History will reveal that we North Americans sold-short Japanese cars as collector cars. Nothing is more indicative of this than the way we bought, then junked, the Corona, offered as a 4-door sedan, 2-door hardtop coupe and 4-door wagon. I fell into this trap when referring, in an earlier Classical Drives blog, to an old friend's Corona coupe as a Celica. I should have known better because, as a car mag editor, I'd tested some of the first Toyotas to reach these shores.

The sub-$2,000 Corona became the first Toyota in the United States to surpass 10,000 units. In 1970 Toyota made subtle styling changes, including "Americanization" of the interior with a rectangular speedometer. Autoweek suggests that "the largely forgotten Corona was the cornerstone of the company's success in America. The third-generation was replaced by the Camry in the early 1980s. Cumulative sales passed 725,000, proof a generation of Americans had embraced Toyota."

Discover a Corolla in good or restoreable condition and you've found a future collectible at a bargain price.