Herb Stern’s first car was a 1931 Ford Model A Coupe; it cost him $75. His second was a 1941 Ford Coupe with a slipping clutch and a smoky engine. “That didn’t last long,” he says. Next was an MG TD, which also blew up on him, followed by a Triumph TR3, and countless more beloved imports any enthusiast would be delighted to have in their history.
Not too long ago, the 87-year-old Army veteran and San Diego native took delivery of a 2025 Toyota GR Corolla—Premium Plus trim, automatic transmission, Ice Cap white exterior. He shared the news with an owners’ group on Facebook, and the reaction was precisely what you’d hope it’d be.
“I wanna be you when I grow up,” the top comment reads. “Hands down the coolest 87-year-old around,” said another. Even better, Herb’s post encouraged other members of the group, perhaps above the age range associated with the typical GR Corolla owner, to share their stories. One of them was another man, aged 76, who said he could “still pick ’em up and lay ’em down on track days.” Next, a 74-year-old self-described “old lady.” “The kids thought I was crazy, because it’s a 6-speed,” she wrote. “Fun when you’re the first one at the red light and some young kids pull up next to you. It’s so fun,” followed by a grinning emoji.
“I don’t understand what happened with that thing on the Corolla forum,” Herb told me over the phone. “You know, when I post something, I get 10 responses. I don’t know what that woke up in people; the last time I looked it was over 1,400 hands up, thumbs up, whatever.” (At the time of publishing, it’s actually up to 1,800.)
Herb arrived at the GR Corolla from a Toyota GR Supra, which he owned for five years. “When that Supra came along, I thought it was the best combination I could think of—the B58 engine with some Toyota reliability, supposedly they worked on the motor.” He recounted reading a commenter on a Supra forum complaining about the coupe being hard to get in and out of and hitting their head. He laughed. “I chimed in, in my mid-80s that I didn’t have any problems!”
Herb’s wife—who sounds just as badass as he does—drives a Volkswagen GTI, but the couple recently decided to move to a single car. “The GTI was OK but I need something a little more than that,” he told me. “The Supra, obviously, doesn’t qualify for everyday duty, much as I love that car. I’m thinking, ‘What can I buy that still would be fun?'”
He found his answer in the GR Corolla, a vehicle he says can at least handle a Costco run with someone else in the car. “With what little experience I’ve had with it, it’s been fun,” he said. Outside of some frustration with the software—frustration I can relate to, as a fellow owner—Herb’s been enjoying his new hot hatch. “It loves to rev, I’m having trouble keeping it under the limits they want for the break-in period.” He calls the GR Corolla a perfect mix of old and new. “There’s no electric seats, yet the thing has got a heated steering wheel, which I’ve never had on a car.” Still, he digs the seats’ suede inserts over the Supra’s full-leather thrones that I imagine can’t be too friendly during those San Diego summers.
Herb says he would’ve bought the Corolla sooner, but he was waiting for the arrival of the auto with the 2025 model year. “You know, I drove stick, I drove stick. The Supra kind of spoiled me—that ZF 8-speed, that thing shifted, man. It didn’t fool around.” We couldn’t agree more, and it’s encouraging to hear that the Corolla’s new auto has enabled at least one enthusiast to enjoy the rally-bred hatch that otherwise might not have.
Chatting with Herb was a joy. Most of us could only hope to still be doing what we love at his age. A true, lifelong car and motorcycle nut, he doesn’t draw lines in the sand; he talked about the Supra and Corolla with the same enthusiasm as he did his Lotus Europa, for example. This is where we’ll return to his car history because it’s something truly special.
Herb purchased his Europa with the help of a man who bootlegged them in from Belgium. “All the instrument panel was in French,” he told me. The Lotus was shipped to a dealer in Portland, Oregon, who Herb said didn’t know what they were selling. He picked the car up, and almost immediately met problems. “Started driving down, the thing would overheat. Soon as I crossed the California border from Oregon, some CHP got on my tail and followed me and stopped me, wanted to know what the hell I was doing! I think he put an Oregon plate on it for me.”
Herb’s first new car was an Alfa Romeo Giulia Spider, white with a red interior. Later on, a “bunch of GTIs, first generation through the fourth,” eventually followed by an Audi TT. There was also an Austin Healey, Lotus Elan, another Alfa, an early V6 Ford Capri, and a Porsche Carrera at various points in time, too.
I asked Herb what or who he credited for getting him into cars. “I don’t know, I was just fascinated by ’em right away. I had these old—I still have ’em—these old automobile books, showing the European scene and stuff that I just couldn’t imagine. I never was into American cars at all. As soon as I could, I bought that MG.”
And yet, across all those years and cars, there was still one milestone he never crossed off, arguably until his latest purchase.
“My tombstone was going to say, ‘He never owned a four-door,'” Herb wrote in his Facebook post. “Guess that’s not going to work anymore.” Some commenters chimed in that the Corolla is technically a five-door, so he’s still in the clear, and Herb noted that his old Model A had a rumble seat. “Does that count as a third door?”
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