Car Lust--Toyota Sera
At some point in the future, I'll break into a new segment of Car Lusts--the Japanese Kei-cars. Not to be confused with the Chrysler K-car economy car platform that underpinned virtually every Mopar offering in the 1980s and 1990s, Kei-cars are Japan's microcar class. Limited to 660-cc engines (.66 liters, smaller than some motorcycles) and regulated to an official (though often flouted) maximum of 64 horsepower, Kei cars are impossibly small, extraordinarily efficient, and, in the effort to make them quick and cool, eye-poppingly complex and exotic in specification. Just over 15 years ago, all-wheel drive, supercharging, twin-turbocharging, and more technical goodies began appearing on Kei cars, making them credible performers despite their diminutive engines.
The United States allows non-U.S.-certified automobiles to be imported once they are 25 years past production date. This has allowed a few enterprising souls to import older cars like the Chrysler Valiant Charger, but it will be some time before the exotic Kei cars will be eligible for import. The situation is somewhat different in Canada, however; our northern neighbors require only a 15-year wait, meaning some of the interesting Japanese-market cars from the early 1990s are now fair game. There are quite a few dealerships in Vancouver, B.C., that do a strong business in such formerly forbidden fruit.
Today's object of lust, the Toyota Sera, isn't a Kei-car--it's slightly too big. But, happily, the passage of time has brought it and its smaller brethren tantalizingly close. Considering my long-term, smoldering desire for this car, I'm excited by the fact that I could buy a Sera in Canada, rent a garage in Vancouver, and store the Sera there between my infrequent visits. It's not going to happen, but at least it's possible.
The Toyota Sera debuted in 1990, and I still remember my initial thrill when I first laid eyes on it. Today's eyes might be tempted to dismiss the trim, smooth, tidy, and well-rounded lines as cliche, and dismiss the gullwing doors and avant-garde interior as gauche. That impression would be a mistake. At the time, the Sera was a ground-breaking design. Like so many other innovative cars, its impact today is lessened by the fact that it has been so imitated.
Compared to other cars of the time, the Sera was incredibly small and aerodynamic, with styling similar (but to my eyes far superior) to the Mazda MX-3. The scissor doors and electronics gave it a high-tech sheen, and the hatchback and expansive glass made it gorgeous, easy to live with, and practical. Perhaps the most remarkable thing about the Sera was that is was based on an innovative concept car, the AXV-II, and all the cool bits made it to production.
The Sera wasn't a hard-core sports car, but it was sprightly enough to be sporty in 1990s. The engine made only 108 horsepower, but with only 2,000 pounds of car to push around, it was relatively quick. The stock suspension was a little on the soft side in typical Toyota fashion, but there are aftermarket kits that solve that problem nicely.
Despite its scissor doors, the Sera wasn't meant to be an exotic. In fact, its hardware wasn't even as exotic as its smaller Kei-car siblings. But as an economical daily driver, the Sera would be an awfully interesting option. I'm counting the days until they're legal to bring into the U.S.
Sadly, as is usual when I'm daydreaming about the Sera, I now have "Sera ..... Sera ...." running through my brain to the tune of Jefferson Starship's "Sarah."
Sorry about the drab little photos to the right--it's just remarkably hard to find a good photo of the Sera without its doors open.
--Chris H.
Cookie the Dog's Owner on April 15, 2008 at 12:45 PM
Lovely little thing, isn't it? I want one.
Mochi Mochi on April 15, 2008 at 12:57 PM
Quick and complete change of direction - my head is spinning - from the huge to the tiny! The ridiculous to the sublime - Fhew ! The thing I love about these little cars is they are so hugably cute. The Sera is a little more on the high tech side of the equation - but tiny ittsee-bitsee cars like these just make you want to pick them up, give them a hug, then put them in your pocket. My personal favorite is the retro styled Nissan Figaro. Here's a couple of links:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4zkFKzCfIM
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nissan_Figaro
Micro cars in general are incredibly cool. I did a full set of detailed isometric drawings of the Messerschmitt KR-200 recreating it from photos and research. Then build a computer based 3D solids model of it for a project in architecture school. I was obsessed with the thing and only stopped drawing and modeling when I got to the two-stroke engine... that seemed like just too much of an obsession.
http://microcarmuseum.com/tour/messerschmitt-kr200-1959.html
http://microcarmuseum.com/tour/messerschmitt-kr200-1960-1.html
Recently I passed an amazing little isetta being towed on a trailer, pulled by a civic. Check out the dragster version.
http://microcarmuseum.com/tour/bmwisetta250.html
http://microcarmuseum.com/tour/whattadrag.html
Mochi Mochi on April 15, 2008 at 01:21 PM
Quick and complete change of direction - my head is spinning - from the huge to the tiny! The ridiculous to the sublime - Fhew ! The thing I love about these little cars is they are so hugably cute. The Sera is a little more on the high tech side of the equation - but tiny ittsee-bitsee cars like these just make you want to pick them up, give them a hug, then put them in your pocket. My personal favorite is the retro styled Nissan Figaro. Here's a couple of links:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4zkFKzCfIM
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nissan_Figaro
Micro cars in general are incredibly cool. I did a full set of detailed isometric drawings of the Messerschmitt KR-200 recreating it from photos and research. Then build a computer based 3D solids model of it for a project in architecture school. I was obsessed with the thing and only stopped drawing and modeling when I got to the two-stroke engine... that seemed like just too much of an obsession.
http://microcarmuseum.com/tour/messerschmitt-kr200-1959.html
Recently I passed an amazing little isetta being towed on a trailer, pulled by a civic. Check out the dragster version.
http://microcarmuseum.com/tour/bmwisetta250.html
Rob the SVX guy on April 15, 2008 at 11:12 PM
I like the split windows. Hehehe. :)
Steaming Pile on April 16, 2008 at 06:07 AM
Why can we not has tiny cars in the USA? We can has motorcycles, which are WAY more dangerous than tiny cars. Ralph Nader is teh stoopid!
David Drucker on April 16, 2008 at 07:29 AM
Ah, from the sublime to the ridiculous!
But good luck with a 25 -- or even 15 -- year old Japanese car. Just watch out for the tinworm. As near as I can tell, the Japanese car industry licenses its rust-proofing technology from Fiat. (That's not a compliment.)
Steaming Pile on April 16, 2008 at 08:12 AM
@D. Drucker - is that anything like licensing your rust-proofing technology from Ford? I've seen American iron start to dissolve three years from manufacture. At least Japanese iron lasts until you've made your last payment. Any car that lasts more than a decade in the Northeast has been rustproofed pretty well, IMO.
What I hate, and it makes me cringe just thinking about car shopping, is when the salesgeek tries to sell you rustproofing when it's plain to anyone who sticks his or her hand inside one of the wheel wells that it's been done already at the factory. I swear, next time I'll just get some on my hand and say, "you mean this stuff?" when he swears this isn't the case.
David Drucker on April 16, 2008 at 11:12 AM
Steaming Pile: "Any car that lasts more than a decade in the Northeast has been rustproofed pretty well, IMO."
Well, my '92 Grand Marquis, which gets its Ford rustproofing without the need for licensing, lives full time in snowy-salty central/upstate NY. It only began to show the slightest bit of rust a couple of months ago. My pals with similarly ancient Toyotas, Hondas, et al, have been considerably less lucky in that regard. If you see a three year old Ford car with serious rust, I'd bet that it's been in a crash, and was inexpertly repaired.
Detroit's most recent bad rap for body rust derives from its use of substandard recycled steel in the early-to-mid eighties. On a quiet night you could almost hear those babies rust. Detroit iron, pickup trucks excepted, has been pretty good in that area for nearly two decades.
Things are getting better on the Japanese front as well. Based on my own less-than-scientific observation, it appears that each generation of Toyonda is better prepared for the rust belt than its predecessor. I've seen plenty of rust on 93-97 Accords, but considerably less on the new-for-98 edition. I hope this is a trend, as I'm fixing to buy my '07 Accord when the lease is up.
Mochi Mochi on April 16, 2008 at 11:27 AM
The problems of rust in the northeast are unevenly distributed. Upstate NY gets less salt use, I believe than the Boston area where you can taste the salt in the air. Also black cars seem to rust less than white cars. Its odd.
If the car gets a dent, forget it! Might as well give up. From my experience one of the most rust resistant cars I came across was an 87 Honda Civic - which survived the salt cancer until last year - 20years in Boston is pretty damn good. Rust proofing overall has been getting a lot better on all cars.
I've been looking at porsches from the 1970's lately. 914s specifically. It is almost impossible to find one that is not being eaten by rust, even in the Southwest. The only ones that aren't rusting are those that have been completely stripped and rebuilt. This really makes me think about how far we have come.
donsmith7777 on April 16, 2008 at 12:31 PM
Honda CR-X del Sol, the sequel.
Chris Hafner on April 16, 2008 at 12:34 PM
donsmith7777: "Honda CR-X del Sol, the sequel."
Whoa, those are fighting words. Besides, if anything, the Sera would be a prequel.
Cookie the Dog's Owner on April 16, 2008 at 01:10 PM
Worst rust I ever saw was Dad's '72 Galaxie 500, the rear quarters of which literally dissolved. I remember hearing something to the effect that Ford changed the specs on the carbon content of the steel they used in 1971-73, and switched to a thinner gauge of metal, and that's why they were so rust-happy.
John on April 16, 2008 at 01:14 PM
It's all about the doors. http://adsinthebucket.blogspot.com/
Laxpat on April 16, 2008 at 01:42 PM
Do lust and Toyota ever fit in the same sentence?
Chris Hafner on April 16, 2008 at 01:59 PM
Laxpat: "Do lust and Toyota ever fit in the same sentence?"
Not typically for me. But the Sera is the exception.
Dr. Kenneth Noisewater on April 16, 2008 at 02:58 PM
Three words:
Right Hand Drive.
?
Plus, those cars can't POSSIBLY offer any sort of protection against a small woman on a cellphone driving a gigantic body-on-frame SUV.
(And those doors can be done aftermarket on any FMVSS-compliant Honda Civic)
Cute cars tho.
Chris Hafner on April 16, 2008 at 03:33 PM
Rob the SVX Guy: "I like the split windows."
Thought those might remind you of something ...
:-)
SGT BAZZ on April 16, 2008 at 04:28 PM
My wife and I bought a small Suzuki Works RSR while I was stationed in Okinawa. Fun car. No, wait. Really fun car! I almost liked driving that over my RWD Skyline GTS. Actually, I think I did.
Thomas Liang on April 16, 2008 at 09:12 PM
As I recall from Car&Driver article on the Sera at the time, Toyota pioneered hydro-forming with this car. It's not the now common hydro formed chassis frame tubes. Sera was built with only one metal die per panel. The other side is just water. Advantage: Cut the number of tooling pieces by half for this limited production car. Disadvantage: Need to wait for body panels to dry, but the low volume means that's not a problem.
Terra 2 Imports on May 14, 2008 at 02:22 PM
Great article! The Toyota Sera is an excellent choice if you're looking for a reliable, fuel efficient vehicle that is truly eye catching.
We regularly list Toyota Sera's in Japan that are available to import to Canada and take custom order requests:
http://www.terra2imports.ca/toyota/sera/
Todd Seligman on June 25, 2008 at 02:31 PM
Mochi Mochi I would love to see your drawings of the Messerschmitt KR-200.
My brother and I are building a modern replica and would love to have more info for scale, etc.
Thanks,
Todd
todd@dardvl.com
Scuzzy on September 17, 2008 at 02:52 AM
Cool article, Sorry to say but I have been enjoying my Sera for three years now, fantastic little cars to get around in, even without being a fast sports car. Mine is a 1990 which makes it 18 years old now, gladly without many mechanical problems, however the aircon does like to cost me a fair bit, and living in Australia it is pretty much a requirement. They are a car you can easily fall in love with, but most see them as too old and impracticaly small :)
Alex López on September 21, 2008 at 02:12 PM
I've always loved how these kei cars manage to blend good looks with small size and great economy. Bring us more cars like these and we'll never get old.
rajesh on May 11, 2009 at 06:51 AM
i need rear glass of sera
Slater CM on June 16, 2009 at 07:19 AM
Am I correct to understand I will NOT be able to bring my Sera home from Japan with me? The car will be 20 years old when we leave the country. Is there no way to bring it back to the states?