One Owner, 75k Miles: A 1976 Toyota Celica That Still Turns Heads

Long before Toyota became a household name in American driveways, the Celica was quietly building a following among enthusiasts who appreciated sharp styling wrapped around bulletproof mechanicals. The car first landed in the United States not long after its Japanese debut in late 1970, and it took years of steady sales before the brand earned the mainstream reputation it enjoys today. By 1976, however, the Celica had clearly arrived: Motor Trend handed it the Import Car of the Year award that year, a sign that critics were paying close attention.

A clean example has now surfaced for sale in La Habra, California, just northeast of Los Angeles, carrying an asking price of $16,500. The seller describes it as a one-owner car that has stayed largely original over the decades. While 1976 still fell within the Celica’s first generation, it was the year the model received its most substantial round of updates, including a longer wheelbase, a redesigned front end, and hood-integrated vents. This particular liftback left the factory in orange but was resprayed red sometime in the 1990s. The body is said to be exceptionally straight, and the seller claims the sheet metal is completely free of rust.

The cabin presents much the same story. Seats were reupholstered during the same decade as the repaint and have held up well, with the seller rating the interior condition as great. The dashboard, pad, and gauges are said to remain original and in very good shape. A more modern radio has replaced the factory unit, though nearly everything else reportedly remains genuine Toyota hardware.

Motivation comes from Toyota’s 20R, a 2.2-liter inline-four renowned for its longevity and dependability. It’s mated to a five-speed manual, and the odometer shows just 75,000 original miles. That figure is especially notable because the car is said to have been parked in a garage starting in 2012, meaning much of its mileage was accumulated earlier in life. To get it running properly again, the seller replaced the fuel pump and cleaned out the gas tank, and now reports that the car drives like new.

At this price, the Celica shapes up as an appealing weekend cruiser with genuine collector credentials and a powertrain that can still rack up miles. Well-kept first-generation examples don’t linger on the market for long, so interested buyers will likely need to move quickly.