{"id":898,"date":"2025-05-10T22:56:05","date_gmt":"2025-05-10T22:56:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/motorcopia.com\/?p=898"},"modified":"2025-05-10T23:27:01","modified_gmt":"2025-05-10T23:27:01","slug":"standing-on-the-shoulders-of-giants-the-viral-fine-af-1999-toyota-craigslist-ad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/motorcopia.com\/?p=898","title":{"rendered":"1999 Toyota Corolla: The Viral Craigslist Ad That Broke The Internet"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

We must have been working really, really hard or living under a proverbial rock back in 2018 when this Houston Craigslist For Sale<\/a> ad was posted for a certain and otherwise unremarkable 1999 Toyota Corolla. While we clearly missed it when live, the internet generally went ballistic over its unusual blend of candor, hyperbole and humor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0In our humble opinion, this ad copy potentially rivals legendary copywriter David Ogilvy\u2019s iconic 1960s work for Rolls-Royce. Online publications including Jalapnik<\/a>, Fast Company<\/a>, <\/em>and others picked up the story and left readers amused and bewildered at the same time. Interestingly, the car didn\u2019t sell despite its brilliant ad and viral reach when the ad was Tweeted by a Twitter (now X) user. Ultimately, the increasingly famous Corolla sold for just $1,700 to someone via a simple, old-school For Sale sign placed on the car.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anyway, here is the ad copy in all of its glory:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou want a car that gets the job done? You want a car that\u2019s hassle free? You want a car that literally no one will ever compliment you on? Well look no further.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 1999 Toyota Corolla.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s talk about features.
Bluetooth: nope
Sunroof: nope
Fancy wheels: nope
Rear view camera: nope . . . but it\u2019s got a transparent rear window, and you have a fucking neck that can turn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let me tell you a story. One day my Corolla started making a strange sound. I didn\u2019t give a shit and ignored it. It went away. The End.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You could take the engine out of this car, drop it off the Golden Gate Bridge, fish it out of the water a thousand years later, put it in the trunk of the car, fill the gas tank up with Nutella, turn the key, and this puppy would fucking start right up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This car will outlive you, it will outlive your children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Things this car is old enough to do:
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vote: yes
Consent to sex: yes
Rent a car: it IS a car<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This car\u2019s got history. It\u2019s seen some shit. People have done straight things in this car. People have done gay things in this car. It\u2019s not going to judge you like a fucking Volkswagen would.
Interesting facts:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This car\u2019s exterior color is gray, but its interior color is grey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the owner\u2019s manual, oil is listed as \u201coptional.\u201d

When this car was unveiled at the 1998 Detroit Auto Show, it caused all 2,000 attendees to spontaneously yawn. The resulting abrupt change in air pressure inside the building caused a partial collapse of the roof. Four people died. The event is chronicled in the documentary, \u201cBored to Death: The Story of the 1999 Toyota Corolla\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You wanna know more? Great, I had my car fill out a Facebook survey.
Favorite food: spaghetti
Favorite TV show: Alf
Favorite band: tie between Bush and the Gin Blossoms<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This car is as practical as a Roth IRA. It\u2019s as middle-of-the-road as your grandpa during his last Silver Alert. It\u2019s as utilitarian as a member of a church whose scripture is based entirely on water bills. When I ran the CarFax for this car, I got back a single piece of paper that said, \u201cIt\u2019s a Corolla. It\u2019s fine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s face the facts, this car isn\u2019t going to win any beauty contests, but neither are you. Stop lying to yourself and stop lying to your wife. This isn\u2019t the car you want, it\u2019s the car you deserve: The fucking 1999 Toyota Corolla.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We must have been working really, really hard or living under a proverbial rock back in 2018 when this Houston Craigslist For Sale ad was […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":903,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[236,315],"tags":[321,325,320,322,324,318,317,323,316,319],"class_list":["post-898","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-japanese","category-marketing","tag-automotive-copywriting","tag-automotive-history","tag-car-humor","tag-classic-toyota","tag-funny-car-listings","tag-legendary-craigslist-ad","tag-toyota-corolla","tag-viral-automotive-content","tag-viral-car-ad","tag-viral-marketing"],"yoast_head":"\n1999 Toyota Corolla: The Viral Craigslist Ad That Broke The Internet -<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Discover the legendary 1999 Toyota Corolla Craigslist ad that went viral with its brutally honest, hilarious take on the world's most reliable car. 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