A Corolla Leads The Way

My first introduction into the world of Toyota ownership was via a used, white 1979 Corolla. (Yes, I know the Manual says 1978, but mine was a 1979.... this manual is the one that came with the car though, so my thoughts are that the model didn't change from year to year at that point, so they loaded the car with this manual and saved money on printing ) In my humble opinion this was the perfect way to begin. Here was a vehicle that, despite amazement of build quality, had been ravaged by the bite of a Minnesota winter. Rust had eaten so much of this little trooper of a car away, as I describe it I can only laugh. The carpet worked very well as a floorboard beneath my feet. The actual floor itself had become a large open space to the road below. Behind the drivers seat, yet another large hole. One of my friends went so far as to say that the seat amazed him the most since it "must be levitating."

I purchased the car from an elderly woman of whom I worked with. She had purchased the car brand new and you could tell in her voice that it had been a good friend to her many times over. My cost: $225.00

Now, possibly, it was the pride of venturing into the world of automobile ownership, or maybe it was the feeling of freedom that can only be achieved by your foot on a pedal and wind in your hair (what hair I had that still was around at the time) but to me, that car lifted my heart and mind into adulthood. It didn't have a sunroof, no major bells or whistles. Heck, no real minor bells or whistles either. Didn't matter, it was mine. It ran, and it was dependable.

One night, sadly, while venturing home after work, I smelled smoke. (Not too difficult to do considering the open-air design that winter road-salt had provide the car with) Then I noticed licks of flame coming from the hood seam. Ok, it was time to pull over. I was pretty certain that I was going to end up being one of those people pictured on the news standing next to a scorched heap of metal resembling the bones of a long-dead dinosaur. I quickly raced around to the trunk of the car to see if there was some 'magical' fire-extinguisher concealed there, as every car obviously comes with one of those. - I was young and believed - I pushed items around in the small, medicine-cabinet-sized space and loe and behold what should I discover but a full gallon bottle of Glenwood Englewood water left there by the previous owner. I know that some people may read this and wonder "how did you not know that was there to begin with?" To them I must remind that I was young, this was my first car, used and rusted, 1979. Nothing of mine was going to ever be placed in that trunk for fear it would become a portal and somewhere in a land called Narnia a talking beaver would become very perplexed.

I poured the water generously over the hood of the car allowing it to make it's way in the same way that air did. To my delight, I heard the joyous sizzle of a flame being extinguished. The car now sat on the side of Highway 12 ( Today a much more expansive highway 394 ) Dead. I walked the many miles home and phoned a repair station nearby. They retrieved the car, and the following day I was pleased to discover that my problem had merely been a faulty starter. The cost to repair ... $225.00 Yes, the same price I paid for the car. Worth it? Yup! Every penny. That was the only problem I ever experienced with the car, shy of the carpet raising my feet up each time I went over a puddle. I LOVED it! Truly. When the time came for me to finally sell the car on, I ended up selling it for a total of $500.00 thereby making a profit of $50. The new owner was a Toyota-phile as well, and knew exactly the car he was buying, He even knew about the holes in the floor before I showed them to him. It felt good to know the car would continue to be loved.