Silver Lake, Los Angeles, CA
Photographed August 2017
Toyota
1991 Toyota Supra
This is one of just 3,623 1991 Supras sold in the North American market, continuing the downward trend of sales ever since the 3rd generation’s introduction in 1986. For some reason, I always feel like the 3rd-gen Supra is the most forgotten model in the Supra lineage: the 2nd-gen really thrust the Supra into the public eye and made it a desirable commodity, and the 4th-gen is an icon of the ’90s Japanese sports-car era. The 3rd-gen just never seemed to attain the same aura as its surrounding generations.
I guess you could make a case that the 1st-gen Supra was even more forgettable, but it only lasted a few years and was mostly a Celica with an I-6 dropped into the engine bay. The 3rd-gen was the first Supra to be a completely differentiated model from the Celica, and I feel like that gave it the legs to survive in the collective memory of the public far better than it ended up doing. I don’t know, though: maybe it’s just me?
Sawtelle, Los Angeles, CA
Photographed June 2015
2011-13 Aston Martin Cygnet
Stolid and unassuming, this ugly duckling may be one of the rarest cars I’ve ever come across in the wild. Some executive in Warwickshire evidently thought it would be a grand idea to take a £11,000 city car, slap on an Aston Martin badge and a fancy interior, and sell it for £32,000. That’s $51,000. For a Toyota iQ. It’s no wonder this project fell flat on its face, as the quota of 4,000 sales a year was never even approached. And by never approached, I mean it was never even in the realm of possibility. In three years of marketing this car, Aston Martin shifted fewer than 150 units. That’s 50 a year. Take the Bugatti Veyron, for example–the most expensive, most exclusive supercar the world has ever known. Bugatti capped production of this engineering masterpiece at 450 units, to ensure rarity. That’s still three times as many Veyrons on the road as Cygnets. So if any of you happen to live in London and you spot one puttering past, snap a photo–they won’t be around for long.
London, England
Photographed July 2013
Outtake: 1997 Toyota Paseo Convertible
It’s been a while since I saw a Paseo, and I don’t recall ever seeing a convertible. When I researched it a bit more, I realized why. This is a second-generation Paseo, only sold in the US for model years 1995-1997. The convertible was released in August of 1996, meaning it was only sold here for the 1997 model year. If I had known that, I probably would have taken more than one picture of it, but at the time it was just a curiosity and not an actual interesting car. Next time I’ll know.
Santa Monica, CA
Photographed January 2013
1986 Toyota Cressida Wagon
I haven’t seen one of these in a while, but this one is in great condition. This was the predecessor to the Lexus; you can tell that Toyota was already leaning towards making a new brand, as they created a whole new Cressida logo.
For some reason, Toyota likes putting more wipers than usual on their cars. Both this and the ’90s Camry wagon had two rear wipers, and the present-day FJ Cruiser has three front wipers.
On a side note, I swear you could serve dinner on that rear bumper.
Santa Monica, CA
Photographed February 2012