Automotive News, Media & Press - MR2, Celica, go the way of the F-Body

Well I've never been a huge fan of the Celica, lord knows it's turned into a Ricemobile, but I always thought the MR2 was a neat car in an ugly duckling sort of way. Heck, mid engine convertible with SMG...pretty nifty.

From: AutoWeek.com (http://www.autoweek.com/cat_content.mv?port_code=autoweek&cat_code=carnews&loc_code=index&content_code=07152510=)
(08:30 July 19, 2004)
Toyota will drop Celica, MR2 Spyder in U.S. after 2005

By MARK RECHTIN | Automotive News

http://www.autoweek.com/weekart/2004/0726/toyotamr2.jpg
LOS ANGELES -- Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc. will delete two models that were part of its strategy to lure young buyers to the brand.

After 2005, Toyota no longer will sell the Celica coupe or MR2 Spyder convertible in America, Toyota said.

The MR2 Spyder and redesigned Celica arrived in spring 2000 as part of the launch of Toyota's so-called Genesis project, a precursor to the Scion youth brand. But coupe and convertible buyers are traditionally fickle, and the Toyota nameplates stumbled.

Celica's U.S. sales hit 52,406 units in 2000, but dropped sharply to just 14,856 last year. Sales from January through June fell 33.4 percent compared with the year-ago period. Celica sales also were expected to be hurt with the arrival of the Scion tC coupe this year.

The midengine, rear-drive MR2 Spyder suffered from lack of cargo space and never took off in America. Toyota sold just 7,233 units in the United States in its debut year, and fewer than 3,000 were sold last year.

Celica production will cease at the end of July 2005. Production of the Celica will be about 500 units a month through this December, then about 250 through July 2005.

Approximately 200 MR2s will be produced monthly for the United States until January. Both nameplates are built in Japan.

Great retrospective on 30 years of the Celica and birth of the Supra at Car connection:
http://www.thecarconnection.com/index.asp?article=7329

It's to bad they FUBARed the MR2. That was a cool little car before the last generation. The Celica is just to underpowered for how much they cost.

I don't care.

QUITTERS. Toyota has a knack for introducing a nice product but then letting it sit and rot without updating and upgrading. The Celica could have used a power bump a few years ago. And like it would have been hard to fit the 2ZZ into the MR2 Spyder (people in Japan have been doing it for a while). That sucker only weighed some 2200 lbs. Typical Toyota. Now we get the lousy Scion TC to fill the shoes of the Celica and the MR2.

QUITTERS. Toyota has a knack for introducing a nice product but then letting it sit and rot without updating and upgrading. The Celica could have used a power bump a few years ago. And like it would have been hard to fit the 2ZZ into the MR2 Spyder (people in Japan have been doing it for a while). That sucker only weighed some 2200 lbs. Typical Toyota. Now we get the lousy Scion TC to fill the shoes of the Celica and the MR2.Well for a Little while there the Celica was showing some promise when they released this car:
http://auto.consumerguide.com/images/autoreview/lrg/90812061990101LRG.jpg
Celica GT-S All Track (Turbo AWD)

But then the car backed down and got all wussie. The MR2, could have been the Toyota Lotus Elise But Bruddah_Man is right Toyota let that slip by too.

I always liked the Celica, but it was WAY overpriced for all that you got.

The Celicas were expensive, my friend bought one right when the new style came out. It was an ok car, not really my style of car though.

Well for a Little while there the Celica was showing some promise when they released this car:
http://auto.consumerguide.com/images/autoreview/lrg/90812061990101LRG.jpg
Celica GT-S All Track (Turbo AWD)

But then the car backed down and got all wussie. The MR2, could have been the Toyota Lotus Elise But Bruddah_Man is right Toyota let that slip by too.

Oh man if you think that car was sweet the ST205 (the one with the four round headlights that came before the current new edge car) Celica GT-Four which never made it to the states for fear of cannibalizing Supra and MR2 sales was a stormer. Same basic idea. Turbo 4, (3S-GTE IIRC, the same turbo 4 used in the SW20 MR2 Turbo) AWD and the like. Early WRX/Evo that was a little ahead of its time. Like the car you posted it was built to homologate the WRC Group A racer that Toyota competed with, only it was the generation of Celica which followed it. However once certain rule changes in WRC went into effect and Toyota went to the JDM/Euro/Aussie spec Corolla for their WRC car, they killed off the Turbo/AWD Celicas. SAD :(

Oh man if you think that car was sweet the ST205 (the one with the four round headlights that came before the current new edge car) Celica GT-Four which never made it to the states for fear of cannibalizing Supra and MR2 sales was a stormer. Same basic idea. Turbo 4, (3S-GTE IIRC, the same turbo 4 used in the SW20 MR2 Turbo) AWD and the like.

http://www.j-garage.com/3000/313-1

this is sad. I seriously considered buying a celica when I got my 'maro (thank god I did not) and I am thinking of getting one for my wife now...

http://www.j-garage.com/3000/313-1

Oooohhh yessss. :hail:

I loved the old MR2's, this new one was a clusterflip.

Well the current MR2 Spyder is supposed to be a more back to basics approach to a mid engined sports car like the original AW11s were. The SW20 got a little bulky and a bit too pricey and didn't sell too well. Although in the early 90s all Japanese sports cars took a dive in the sales department due to the economy which led to the U.S. departure of the FD RX-7, Mark IV Supra, SW20 MR2 and the Z32 300ZX... so sad. Anyhow, while the MR2 Spyder is a nice svelte roadster I'd have to agree that in the looks department, it doesn't come close to the 80s box-o-matic styling of the AW11 or the sexy curves of the SW20. Too bad most SW20s end up in the hands of ricers. I have a video clip of some dumbass doing a burnout in a 2nd gen MR2, hopping a curb and sending said MR2 into a Jetta TDI.

I am suprised they've left the low-output 1.8 in the current MR2. I just cannot beleive how down on power Toyota is to the rest of the world.

The main reason I hate the new Mister 2 is because of the looks. Yuck it look like crap!!!

Oh man if you think that car was sweet the ST205 (the one with the four round headlights that came before the current new edge car) Celica GT-Four which never made it to the states for fear of cannibalizing Supra and MR2 sales was a stormer. Same basic idea. Turbo 4, (3S-GTE IIRC, the same turbo 4 used in the SW20 MR2 Turbo) AWD and the like. Early WRX/Evo that was a little ahead of its time. Like the car you posted it was built to homologate the WRC Group A racer that Toyota competed with, only it was the generation of Celica which followed it. However once certain rule changes in WRC went into effect and Toyota went to the JDM/Euro/Aussie spec Corolla for their WRC car, they killed off the Turbo/AWD Celicas. SAD :(Wow I never knew that they made an All Track Turbo of that generation. Good Info.

It's not surprising to me. Toyotas are expensive for what they are. Sure they're reliable and comfy, but GOOD GOD PUT SOME POWER INTO THOSE PUSSY ENGINES ALREADY!! Toyota's best year for performance in the USA was '93: '93 Celica All-Trac, '93 MR2 Turbo, and '93 Supra TT. Then in '94 it was only the MR2 T and Supra TT until '96 when the MR2 left us and we just had the Supra TT until '98; its last year. Since then, all Toyotas have been way, way, WAY too underpowered to be considered anything "fun" to drive.

Hell, my first car (up until last November) was a '92 Celica GT Coupe M5. I had it from 105K miles to 133K miles, and that thing never gave me a problem.

Anyways, I'm not surprised that Toyota is letting the Celica and MR2 go. They're too lazy to do any kind of "power" or "fun" updates on them, so they just let them wither and die off. And I'll also agree that the last generation of Celicas (the 7th Gens: '00-'04/'05) have become nothing but rice mobiles when in the hands of most Generation X-ers. Sadly, we're left with the ugly, soon-to-be-a-ricer's-best-friend Scion TC.