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• This 1978 Chevrolet Corvette, currently up for sale on the Bring a Trailer website, is a perfect example of a car with the vibe of its time.• This is a 25th-anniversary edition equipped with a 350-cubic-inch V-8 and a four-speed manual transmission.• With a weekend ahead of us and bidding slated to end on Monday, July 18, the top offer is currently at only $9000.Late C3 Corvettes are among the most underloved vehicles in the nearly 70-year run of Chevy’s fiberglass two-seater. They are harshed on as underpowered, smog-choked rattletraps with burdensome impact-absorbing front and rear bumper covers, and poseur-ific features like mirrored T-tops and pop-up headlamps. However, I’ve always loved them, and that’s why I chose this 1978 Chevrolet Corvette L82 four-speed to be our Bring a Trailer pick of the day. (Bring a Trailer, like Car and Driver, is part of the Hearst Autos Group.)

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Perhaps my appreciation of this car is the result of generational imprinting. I was an impressionable tween when they were new. But it is hard to deny their ebullient and admirable loucheness. A Corvette—unlike predictable and unyielding long-term nameplates like the Porsche 911—is always exactly of its era, both in design and performance. These so-called “soft nose” Vettes perfectly capture both the hedonism and nihilism of the disco era.

Let’s dispense with some problematic hearsay first. While Corvette performance did reach a nadir during this era, with base small-block V-8 models producing just 165 horsepower in 1975, this particular Vette has the highest possible output of any late C3. Its 5.7-liter L82 V-8 thus pumps out a respectable 220 hp. This was enough to hustle this Plastic Fantastic from zero to 60 mph in just 6.5 seconds, allowing our own Brock Yates to proclaim it in these pages “the fastest American production car.” For perspective, the 1978 Porsche 928 posts nearly identical acceleration times. And while others may debase the fastback rear window styling that debuted on the Corvette in 1978, it adds significant storage area in the rear, and became a sleazily sexy hallmark of the model’s design that remains to this day.

Bring a Trailer

Moreover, this ’78 Vette was ordered with a number of optional upgrades, including a beefier gymkhana suspension and classy two-tone silver paint, the latter a nod to the model’s 25th anniversary, which took place that fateful year. Moreover, it comes with a four-speed manual transmission, period correct 15-inch slotted aluminum wheels with proper raised-white-letter tires, a factory eight-track stereo, and working A/C. In my opinion, this is the apex of late C3 Corvettes. In fact, as I type this, I’m also texting my brother—with whom I own four old cars—to discuss bidding. Watch for my sordid senescent self to slink down a boulevard near you soon.

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Chevy has revealed pricing for the 2023 Corvette Z06.It starts at $106,395 for the base 1LZ, and the convertible is $7000–$7500 extra.Options include the Z06 package for $8995 and carbon-fiber wheels for $11,995.The new 2023 Corvette Z06’s 670-hp flat-plane-crank V-8 revs to 8600 rpm, and its pricing also rises to similarly stratospheric levels. It starts at $106,395, nearly $25,000 more than the previous-generation C7 Z06, and the options list includes big-ticket items such as a $10,495 carbon-fiber package and $11,995 carbon-fiber wheels. Orders open July 28.Three trim levels will be available, including 1LZ, 2LZ ($115,595), and 3LZ ($120,245), with varying levels of equipment. The convertible bodystyle costs between $7000 and $7500 extra over the coupe.

Those seeking max performance will want the $8995 Z07 package, which adds the FE7 suspension tune, carbon-ceramic brakes, Michelin Pilot Cup 2R ZP tires, and underbody strakes. To get the Z07 upgrades, you must also add the Carbon Aero package that costs either $8495 with carbon flash-painted components or $10,495 with exposed carbon fiber.Carbon-fiber wheels are also available, which Chevy says reduce unsprung mass by 41 pounds. They’re available only on Z07 cars and cost either $9995 for the flash-painted version or $11,995 for visible carbon-fiber.Loading a Z06 up with all of these extras will push its price toward the $150,000–$160,000 range, where it starts to encroach on Porsche 911 GT3 (starting price, $162,450) territory. We look forward to getting our hands on the Z06 to see how it measures up.
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Toyota has revealed an entire lineup of vehicles that wear the Crown nameplate.In addition to the lifted sedan for the U.S., there’s also a conventional sedan, a compact crossover, and a larger SUV.We don’t know if these versions are coming to the U.S., but we think they could influence future Lexus vehicles.The 2023 Toyota Crown is a segment-bending mix of sedan and SUV styling cues, but the Crown lineup doesn’t stop there. Toyota revealed three other models that will be part of the global Crown family, including a sedan that looks to ride on a rear-wheel-drive platform, a compact crossover, and a larger crossover that Toyota is calling an “Estate,” or station wagon.

We don’t think that any of these other Crowns will come to the U.S. in exactly this form, but it’s possible they could preview future Lexus models destined for our shores. Toyota hasn’t released details on the powertrains for these Crown variants, but we’d bet that they’ll all offer hybrid setups, as the 2023 Crown will come only with a choice of two gas-electric drivetrains.Crown (Sedan-type)
Given the visual similarities between this Crown sedan and the Toyota Mirai hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle, we’re pretty sure that this vehicle shares its TNGA-L longitudinal platform with the Mirai and the Lexus LS. Previous versions of the Lexus GS mid-size luxury sedan were related to Crown sedan models sold in Japan, so could this signify a return of the GS to our shores? We doubt it given the slow sales of that model that led to its discontinuation, but it’s interesting nonetheless.Crown (Estate-type)
Although Toyota is referring to this version of the Crown as wagon, we think it looks more like a mid-size crossover. We’re not sure of the size, or if this model has three rows of seats, but we could see something shaped like this slotting into the Lexus lineup. However, it may not be large enough to be the upcoming Lexus TX three-row SUV, and it would likely overlap with the new 2023 Lexus RX in terms of size.Crown (Crossover-type)
This red compact crossover is the smallest of the four Crown models, and it has a sloping roofline reminiscent of “coupe-like” SUVs such as the BMW X4. It also strikes us as a potential Lexus SUV, as it could slot in between the UX and NX in the lineup as a sportier crossover offering.
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The new Toyota Crown arrives for the 2023 model year with two hybrid powertrain options, standard all-wheel drive, lots of modern tech, and an unorthodox lifted-sedan bodystyle. The base powertrain is a 236-horsepower hybrid setup, while the Platinum trim comes with a 2.4-liter turbocharged inline-four and two electric motors, good for 340 hp. The Platinum also features an 11-speaker JBL sound system, heated and ventilated leather-trimmed front seats, and a snazzy two-tone paint option.If you’re not quite sure how to classify the 2023 Toyota Crown, don’t worry. Toyota isn’t either. The teaser video asked “Sedan or SUV?” while the press release refers to it as a “premium sedan” with a “higher ride-height design.” We’re inclined to call it a “sport utility sedan,” with the Crown’s look bringing to mind the Subaru Legacy SUS of the late ’90s and the Volvo S60 Cross Country. Whatever the Crown may be, it’s effectively the replacement for the Avalon, which bows out after 2022, and it trades the Avalon’s staid demeanor for a flashy new design, two hybrid powertrain options, and standard all-wheel-drive.

2023 Toyota Crown Limited
Toyota

Hybrid Horsepower and MPGThe 2023 Crown debuts with three trim levels. Powering the XLE and Limited is a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine paired with three electric motors powered by a new nickel-metal-hydride battery pack. This is Toyota’s familiar hybrid setup, with two motors and the internal-combustion engine joined together via a planetary gearset that allows for continuously variable ratio adjustment as it sends power to the front wheels. Plus, there’s a third electric motor that motivates the rear wheels, giving the Crown all-wheel drive. Toyota claims this setup produces 236 horsepower and will achieve a combined 38 mpg. This hybrid system also has an EV mode that permits electric-only driving over short distances at low speeds.

2023 Toyota Crown Platinum
Toyota

Upgrading to the Platinum trim brings what Toyota dubs “Hybrid Max,” a new hybrid system with a 2.4-liter turbocharged inline-four hybrid powertrain mated to a six-speed automatic transmission, with a wet multi-plate clutch sandwiched between the engine and the gearbox, taking the place of a standard torque converter (like Mercedes-AMG does). An electric motor adds extra horsepower and torque and increases the responsiveness of the powertrain. Like the base hybrid system, another electric motor sits on the rear axle, although it is water-cooled and more powerful than the motor in the XLE and Limited.

Toyota claims that the Hybrid Max setup makes 340 horsepower, with peak torque from the gas engine arriving between 2000 and 3000 rpm. While the base hybrid operates in front-wheel drive in certain conditions, the Platinum is always in all-wheel-drive mode, sending up to 70 percent of the Crown’s power to the front wheels or up to 80 percent to the rear wheels. Fuel economy takes a hit compared with the XLE and Limited, however, with Toyota estimating a combined 28 mpg.The Platinum also gets adaptive dampers, and all Crowns have a strut front suspension and a multilink rear suspension. The Crown is also fitted with Active Cornering Assist, which uses the stability control to minimize understeer in corners. The XLE rides on 19-inch alloy wheels, while the Platinum receives 21-inch 10-spoke wheels with black accents.
Interior FeaturesInside, the Crown has a sleek and simple design. The dashboard is dominated by a 12.3-inch touchscreen and a digital gauge cluster. Thankfully, there is a row of physical buttons beneath the screen to operate the standard dual-zone climate control. The Crown comes with a wireless charging pad and plenty of USB ports, including two USB-C outlets for the rear passengers. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are supported, and a subscription service for Wi-Fi can provide up to five devices with a 4G connection.The Crown XLE comes standard with eight-way power heated front seats wrapped in a mixture of synthetic leather and fabric. Stepping up to the Limited or Platinum adds ventilated leather seats up front and heated seats for the rear passengers. The Limited and Platinum also upgrade to an 11-speaker JBL sound system. While the interior on the XLE comes exclusively in black, the Limited can also be specced in black and chestnut or macadamia. In our brief time with a Crown Platinum, we found it comfortable and fairly roomy, but were surprised by the amount of hard plastics in the interior. Toyota also talks up the Crown’s quiet cabin, with acoustic glass and sound-proofing material throughout the vehicle, and when we sat in the car we could scarcely hear the music that was blasting in the studio.
The Platinum and Limited trims also add other goodies such as a panoramic sunroof, LED interior accent lighting, LED headlights, and rain-sensing wipers. A bird’s eye view camera also comes on the Platinum, and can be optioned on the Limited as part of the Advanced Tech package. This add-on also includes a digital key and dark metallic 21-inch, 10-spoke alloy wheels. The Platinum can also be decked out in a two-tone paint job, with black paint on the hood and trunk.

All Crowns feature Toyota Safety Sense 3.0, which includes a pre-collision system with pedestrian detection, dynamic radar cruise control, lane-departure alert with steering assist, automatic high beams, and more. The Platinum trim comes standard with the Advanced Park system, which will park the Crown without the driver needing to touch the wheel or pedals.The Crown will reach dealerships this fall, with pricing to be revealed closer to the on-sale date. We expect the XLE to start in the low $40,000 range, with the Platinum pushing $50,000, although Toyota did say that the Crown is targeting a more affluent buyer than its predecessor, the Avalon, did.
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