My Dad always mentioned how he drove his 1982 Toyota Cressida to the junkyard when he deemed it was “time.” It makes me sad sometimes as if he had waited, I would have had an opportunity of keeping it as a project car with significant sentiment attached to it. That being said, it was in some “fender benders” and the engine was nearing 15-20 years in age, so I can’t blame him.
I remember the many road trips where I sat in the center backseat between my two older brothers, sometimes sitting directly behind the center console, while Dad manned the helm. I remember the car running through the family until I got my driver’s license and the privilege to drive it to and from my first job. I remember the fateful night after work when I was pulled over for the first time in this car, promptly opening the door for a friendly chat with the officer. I am pretty sure he may have pulled a gun at me for safety so I quickly backed out of that move!
I remember replacing the door speakers with my Dad and brother on multiple occasions. I had 5.25 inch speakers on the doors and in the rear windows. I had Pioneer speakers on one occasion and Boston Acoustics in another… 2-way speakers at minimum. I remember loading the now antiquated trunk-mounted cd changer with my favorite discs of the time.
I remember making a left turn on a state road in wet weather and oversteering… potentially to the point of facing oncoming traffic. I ended up correcting myself without issue. I remember taking the highway and the steering wheel shaking at around 70-80 MPH. I guess it needed a balance or suspension work?
I only drove the car for maybe 2-4 years but it was during formative years of my life. So let’s get into what it was exactly.
The Toyota Cressida was the predecessor to the Lexus ES, Toyota’s luxury sedan model. I am not 100% sure, but I am confident the engine was a 5M-E, a SOHC 2.8L inline six-cylinder motor cranking out 116 ponies. For the sake of comparison, the DOHC 5M-GE motor released in following Cressida models was shared with the Supra sports model, although this SOHC motor was not.
The 5M-E motor had some power, particularly in cooler weather. I did lose traction with this motor on many occasions, noting that traction control wasn’t really a thing back in 1982. The speedometer tops out at 85 MPH. The car simply was not built for speed–it was built for comfort.
Today, the vehicle is unpopular, simply put. The AE86 (Corolla GTS) from around the same time frame is wildly popular (due to anime/manga Initial D). Personally, I believe the Cressida is being slept on. Sure, the engine is much less exciting, but I still believe this vehicle would make a great first project to learn the innerworkings of the combustion engine. However, the lack of aftermarket support is concerning.
The vehicle is actively being leveraged in the creative JDM Bosozoku market, where obnoxious spoilers and questionably routed exhausts are installed, so I guess there’s that?