PM
Mark is right, and that's my point... The website there is about the Great American Roadtrip, not about the Tercel. Why the poster decided to take jabs at the car is beyond me?
Bryan @ Mar 30th 2007 3:45PM
One word, two syllables. Turd-cel.