Paprika Paburika: 1975 Toyota Publica

Imagine you are in a situation where a 70s Corolla wasn’t cheap enough for your driving needs. Imagine you needed a car that was cheaper, more fuel efficient, more manual, less options, less stuff to go wrong…and you might assume you had nowhere to go. But you’d be wrong, because Toyota sold a car in Japan that was inexplicably called the Publica and whose origins can be traced to a 1955 Japanese Ministry of Intl Trade & Industry concept for a “national car”. Somewhere between the VW Beetle and the Citroen 2CV was the original aircooled flat-twin powered P10 Publica…but by the mid 1970s the third generation P30 Publica could be ordered with optional K-series inline-4. You could also get the Publica rebadged as the Daihatsu Consorte for the ultimate “girlfriend” car. Find this 1975 Toyota Publica offered for $17,500 in San Pablo, CA via craigslist.

From the seller:

1975 Toyota Publica
condition: good
cylinders: 4 cylinders
drive: rwd
fuel: gas
odometer: 10625
odometer rolled over
paint color: orange
size: sub-compact
title status: clean
transmission: manual
type: coupe
1975 Toyota Publica. RHD. Registered and Titled in CALIFORNIA. RARE. Runs and drives good. Smog-exempt! Clean interior. Paint is decent. $17500 or best offer

See a better way to drive something the color of the rising sun? tips@dailyturismo.com