Toyota Corolla with M3 style mirrors

The Corolla is a line of subcompact/compact cars produced by the Japanese automaker Toyota, which has become very popular throughout the world since the nameplate was first introduced in 1966. In 1997, the Corolla became the best selling nameplate in the world, with over 30 million sold as of 2007.  Many modifications can be done to you Toyota to make it look sportier and perform better.    

Installing M3 style mirrors is one of those neat projects that can really add some spice to the look of your Toyota without taking up too much of your time. The total install time for a pair of M3 style mirrors should be less than two hours.  

Aftermarket mirrors are available in different materials, including FRP plastic, carbon fiber and fiberglass. Plenty of different styles are available such as D1 style, F1 style and M3 styles. You can also get them in manual or electric, and get them with or without LED turn signals built in.

The toughest part of the job is actually finding a set of mirrors that will match your body color. If your Toyota is white or black, there are usually aftermarket mirrors available in those two colors. Any other color will need to be custom-painted to match your body paint.

Some aftermarket mirrors are manufactured with an additional lamp in the side. This can be wired to either to your parking lamps or your turn-signal lamps. Either one requires additional wiring to be threaded through the door, so I usually don't recommend this approach. Most of the cars I've seen with lamps in the side of the mirrors don't actually have them connected-they're just for show.

Over the past 40 years, one Corolla car has been sold on average every 40 seconds. The modern Corolla shares only the name with the first generation car, as the series has undergone several major redesigns. The current North American Corolla is priced and sized in between the Yaris and the Camry.  

The name Corolla is part of Toyota's naming tradition of using the name Crown for their primary models, e.g. the Corona, which is Latin for crown, or the Corolla, which is Latin for small crown and Camry which is an Anglicized pronunciation of the Japanese term "kanmuri" meaning "crown".