10: They are the only car that should have a kewl name...and one for each individual car.
9: Supra owners know other Supra owners, and there's such joy in meeting another one!
8: Nice colors!
Steel Blue, Super White, Pearl White, Metalflake Burgundy, etc. I've never seen a yellow or lime Supra, and I hope never to see those colors on any. The worst was flame orange in The Fast and the Furious, but at least it was tasteful.
7: COMFORT!
It's a little tight in the back seats though. That's the sports car thing for ya. It's comfy for a few passengers. The front bucket seats are great! And the driver's seat has full lumbar option and full adjustments. This is a car that hugs you back.
6: They don't break down nearly as often as most cars do.
Ford?? Hah!!
My Bullet had the original alternator for 13 years and warned me that it was no longer working, I ran it when I was a naive teen on no oil in a situation that would have killed another car, and the original engine went 248,000 miles in 14 years before my dad decided to retire it and was still in good enough condition to restore and prepare to put back in Bullet for another many years. Beat THAT...and lots more stories if you're curious.
5: Handling around curves! HANDLING - period.
4: Other cars have ~wanted~ to be Supras, but they never got there.
Ford Probe? Honda? Mazda Miata?
3: Cruising at speed limit, resting assured that you could go much faster.
Why be in a hurry to get out? I like to prolong my lovely ride!
2: THEY LOOK AWESOME!
The new VW Beetle?? Yuck!! My Dad once described one as a "pregnant rollerskate."
~~~ steering-wheel drum roll please... ~~~
1: The pure delight in knowing how to EMBARRASS a Mustang, or Firebird, or Camaro...
Why are THEY so popular???
"TOY"ota Supra Pics (more will surely come)
MKI MKI Supra: A pretty one I saw in Greensboro NC.
MKII Red, White, and Blue.: Red, White Night, and Bullet...3 of the kewlest cars ever! These Japanese cars are HOT in America. Halogen: A lovely super-white Supra a friend of mine has. Kitt: Yes, named after the non-Supra, my uncle owns this car. Rad Red Racer: This poor car was abandoned in a corn field and apparently didn't have a good home before that...ughh, what's with the paint job? But despite Red's looks, this was a trusty car that had a LOT of miles before retirement...and still ran pretty well. The engine will be redone and the rest used on other Supras. Good little car.
MKIII Scooter Fire: If I didn't have Bullet, I'd want Scooter! What a FUN FUN Turbo with targa roof! My dad's car. Moby Pearl: A lot like Scooter, just in a very nice pearl white! Another Turbo targa my dad has. And YES, the name refers to my favorite singer, Moby...and my dad likes him too. Maroon MKIII: My sister had this car, and she never named it. She sold the car to one of our Supra-nut friends, so now it has a good home. And I'll inquire as to its name soon. Nice car. :-)
I don't have any pics of MKIV Supras, or of the one I've heard has just been released (as Supras were not released in the USA since 1999 *sigh*). Soon, hopefully I will. But if you like, you can see some at the SOGI site linked below.
Summer 2001 - The Fast and the Furious! Another Supra movie, and this one nicely stars a flame-orange MKIV! Not the greatest movie, per content, but it is a must-see for Supra-fans! Woohooo! And that's a new way to show off a targa-top!!
Spring 2001 - OK, I don't know if it's true, as I haven't YET found any substantial evidence online...but I've heard there's a MKV Supra! And in the US in very limited quantities! Any definitive info is greatly appreciated. Not even SOGI has info. *pout*
Fall 2000 - Gone in 60 Seconds mentions a Toyota Supra on the list, and I heard that there was a brief appearance, though I didn't catch it.
"Cool car! ...NOT! Check out my Mustang!"
I've found some people bashing Supras. That's understandable, in a way. People who are fond of their "popular" status-cars aren't comfy with the idea some lesser-known foreign sports car would be better than they are. Mustnags are prime examples. Sure, Mustangs were good back in their day. But come the 80's, they were no more than an American showpiece with a dead track record. A Supra can beat a newer Mustnag any day. My '85 Supra has whipped out the brand-new Mustnags pretty sorely, and it just makes me laugh when one revvs its sorry engine next to me at a stoplight. Too bad American vehicles found it more profitable to renig on quality, per production increases and perhaps a market for parts and repairs. They were far better in the 50s and 60s than they are today. How sad.
So what COULD give a Supra a bad name, aside from its lack in general popularity? Abuse, neglect, a driver who's not fast enough for the car (I admit I'm guilty of that one!), and having been maintained by someone who knows nothing about Toyotas. There may be a few exceptions, but they're not the rule. Another sports car that has been greatly "souped-up" may well beat out a Supra, but let's just see how long the quality lasts. A Supra, in general, will hold out a faster speed for a longer time, long after the other car has shaken and rattled and burned to its death. One of my friends who used to be an avid Mustnag fanatic found that out once...after killing THREE Mustnags, leaving his Supra at the sideline as a backup vehicle. Now he hates Mustnags...his Supra easily endured the same abuse that killed his Mustnags. And so now he's more than happy to keep the Supra and wince at the poor Mustnags driving within sight.
The only reasons I know that ruin a Supra are severe abuse and neglect and taking it to a *gasp* domestic-auto repair shop. I can just hear it now, in reference to an "extra" wire or the *cringe* fate of the Turbo..."Hey, this ain't supposed to be here. I'll just pull it out. What's wrong with these weird-made Toyotas anyway?" And so you retrieve your Supra from what was supposed to be an oil change, and now your once lovely car is crippled. Or someone who doesn't know what they're doing re-routes their entire wiring system to boost power to a huge amplifier in the back. I am NOT kidding, one guy kept blowing fuses, so he put aluminum foil in the fusebox...and thus fried his system, all for the sake of a huge amp...when a good stereo system hooked up the right way would have been just fine.
Indeed, the Supra has its flaws, but all can be avoided with proper care that you should give any car anyway. Oil...check levels often, and give it changes when advised in your manual. Oil seals can be a problem if neglected. Regular maintenance should keep it running in fine shape. Also use higher-rated oils (I use 20W-50), and synthetics work best. Blown head gaskets (BHGs) are fairly common, mostly in MKIII cars. OK people, use some common sense...don't run your car so hot, if you see a problem in the coolant or whatever, have it checked out, please. Most Supras are far too forgiving of stupidity, so when someone does something dumb too often, the car might not last under the abuse. Common sense yet again. Besides, from the stories I've heard, a Mustnag would burn before a Supra would under that kind of torture. The worst one for the older Supras (MKI, MKII) is rust on the body. Regular washing and body-checks will do wonders. The only rust spots on my '85 are under the hatch-fin and a few spots where ****ing idiots in those gravel-trucks don't cover their loads so chunks of gravel pound my car (checked with sanding and touchup paint until I can get a new paint job). The other thing with paint is clearcoat fading...also exacerbated by continual driving in areas where there's a high amount of abrasion to the coat and exposure to the elements over the years. Bullet's clearcoat has started to fade after 16 years, but the major half-body-length gouge ("Just a little scratch.") already started me on a goal to repaint Bullet soon.
TWO COMMON QUESTIONS:
"Supras are junk, what's wrong with them?" you may ask me. The answer is simple: idiot owners and domestic fix-it shops are what's wrong with them. Take your Supra to a Toyota dealer or to someone who plays with Supras regularly, please.
"OK, so you say Supras are so great. Why aren't there more on the road these days, hmm? There are SO many more Mustangs still running." Check it out, Supras were limited-edition cars. Let's see, foreign car + limited edition = fewer cars! If you think the ratio on the road is significant, check out the junkyards! *heeheehee* You'll find the same with Porsches, which are pretty nice too.
If you still want to challenge that your car is better, tell me why. I'm open to stories...and you may impress me with a new respect for your car. But until then, don't laugh at a Supra...it'll kick arse any day, just for the fun of it. I'm having fun in Ford-central Detroit, laughing at the poor clueless Mustnags.
If you're wondering about typos on the Mustang name, I know they're there. *smug grin*
