November 1993 Car and Driver, cool Options

[creis]

So my uncle has always been into 6th gens and he keept telling me about this magazine he had for it, finaly he found it and gave it to me, its the November 1993 Car and Driver, that features the 94 Celica GT, its pretty cool, basicly says its a great car that is underpowered because its not ment to compete with the supra.

Pics: (kinda dark but the flash maid it to bright)





Add for the supra on the back page

Its in Mint condition so may be worth a lot, not that I would sell it. anyway wanted to let you guys know our cars were featured on the cover and if you have a copy around its a cool litle artecal on our cars, also includes some good stats as well.

The Exact artical

Car and Driver November 1993

Toyota Celica GT
At its best looking good.
By Kevin Smith
(Typed for online use by cries)

The Celica has been Toyota’s Stylish, sporty coupe for going on 24 years and six generations now. Its tradition of making bold, no-apology aesthetic statements roll on into 1994.
So does a package of virtues and vices that characterize what marketers call the sporty-specialty class. The recipe-often for racy appearance but no necessarily performance to match. These two-plus-twos must look sporty and feel sporty, but how well they actually work, especially out in the thin atmosphere or nine-tenths driving, is not always a priority that rates too many development dollars.
And so we are able to describe the 1994 Celica as a handsome, beautifully crafted automobile that feels rich and refined and shows exquisite attentions to details of design, ergonomics, and finish quality, but one that just doesn’t seem very interested in going out and working up a tire-yowling lather on a winding road.
Not that the car is unpleasing or uncooperative to drive. At anything short of a full-boil charge, the Celica we drove (a GT with the sport option group) was capable, smoothly responsive, and all-around delightful. Only when we set out the see how the car behaved attacking some familiar twisties and fast, bumpy sweepers were we discouraged from pressing the experiment too far. The Celica seemed to go numb in our hands as the limits of tire grip approached. We weren’t sure we could dance for long at that level of intensity without risking the car’s pretty new bodywork.
A couple of factors may account for these sensations. Toyota uses a new power steering pump on the Celica, replacing the previous spool-valve type with a rotary-valve unit toured as providing more lively response, but road feel does not seem to be a notable strength or the system. Also, the new Michelin Pilot HX radials which we have prior experience with only on a pre-productions Saab 900 strike a fair balance between grip and ride comfort, but their feedback, especially at breakaway, seemed vague. Finally, the Celica we drove for this preview was itself a pre-production unit, and a minor glitch in hardware or suspension alignment is not impossible.
More likely, though, the Celica development team may have said, “Hay, the Supra is our genuine-article performance car. Let’s not blow the Celica budget trying to match it.”
A lot of that budget had to go into brand-new skin, and that money was well spend. One look at the bulging, curvaceous new Celica body and we’d almost forgotten the old bulging, curvaceous Celica body. The previous design suggested some kind of high-pressure vessel for deep-sea research, but the new shape looks sleek. Sharply sculpted Details, such as the distinctive head lap blisters, distinguish this new Celica.
A notchback. Both bodies are available in either base ST trim (with a new 110 hp 1.8 liter four) or up level GT form (2.2 liters, 135 hp.) The racy All-Trac configurations Fast, all-wheel-drive, and rarely purchased is gone from our market, though Japan and Europe will still get this rally-homologations model.
In addition to having stronger character and crisper detail, the new sheet metal lets a lot more light into the cabin, making the car feel more open despite a beltline that still seems high when you plop down in the seat. Outward visibility is dramatically improved, especially over the shoulder and to the rear, even with the lift back’s optional spoiler.
A deep, wraparound-cockpit theme defines the new interior and puts all controls and buttons within close reach of the driver. In fact, some right arms might wish the new, shorter gear lever were located just an inch or two farther forward, to give a smidgen more operating room, though every had will like the shifter’s short throws and light effort. In the manner now expected of first-echelon Japanese automakers, the weight of the Celica’s major controls is nicely balanced, and the velvety action of its switches makes them a pleasure to touch and to use.
Bucket seats with deeper bolsters and more shoulder support are a key part of the optional Sport package, which also includes leather steering-sheel and gear-knob covers, firmer suspension tuning, and the Michelin Pilot HX tires on wider cast alloy wheels (7.0 by 15 inches compared with the 6.5 by 14 inch wheels). This package provides the grip and stability to allow some decent corner-carving, plus a comfy, supportive place to sit wile indulging that capability. But it’s an expensive option. In fact, big numbers crop up all over the Celica’s order sheet. With cloth upholstery, the Sport package adds $905 to the GT base price of $18,898. With leather seat facings, the Sport premium jumps to $1565.
With a power sunroof, anti-lock breaks (optional on all Celica’s, even the disc/drum ST,) the powerful eight-speaker stereo and other bits, our Celica GT rang up a total of $24,258. Toyota’s traditions of dependability and good resale value may take some sting of that price over time, though that’s little consolation for the customers who can’t make the stretch in the first place.
It’s an open question whether the Celica’s performance will help justify the tab. We’ll know better when we’ve instrumented a production version, but we’re not optimistic. True, Toyota claims a remarkable 255 pound weight reduction compared with a similar fifth-generation GT-S. So even the modest bump in old 2.2-liter four’s output from 130 hp to 135 (still 130 in California) should improve acceleration significantly. But there was lost of room for improvement. In our April 1992 comparison of sporty two-plus-twos, the Celica GT-S was the slowest and most expensive of the eight-car field. Toyota claims a 0-60 time of 8.7 seconds for the new GT, a time that would have bettered the old car’s 9.1 in that comparison, though not by enough to move it out of the cellar.
Despite its modest power increase, the 2.2’s new tuning combines with the car’s weight reduction to eke out 1mpg more on the EPA city test cycle, to 23. That’s never a bad thing. And the engine delivers flexible torque form just off idle (90 percent of peak torque is available form 1600 rpm, Toyota says), pulling the car up to speed with a respectable rush. But the long –stroker gets boomy at 4000 rpm and down right loud by 5000.
Maybe that rev range is one place a near-sports two-plus-two begins to distinguish itself from a real sports car. Another may be the point at which spirited corner-ing turns into true max-effort flogging. Witness the Vagueness in the Celica’s steering wheel.
This sports-specialty car is optimized for less-then-intense duty. The Celica GT seems at its best looking cool, slicing though suburban traffic, or cruising at a pace no faster then brisk. It does all that exceptionally well, without questions. But the Celica’s price/performance relationship does make a two-year-old supra look like an awfully good buy.

COPYRIGHT belongs too Car And Driver

I'll also scan it up and send it out to whoever wants it.

This post has been edited by creis: Nov 27, 2005 - 7:35 PM

[Celicav]

Awesome find!! That is my new red Hatchback in the pic, except I don't have leather. Anyways, can you try to take better pics of the text in the article. I can read some of it, but most text is hard to read. Thanks!

[creis]

I think I'll just type it up, maybe we can get coomer to add a section to this site for news reports, or articals sor of a database of all the old news about our cars.

[Chanh55]

Send it to me, I can make high-res scans of it.

[Celicav]

I think I'll just type it up, maybe we can get coomer to add a section to this site for news reports, or articals sor of a database of all the old news about our cars.

Wow, that would be quite an endeavor, but if you do, that would be super sweet!!

[creis]

eh, I can type fast.

I have a scanner too. might do that as well.

This post has been edited by creis: Nov 27, 2005 - 6:39 PM

[Chanh55]

eh, I can type fast.

I have a scanner too. might do that as well.

Scan it and PDF it as a sticky or something. That would be awesome.

[Defgeph]

very cool this should be written up, scanned, then stickied.

DEF

[creis]

typed out and posted above.

your welcome everyone, and enjoy.

going to scan it in just a min.

This post has been edited by creis: Nov 27, 2005 - 7:25 PM

[Bigmeanbulldog55]

That's my car there in that picture. Well, mine is teal instead, but with all those options. Dang, $24,258 for this thing new? Way to much. Glad to know everyone has the same complaints about it, and I'm not crazy or speed obsessed. Well, that's probably still truee, but at least I'm not the only one.

[Jdog1385]

i also have a Road and Track magazine with the celica in it...December 1993. ill try to scan it in tomorrow at work

[creis]

^ cool

[ILuvMyCelica95]

hehe i have that article in my celica binder.

[snapshotgt]

i also have a Road and Track magazine with the celica in it...December 1993. ill try to scan it in tomorrow at work

GREAT! POST IT ASAP!

[Silver94CelicaOw...]

This is awesome, I've been waiting to see a review pop up eventually.

Its cool to see a review of the exact car I own, aside from the color only. I wanna see that Road and Track article too, JDog. Post it up when you get the chance, we should sticky these articles for sure.

This post has been edited by Silver94CelicaOwner: Nov 28, 2005 - 1:23 AM

[Jdog1385]

This is awesome, I've been waiting to see a review pop up eventually.

Its cool to see a review of the exact car I own, aside from the color only. I wanna see that Road and Track article too, JDog. Post it up when you get the chance, we should sticky these articles for sure.

ill definitely do some scanning tomorrow...as soon as my boss leaves the office,

[purplegt4]

that's awesome! send one my way! atreid@gmail dot com

[Terzin1]

that article talks about the celicas grip to the road. IT SUCKS, no need to read more..... I found that out the hard way yesterday, i lost control on a road that was wet but not with settled water. I made it out ok tho.

[Bigmeanbulldog55]

that article talks about the celicas grip to the road. IT SUCKS, no need to read more..... I found that out the hard way yesterday, i lost control on a road that was wet but not with settled water. I made it out ok tho.

It's not the grip that 'sucks,' it's the feedback you get from the steering. My Celica with the sports suspenision package, just like the one tested, grips great. It does feel numb when it's pushed, this is why I've debated removing powersteering. You'll never take my ABS away though!!!! lol

[purplegt4]

...the celicas grip to the road. IT SUCKS...

1. good to hear you made it out ok...
2. the celica's grip is immaculate
3. dont drive hard when the road's wet
4. take a driving class

my celica turns on a dime...