Why is it??, Lack of aftermarket support. Options

[Fastbird]

Just wondering, but why is it that such a nice car and promising platform as the 6GC is that the aftermarket seems to completely deny it's existence. I mean you search anywhere and there's a gap in parts availability from 1994 to 1999. Anyone care to offer some insight?

[scothaniel]

Macs are Linux (now) !

There were a bit more suspension and exhaust components available in the past, but as said earlier, the Celica was not meant to be a performance car. It was designed to have great handling and be ultra reliable. Just look at the Supra and MR2 - both cars have far more aftermarket support because they are sports cars. Even the All-Trac wasn't meant to be a sports car - Toyota didn't even bother to give it a BOV.

The other factor is price. The 6GC Celica's were over $20K new. My All-Trac cost almost twice as much as a Civic and about $3k more then a 5.0 Mustang convertable. Those that could afford the car and could afford to modify it would just buy a Supra.

Toyota also engineered the 5S motor for a good balance of performance and reliability - there aren't too many 'legal' modifications you can do to really increase power and maintain driveability. Whereas Honda's are generally able to get decent power increases due to the factory level of detuning. Just the amount of dampers to quite the Honda motors is pretty amazing. When I worked at AP, Honda was the only company to complain about the loudness of the squeek the clutch actuator makes when being depressed (rubber moving against plastic - its going to squeek). The engine noise from every other manufacture made the squeek inaudible, but not the Hondas!