Need Reliable Excitement? See MR2.

Behold, the most reliable way to have some mid-engined fun in your life: the Toyota MR2 (1984-2005).

This is the first generation, another '80s child as this particular car is from 1986.

Again, the best way to make something look sporty in the '80s was to make it a wedge. Now, granted, this is definitely not the most extreme wedge known to man. But it is a very compact one.

Doesn't it look good in black?

Interestingly, the "trunk" had two pieces. The part with the spoiler will lift up for access to the mail slot that acts as storage. The part right next to the glass lifts up to reveal the engine.

The little four-cylinder engine is what makes this car so reliable in that typical Toyota way.

Automobile Magazine did an article last year about cheap sports cars. The first generation MR2 was on its list. They described the engine, the thing buried under all those wires and hoses, as "grenade proof."

It's an almost indestructible, and depending on the model it can make 112 or 130hp. That's plenty in a car this small.

But Toyota must have been in the grips of some form of madness when they made a supercharged version in 1988 which boosted power to 145.

Regrettably, this car is an '86, so its owner can't experience the instant acceleration that the supercharge would provide.

But they did opt for the manual transmission.

The MR2 is one of those cars that seems to wrap around you. But it wouldn't feel claustrophobic because the dash is so low and there's so much glass around you.

That dash looks like it was whittled down from a solid piece of plastic and then plopped into this car. I mean that in a good way because this interior comes from a completely different Toyota than what we know today.

Actually, the entire car falls into that category.

This is the only two-door car badged as a Toyota.

It's called the Camry Solara. So it's designed to appeal to people as a very staid, upright sort of coupe. There's nothing exciting about it.

That's the problem with Toyota's car lineup. There's nothing exciting; nothing like the MR2. We know that Toyota is reliable, but that can't be their only selling point anymore because too many companies have caught up with them.

Toyota can build fun and exciting cars, the MR2 is proof of that all by itself. There are even other Toyotas that can inspire lust, and they will appear here in the future.

But those cars are from the past. Toyota needs excitement and personality now.