A Toyota Corolla DX sedan, seen in 2014 in the Chinese capital Beijing. The Japanese sedan appeared to be abandoned. The license plates were gone, and the poor car was covered in a thick layer of dust. But overall, it was in fine shape, painted white with the original gray wheel covers.
Hey! A Shanghai-GM Buick Sail sedan.
The seventh generation (E100) Toyota Corolla was made from 1991 until 1998. As was common back then, the design and specs of the Corolla differed considerably depending on the market. This one looks like a North American spec car. The E100 Corolla was not sold in China.
Check the license plate frame placed over the original narrow license plate area. This kind of frame is common in China for gray-import US cars. The Chinese license plate size is much wider than in the US, hence the need for an extra frame.
There was no engine badge on the car so I can’t be sure what lies under the hood. The most common engine for a US-market Corolla DX was a 1.6-liter petrol with 105 hp and 147 Nm, mated to a 5-speed manual or a 3-speed automatic. The E100 Corolla was a rare car in China, even in 2014, so whenever I met one I got my camera out. Nowadays, these small Japanese sedans are nowhere to be seen in the big cities, but some might be left alive in smaller towns and down the countryside.
The Corolla sold for 290,000 yuan in the Beijing market at the end of 1997，By China National Administration of Automobile Industry Import and Export，The sales call on newspaper advertisements was 66177584。
At the end of the 20th century, such imported cars had to pay 15% when applying for a license, while vehicles produced locally in China were 10%, so there were many strange SKD models at that time, just to pay 5% less。