Toyota Stalking, er...um, SPOTTING with Charlie™ (Cars, vans, SUVs, Lexus, Scion, and brochures)!

2003 Lexus IS300


April 21st, 2024:

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

 

1989 Supra Turbo


April 21st, 2024:

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

 

2021 GR Supra 3.0 Premium


April 21st, 2024:

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

 

1971 Corolla with a 1980 Corolla engine


April 21st, 2024:

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

 

2019 Toyota 86 TRD Special Edition


April 21st, 2024:

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

 

1996 Lexus LS400


April 21st, 2024:

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

 

JDM V-12 Century!


April 21st, 2024:

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

 

2023 Subaru BRZ Premium


April 21st, 2024:

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

 

2006 Lexus LS430


April 21st, 2024:

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

 

2022 Corolla XSE with a manual transmission!


April 21st, 2024:

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

 

April 21st, 2024:

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

 

2012 Scion TC


April 21st, 2024:

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

 

2022 Subaru BRZ Premium


April 21st, 2024:

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

 

2002 Celica GT


April 21st, 2024:

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

 

2024 GR Corolla Premium


April 21st, 2024:

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

 

2022 Camry TRD


April 21st, 2024:

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

 

April 21st, 2024:

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

 

2002 Lexus SC430


April 21st, 2024:

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

 

2000 Lexus LS400


April 21st, 2024:

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

 

2024 GR Corolla Premium


April 21st, 2024:

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

 

2022 GR Supra 3.0


April 21st, 2024:

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

 

2003 Prius


April 23rd, 2024:

New Britain, Pennsylvania

 

1992 Celica GT 5-speed


April 27th, 2024:

Doylestown, Pennsylvania

 

Sticker-bombed 2009 Corolla LE, with an inspection sticker that expired in April 2020; New Jersey does inspections every two years, so this car hasn't been inspected since 2018!


April 27th, 2024:

Doylestown, Pennsylvania

 

1997 RAV4


April 29th, 2024:

Warrington, Pennsylvania

 

There were THREE (3) V12 Toyota Centuries at the Import Nats!


May 11th, 2024:

Carlisle, Pennsylvania

 

More interior pics from the same car, taken later in the day...

 

At least two of the Centuries that I saw at Carlisle last Saturday were 1997 models, including this blue one, but I think that one of the black ones was a 1998; 1999 Centuries are now legal in the United States under the 25-year loophole, and 2000 models will be legal next year. This generation of Century was manufactured from 1997 model year (so late 1996), until either 2016 or 2017. The 1997-2017 models are virtually identical when parked side-by-side, though newer models came standard with backup cameras (no idea when this started). The current generation of Century stays faithful to the boxy styling, but uses a Hybrid V8 not unlike what some US-market Lexus models use...

This blue Century and one of the black Centuries were both registered in New York. The first black one (See above) was registered in Maryland. Look closely at the blue car's license plate; rather fitting since some refer to this generation of Century as the "Japanese Rolls-Royce)! When I was maybe three years old, my dad bought me a red Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit (a Matchbox car, not the real thing); I did not know how to pronounce the name, so I called that miniature British luxury sedan a "Rolls-Rice" just like license plate on the blue Century!


May 11th, 2024:

Carlisle, Pennsylvania

 

All generations of Century prior to 1997, as well as the current generation (2017-present), have a V8 engine; I talked to the owner of 1997 Toyota Chaser almost years ago. He had absolutely no problem getting it registered here in PA, but couldn't get an emissions test for the simple (and rather stupid) fact that JDM vehicle use a different diagnostic system than our country's OBDII that has been in use 1995-1996. For this reason, as stupid as it is, a V-12 Century will probably not pass emissions in PA. Luckily, it is eligible for both Antique (25 years or older; no inspection at all) and Classic (15 years old; safety inspection only). California is the only state in the country that mandates emissions test (the dreaded, draconian smog test) for ALL gas powered vehicles newer than 1976, so California is probably the only state where one might run into trouble getting one of these registered. Most states don't required emissions testing, a few of the ones that do only require them in select areas), and states other than California that have strict emissions laws allow you to put antique tags on ANYTHING 25 years or older!

Anyway, this is what makes the previous generation of Century so special! This is the first and only V-12 engine that Toyota ever produced. Compared to V8s and even some V6s of today, it doesn't have an insane amount of power, but it is not a slouch by any means and I'm told that it is just as reliable as you'd expect a 1990s Toyota engine to be! This is the blue 1997 Century's engine...