Chasing a Corona

I was so pleased to turn to “Foreign Favorites” in the June 15 issue and see two great photos and a wonderful article by Pat Foster about the cheerful little Toyota Corona. This is the car that got away from me more than 40 years ago. But even worse than losing just one of those cute little Toyota Corona coupes, I lost three of them, all four speeds. Two were Coliseum Beige and one was a sea foam green. They were snatched away from me by a salvage company called in by my mother while I was away at college. I had them stashed in her woods so you couldn’t see them from the house.

Didn’t matter.

I was raised in a house full of horse lovers, and unapparent to me back then was that, if you live on 10 acres and the sisters have horses, there isn’t going to be enough room for a small car collection. Along with my Coronas, I lost a 1957 Bel Air two-door sedan, a ’57 Bel Air Sport Coupe, a ’57 sedan delivery and a really neat 1959 Ford Ranch Wagon. I still grind my teeth over that.

So, for the last 30 years, on the rare occasion that I ran across an ad for a Corona coupe, I’d excitedly scan the print to see if it was close enough to have a look. Never. These cars are hard to find, even on the internet. Then last fall, out of the blue — maybe I should say “light blue” — a sweet, little light-blue, original-paint 1969 Corona coupe survivor with a four-speed showed up online less than an hour from me. You can bet I didn’t let it get away. My wife even liked it. Kind of makes me feel a little better about losing my fledgling car collection back in the day.

Thank you, Mr. Foster, for putting into words so well why I like these little cars.