Toyota Celica
After the sales flop of the beautiful, highly advanced Toyota 2000 GT in the late â60s, the Japanese company didn’t give up on entering the American sports car market. They realized they needed a more conventional model with a much lower price. Also, Toyota wanted a design similar to the already known form of their other models.
And that is how the first generation from 1970 to 1977 of the Toyota Celica came to be. Toyota built it on a standard Toyota Carina base. The Celica was one step above the popular Corolla in terms of size, technology, and engine power. They presented the new Celica to American buyers in 1970 with two body styles, a regular two-door coupe and a hardtop fastback.
Immediately, people started comparing the new Celica to the Ford Mustang because it was clearly inspired by the Ford pony car. In fact, it was also the sportier version of a regular production sedan, just like the Mustang was.