1971 Toyota Celica

Though advertisements said "it's pretty easy to think you're in a sports car", the Celica, introduce to the U.S. in 1971, was actually a fairly capable performance machine. The Celica was available in LT, ST, and GT trims, though it's hard to tell what this one is. This first-year Celica has been parked outside a repair shop for years, and is in solid, though incomplete shape.

 

 

 

1987 Toyota Cressida

The Cressida was Toyota's big luxury car before being replaced by Lexus. The third generation shown here was arrived in 1985, and featured a modern and smooth design. Available as a sedan or wagon, the Cressida was fairly popular throughout its lifetime. This car is in great condition, and the aftermarket rims look absolutely fantastic.

 

 

 

1982 Toyota Celica GT

The 3rd gen Celica was introduced in 1981 with a very angular body, the style at the time. Like the Corolla AE86 of later years, it was available in both notchback and fastback/liftback body styles, and the styling was similar as well. Earlier cars had the exposed, though slanted, headlights, while later cars' headlights were fully hidden. Performance was okay, but a GT-S model was added for those who wanted a sporty Celica. This one looks great with the fender flares, 4-spoke rims, and pre-facelift headlights.

 

 

 

 

1976 Toyota Corolla

The new, 3rd gen Toyota Corolla was introduced in 1975, and affirmed Toyota's reputation for amazing build quality and good economy. It needed to, as it had many strong competitors at that time, both from Japanese manufacturers and domestic makers (though their compacts were hardly competitive.). Despite a higher price and fewer features than the competition, it was still a popular car during the gas shortages. This one stood out in a sea of modern, silver cars with its ultra-seventies mustard paint job with brown, orange, and white stripes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Earliest Chops: Crude, Outside-the-Box

Some of my earliest digitally-modified cars. The technique! Or lack of it! These date to the 2005-07 era. Many were done in less than an hour. I was participating nightly in Autoweek's Combustion Chamber, an online forum. Someone would ask "what if" about a various cars and sometimes I'd do a quick chop and post it as fast as I could. Still, I like looking back at these.

International Harvester Travelall "Sedan Pickup." Behold my suicide door 4 door pickup with wraparound glass and an immense rear seat at the expense of a very short pickup box. Answers a question no one has ever asked. 2007-ish.

Exaggerated stab at a Toyota hybrid sedan, ca 2005-06. Interestingly, spy shots of the next '14 Corolla have some similarities with this futurist rendering.

Done in 2006 or 2007 this was my attempt to show GM that, yes, Saab's DNA could be made to work with a crossover... Body modified from some European GM crossover from back then.

This Wildcat was done just a few days after the first Enclave prototype pics were released, 2006 or '07? It was to be a tall, AWD, Enclave based sedan with a touch of Thirties Buick trunkback sedans in the rear.

I'm pretty sure this is Chop #1. It's an Escalade sedan. I was very interested in seeing what a really tall, truck-based sedan would look like. To me, the Escalade was a station wagon, and thus should have sedan and coupe variants. I had used Photoshop professionally for my book designs and production, color-correcting images, fading, feathering, collages, etc, but had never tried to modify a photograph into something entirely different. I think I might revisit this concept with the newest Escalade one of these days.

A quick attempt to turn a European Ford concept car, the Iosis if I remember correctly, into a domestic Lincoln sedan. I used the then-current Lincoln grille cues in a larger/wider form. I still like this front end. The rest of the car was pulled and made taller. I used the tall, slim C-pillar windows that classic Town Cars sported. 2007-ish.

1974 Toyota Hilux

The Hilux was introduced in 1969, and is what became the basic Toyota Truck in later years. Famous for being extremely tough (Top Gear tried to kill a Hilux and couldn't), the Hilux/Truck became very popular in the U.S. It lives on today as the modern Tacoma. Because it's still badged a Hilux, this truck is a pretty early one, and has fantastic patina and character.

 

 

 

 

 

1976 Toyota Corona Wagon

The Corona was Toyota's largest car in the U.S., until the Cressida was introduced. It was also, in the sixties, the first model that actually sold reasonably well in the U.S. This Corona is a 5th generation car, and is still on the job, serving as transportation for what looks to be a contractor. The mid 70s Corona grille, with the small part above the headlights, is one of my favorite designs of the 70s.