My New 2000 Toyota Celica GTS

Back in 1984 I bought my first new car, a Toyota Celica ST. I loved that car. But when it got totaled I was married and had two growing kids, so we decided to get "a family car". Now, the "family car" is a minivan to hold all three kids, an occasional friend and all the stuff they tote around.

But, it's finally time to have a toy. On March 25th, we went and test drove the Toyota Celica. We were almost sold on a red one and, believe it or not, someone ran into Theresa while she was test driving it. We decided silver was nice too.

It really drives nice. It's so smooth and quick. I can hardly wait for the break-in period to be over with to really see how quick it is.

My new 2000 Toyota Celica GTS. They call it "liquid silver metallic". It's a 6-speed 180 horsepower dream come true. I've been wanting another Celica since some uninsured lady totaled my 84 Celica.

The "cockpit" of the 2000 Celica GTS. The CD player sounds great. The 6-speed manual transmission shifts beautifully. You can see the drilled aluminum pedals. They make it so I can pedal faster.

The view from the passenger door. I'm only about 5 foot 3 inches and even my head comes real close to the roof.

We got securikey, one of the choices for a security system from our dealer, installed a couple of days after we got the car. The key is monsterous but I don't have a separate button-box -- a trade-off. I actually whittled a bit of the plastic away to get it on my keyring without an extra tiny hoop. Yesterday, Theresa was brought home by a friend and as she closed the garage door (a heavy wood internal door) we heard a beep-beep. Thinking her friend was honking she reopened the door and looked out. They were driving off so she closed the door again. "beep-beep" again. What to heck? She opened the door again and slammed it a bit harder and the celica went into full-alarm-sounding mode! Heh, she's gotta learn to close that door softer now...

Caution: High Performance Vehicle
This is the warning card that comes with the car. "The mechanical ability of this vehicle to achieve high speeds is not an invitation to speed." :-) BTW, when I'm taking it easy around the neighborhood, 4th gear is for 30MPH cruising, 5th is for 40MPH zones, and I use 6th for anything over 50MPH.

One of the perks of Theresa knowing the Sales Manager where we bought my Celica is that he loaned us his personal Corvette (1998) when my Celica was having some stuff added. He told us to "have some fun". I gave it a try and put it through its paces. My Celica is not as "common", not as heavy, and not as uncomfortable, but it's not anywhere near as fast either. I am humbled.

Look at all the tailpipes!! Why, this car has twice the cylinders of my Celica and twice the sticker price.

The kids were impressed too. "Wow, a race car!"

The real reason to have a vette in the first place. To pick up chicks, like this one...

Okay, just a little envious...