Toyota Corolla Overview

You hear a lot about value when car companies are selling you their flavor of the month, but what does value mean? It isn't just price, of course, but green dollars American on the barrelhead obviously play a big part in it. For many buyers, though, value is best described not by price but by what the dollars actually buy. With the 1997 Toyota Corolla line, those green dollars American go impressively far.

Did you know the Corolla has an American lineage? Toyota has long shared an assembly plant in Fremont, California with Chevrolet. Corollas and the Geo Prizm (largely based on Toyota mechanicals) are built there, but Toyota has also imported some Corollas to meet market demand. Now, however, all 1997 Corollas will be built in North American factories, with Toyota's Ontario, Canada plant supplementing the output from California.

The car has a long history of popularity, so it must be doing something good. Corolla is the longest-running nameplate in the Toyota line-up, in fact. After spending quality time in a new Corolla DX model, we're convinced the '97s are positioned to continue that success.