Just Lucky

The Age

Saturday August 26, 2000

Australia was a tough market to crack when the Corolla first arrived in 1968.

Despite its reputation for an unbreakable engine, for local diehard Aussies who drove nothing but Holdens and Fords, it was seen as little more than ``Jap junk".

But their jaws dropped open like a coyote in a Roadrunner cartoon when the Corolla won at Bathurst the same year.

For the diehards, it was sacrilege, and many drank their sump oil in protest.

When it won again the following year- even after being sandwiched when two Falcons collided - it was heresy and many diehards began flogging each other with brake cables as penance. Others continued to chant Alan Moffat's name until the following solstice.

But the final straw came when Wheels magazine compared it favorably to a Torana. With many finding it totally unbearable, well, I can't print exactly what was said.

The Corolla had proved its point. Now having sold more models than any other Japanese car in history, it's obviously got more going for it than beginner's luck. And for the diehards who will never be swayed, it's enough to make a man drink. Even if it is their own sump oil.