mmarshall

I agree to some extent as far as a strict Honda-Toyota comparison goes, but that was the case even more with the Mazdas of the period...particularly the first RX-7 sports car and later GLC/323 sedans/hatchbacks. Mazda coined the term "Kanzai Engineering"...which was aimed at being a delight to the drivers' senses. And it was......Mazda, back then, gained the reputation as the "Poor Man's BMW", despite the fact that some Mazda sedans were FWD. Like you, I owned several Mazdas myself back then, in the 80s and early 90s....and liked all of them.


Smart buyers, though, actually bought the Chevy Nova and later Geo Prizm, because, being rebadged Corollas, they both offered Toyota quality, through Chevy dealerships, for a lower sticker-price, and, in the import-restricted 1980's, less chance of a dealer mark-up. The down-side, though, was somewhat greater depreciation compared to the Corolla itself.....the Nova and Prizm weren't as popular in the used-car marketplace.

IS-SV

I disagree, smart buyers bought the Corolla. Unlike most less knowledgeable buyers, smart buyers understood that depreciation was the biggest single cost factor in a normal car ownership experience. The unfortunate Chevy Nova and GM Prizm new car owners selling these cars after both models were discontinued got hammered the hardest.

Not so offtopic, the Camry has excellent resale value in it's class.