Racer u r right! For most of its life, Cressida shared its basic structure with the Japanese-market Toyota Mark II, Toyota Chaser and Toyota Cresta. The Cressida name was retired in 1992. In US Cressida was also known as a 'four-door Supra', because Supra and Cressida shared the same inline six-cylinder engine (the now legendary 7M-GE), had rear-wheel drive, and were flagship cars for Toyota at the time. Introduction of the Lexus division meant that Toyota didn't need a large luxury sedan in its line-up anymore... But the Cressida was victim to falling sales too, mostly because of it's advanced features and high price tag in most markets. This was the last of the series exported outside Japan.
The Cressida also played a large part in the design of the first generation Lexus models, the LS400 and ES250. Many parts and ideas were carried over into the original Lexus models, which is why these cars look so similar...
Even though it was discontinued in early 1992 and almost impossible to find one for sale, the Cressida still remained Toyota's largest luxury sedan until 1995 with introduction of the front-wheel drive, American-made Avalon. The Avalon is now considered the modern day Cressida.
A good condition 1989-1992 Cressida RX-81/MX83 is one of the best kept secrets of the automotive industry. It is not uncommon to hear about Cressida's that have 200k-300k miles on them, and the owners still use them as their main car. J.D. Power has also rated the Cressida as one of the top 5 most reliable vehicles of all time, despite its short market life.
