2016 Toyota Corolla S – All Photos by Randy Stern
Fifty years ago, Toyota wondered whether their Corolla would hit the right note with their intended customers. It had a lot of potential – it was small enough for the world, offering efficiency with its peppy engine, provided comfort for all who occupy the car and it was built to the company’s highest standards.
Over the past half-century, Toyota sold 43 million Corollas worldwide. This volume was sold across all eleven generations – each one with a different story to tell. And, for the sake of repeating myself, there were plenty of stories they to tell!
While the E10 started it all, the E20 put the Corolla on the map. The E30 expanded the breed with the new Coupe and Liftback, adding a new chapter to the Corolla story. I remember the Liftback being the most compelling Corolla of its time. They were quite fun to drive with its lower height and coupe-like driving position. That would be the first Corolla I ever drove.
The E80 platform put the normal Corollas onto a new front-drive platform, it was the rear-drive AE86 that took on a life of its own. They would introduce us to Toyota’s new 16-valve, dual overhead camshaft engine – the 4A-GE. The AE86 would become a hero to many enthusiasts in the drift scene. The E80 generation also spawned one of my favorite cars of all time – the AE832 3-door hatchback. That body, combined with the 4A-GE, would envelop into Toyota’s only hot hatch contender for this country – the Corolla FX16 GT-S. I loved that generation!
While Toyota sold millions of Corollas with subsequent front-drive generations, my engagement with car withered away. Continue reading
Commentary: The Immediate Social and Industrial Impact of a 238-Mile Range EV
2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV – Photo courtesy of General Motors
General Motors is defining what a practical EV looks like.
Electric cars might not be what will make a difference to meet the looming Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards for 2025. The future will see greater and greater market penetration of electric cars. Tesla has been a force of chaos in the automotive world, and it is not clear if it will ultimately be a force of good or evil. Chevrolet and its new Bolt EV is the culmination of a large automaker taking electric cars seriously, and, with 238 miles of range, they have a winner of their hands.
Electric cars have mostly been relegated to the realm of elite luxury cars and strangely designed urban runabouts that appeal to a small market. The 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV is what an electric vehicle looks like when the combined muscle of a massive, mature multinational corporation decides to create an electric vehicle that can have mass appeal.
Many outlets are quick to draw a comparison between the Bolt EV and the 2017 Tesla Model 3. While both of these cars are positioned as mass-market vehicles, but unlike the boundary-pushing Tesla, the Bolt EV has its rubber clad feet in the world of today and the world of tomorrow. This is why there doesn’t seem to be a reason to compare the two. It will be Bolt EV, not the Model 3, that will define what the EV market will look like in the next fifteen to twenty years.
Continue reading →