Junkyard Find: 1980 Toyota Cressida

by Murilee Martin

Published: October 28th, 2011

The Cressida was never a big seller in North America, and the second- and third-generation versions make up most of the examples you’ll see these days. First-gen ones like this ’80 I spotted in an Oakland self-service yard on Monday are just about nonexistent… and the number of survivors is about to be reduced by one.

Rear-wheel-drive, big 4M engine, and fuel injection made the early Cressida a good driver, but the styling was inscrutably Japanese and Detroit sold bigger cars for much less.

This one is pretty well trashed. The 5-digit odometer shows 54,000 miles, but I’ll bet it’s been turned over at least twice.

I just love the non-focus-grouped look of the controls in pre-1990 Japanese cars. Some engineer probably designed this one during his lunch break.

I had no choice but to buy this Jeco digital clock for my collection of car clocks (now up to 40+ units). I haven’t tested it yet, but it should work.

#1980 #1980ToyotaCressida #1980s #California #Cressida #DownOnTheJunkyard #Junkyard #JunkyardFind #Malaise #MalaiseEra #Toyota #Oakland #ToyotaCressida

Murilee Martin

Murilee Martin is the pen name of Phil Greden, a writer who has lived in Minnesota, California, Georgia and (now) Colorado. He has toiled at copywriting, technical writing, junkmail writing, fiction writing and now automotive writing. He has owned many terrible vehicles and some good ones. He spends a great deal of time in self-service junkyards. These days, he writes for publications including Autoweek, Autoblog, Hagerty, The Truth About Cars and Capital One.

More by Murilee Martin

Comments

Join the conversation

3 of 46 comments

Ion on Oct 29, 2011

I want a clock like that. Is it 2 1/16"? I'm also curious as to what other vehicles you have clocks from, it would make an interesting article.

Like Reply
- Murilee Martin on Oct 30, 2011
  
  There will be an article in the future, based on the giant car-clock project I've had in the works for a few years. Mostly I have analog clocks, but I really like the early digital ones like this Cressida's.
  
  Like
MRF 95 T-Bird on Oct 29, 2011

These 4M 6bangers were quite nice in the 1st gen Supra which was more of a luxury/sport coupe compared to later generations.

Like Reply

Recent Comments

Kwik_Shift_Pro4X Mazda CX-5 all the way.
Spookiness The Mazda interior really is nice. I recognize the rationale for the Mazda infotainment interface design in lieu of a touch screen, but the filthy masses have spoken. As with the rotary engine, it's time to move on. To sell more cars they'll need to have touchscreens. Other carmakers have evolved beyond the iPad-screwed-on-top-the-dash look, so I'm sure Mazda can come up with something aesthetically pleasing and user-friendly. (Another quibble: I really don't need or want AWD, so I wish it wasn't forced. But again, the masses have spoken.)
Lou_BC “We are always listening to the customer. "You sayin' the baller/gangsta types don't want Escalades on 24's that don't make vroom vroom rumbly sounds?
AZFelix I shall fully endorse the use of autonomous cars on public roads once they have successfully completed my proposed Turing test for self driving vehicles. This test requires the successful completion of an at fault incident and accident free 24/7 driving session in Buffalo and upstate New York from October 1st until March 31st, and throughout the city of Jakarta, Indonesia for one consecutive year. Only Level 1 and Level 5 vehicles are permissible.
Lou_BC I'd go Rav4. No Mazda dealer in my town and from what I've seen, Mazda's tend to rust.