Japanese cars become collectible
International Herald Tribune
By Rob Sass
Published: March 30, 2007
“One of the few automotive niches where Toyota does not yet have a strong presence is the collector car market. There are signs that this may be changing: Quietly, and outside the usual collector car circles, a groundswell of interest in vintage Toyotas has been building. One of the most talked-about cars to appear at collector car auctions early this year was a frumpy Toyota family sedan, a 1966 four-door Corona that had been purchased in 1970 by Frank Kenney, one of the first Toyota dealers in the state of Washington. After paying $800 to buy the barely driven sedan from an elderly Seattle woman, he used the car as a showroom display rather than resell it.
…Perhaps the most collectible Toyotas of all, at least in the United States, are the FJ series Land Cruisers. The FJ40 model is by far the most popular among collectors of classic Land Cruisers. Rusty examples are still available for less than $5,000, but clean originals bring $17,000 to $20,000 and professionally restored FJ40s start at more than $30,000.”
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