I have owned a lot of cars over my driving career, and some of them have been pretty interesting. Some others…not so much. This week, unfortunately, is one of the not so interesting cars. Not to say it wasn’t a good vehicle to own – it certainly met the requirements of basic transportation. Sometimes, that is all you need.
Interestingly enough, this car was leased as a replacement for the 2004 Nissan Maxima I wrote about a few weeks ago. That car was certainly exciting to drive, but (to me) left something to be desired in the quality department, particularly inside. It was also fairly costly to lease, and with the arrival of another not-so-cheap car I was looking for something familiar, relatively inexpensive, and a bit more thoroughly screwed together. Hence, back to the Toyota dealer.
By the end of the Nissan’s lease Toyota had introduced a new version of the Camry (the XV40) to replace the model that I didn’t like as a Toyota but did like as a Lexus. (I will fully admit to being quite fickle in my car tastes.) For this generation, introduced in 2007, Toyota began to move toward styling that was a bit less “generic car,” but arguments certainly could be made on both sides as to whether they succeeded. I certainly didn’t dislike it, but this Camry wasn’t a car that turns heads, I thought. But it was a safe choice and the prices were right.
This particular car represented a bit of an experiment for me. I’d usually preferred to pick a model that was in the middle of the price range for that vehicle line as those were usually the best compromise of features and price. In this case, I went for the base model in the lineup, the CE sedan. Several reasons drove this choice, including the relatively low price and reasonable list of features, but chief among them was the availability of a manual transmission. The manual was available on the SE 4-cylinder as well, but that was a bit more money than I wanted to spend. In theory the LE 4-cylinder could get the manual transmission but I never saw any cars so equipped. Even in CE trim, I had to wait for a car to be delivered from the factory as the dealer didn’t have any in stock.
The CE did come with air conditioning, CD player, power windows and locks, and ABS, but you didn’t get power seats, fancy wheels, or even keyless entry (you had to unlock the car with a key). The CE also didn’t come with any option packages so there was no opportunity to add a moonroof or uprated stereo.
The base model was a bit of an afterthought even at the time. The print brochure for the 2007 Camry was pretty extensive considering many manufacturers were already moving to online PDFs, but contained just one small picture of the CE in a corner of a larger photo and a CE in a lineup of all the available Camrys. The higher-end XLE and SE models (and the hybrid versions, new for 2007) received multiple pages with interior and exterior photos. Most footnotes about the CE talked about what wasn’t available (especially colors, as the CE was only available in bland white, silver, blue, and black).
As the photos show, I went with the total package for “car as appliance” having bought the cheapest version of what many people consider to be “generic car” and buying it in white with a gray interior. I didn’t think it looked bad, just that it wasn’t that interesting. I did make a couple of changes to the car, though, to improve things a bit. The base plastic wheel covers that came with the car were not that attractive to me, so I did some online auction shopping to buy a new set of wheel covers that were originally sold on the 2002-2006 Camry SE for those that didn’t add the optional aluminum wheels. I thought they looked better and were pretty cheap to purchase. Unlike the OEM covers, these SE covers had holes to show the lug nuts – I didn’t bother to replace the non-chromed ones as I didn’t think it mattered all that much.
I also added a side rub strip to the otherwise featureless sides, again by buying parts online and installing them myself. The side strip made me a bit more nervous, as installing new wheel covers was one thing, but getting side strips to be straight and centered was something that I’d not been that good at (I have never claimed to be a great mechanic). Luckily, the factory rub strips came with very clear instructions on how to place the strips and where to measure the reference marks, so they went on the car pretty easily. They were pretty straight, too, as the photo below shows (for photobomb fans, I am not sure where that ’69 Cutlass came from as it wasn’t typically in the neighborhood).
The car was also the first one that I’d owned whose stereo offered the ability to play MP3 files (and Windows Media Audio, or WMA, files too). Not sure if cars can do this anymore (and why would anyone need them to), but this stereo would take computer-burned CDs with MP3 files on them, and allow you to select songs from folders (assuming you’d put the files in folders) with the separate up-down switch shown in the picture. This use of MP3 files gave you song titles on the relatively small display as one advantage, but the bigger advantage was that you could fit a lot more songs on a CD than by burning a conventional music CD, which was important as the car didn’t have a CD changer. I also was able to use a console-mounted storage bin to hide an aftermarket satellite radio tuner – this was handy as the power supply and 3.5 mm AUX jack was in the same bin so I could use that to connect the tuner to the car (I didn’t have an MP3 player at the time). The bin also had an odd knockout plug in the side that allowed me to run the antenna wire out of the bin and under the carpet without exposing too much wire.
So how was the car overall, you might ask. It was inexpensive to lease, inexpensive to maintain, and inoffensive to drive. The manual transmission did make the most of the adequately powerful engine (158 hp, for those counting at home), and the shift lever (while just soft plastic) was nicely chunky and shift feel was quite good. The car was assembled very well, and the interior, while basic, was made of quality materials. The center stack (radio and HVAC components) were all backlit with a light aqua-blue color that was interesting, and the gauges were (surprisingly for an inexpensive car) the backlit type (“Optitron” in Toyota’s parlance) that were only visible when the car was on. My wife didn’t particularly like the old school key to open the doors, but that was about the extent of her objections to it. It was built well, it was quiet and rode well, and didn’t break during the three years we owned it.
The CE model Camry didn’t last very long in the lineup, as I recall. I suspect that it was just too Spartan for many buyers to pick it over the next model up (the LE), and the price difference to get a power driver’s seat and keyless entry wasn’t that much. Buyers weren’t interested in buying and Toyota didn’t seem to be interested in promoting it. As basic transportation it was great: as an exciting enthusiast’s car it was…not.
Because my wife wasn’t entirely happy with the “generic car, base model” (the Camry was chiefly hers to drive), she decided she’d pick the next one. Her choice was much more interesting, as we will discuss in a couple of weeks (hint: “zoom-zoom”).
This is one of those cars where I found the interior/instrument panel quite attractive, but the rest of the car? In some cars, usually ones with something special going on under the hood or with the chassis, I can overlook an unattractive “skin”….but this Camry is a pure appliance as transportation device.
Looks like a rental car
There are many parts of the country where the only time you’d see a “CE” package Toyota was as a rental. I’m amazed that this dealer stocked any.
There was even a CE package Sienna minivan that came with the 4 cyl engine! Talk about penalty box…
It didn’t seem like it was in the dealer’s inventory but ‘special ordered’. In Toyota parlance, that means that the dealer had to search inventory of other dealerships and managed to find one somewhere else. With that ‘appliance’ color scheme, it definitely sounds like it was pulled from a fleet order, albeit an oddball one with the manual transmission.
I was in rental cars at this time (2006-2012), and aside from a very rare Corolla CE eith crank windows and no cruise, all Toyotas I ever saw were LE or SE grade. I have driven probably a couple thousand different Camries and never been in a CE. Probably more a very minimally built car to advertise a low starting price. Rental companies don’t want too many rare birds or sales failures. Sure, the unwanted cars are easy to buy cheap but then they’re just as impossible to resell used as they are new.
As a second hand car today, I wouldn’t hesitate to pay the same amount for a CE manual as I’d pay for an LE, like for like.
I rented a few (automatic, of course). Kind of boring, which is all it took to please some people (the ones who say, ” Rides nice” — at 30mph). Nothing stood out except that on one, the instrument/gauge lighting would not dim and shone at full daytime brightness at night. Very annoying, very distracting, and I took it back to Hertz the next day.
1997, 2002, 2007. It seems to me like every 5 years you figure out that there can’t be a house without Camry. 🙂
I can’t imagine a life of driving cars that put the power to the wrong wheels and can’t handle snow driving. I hope the zoom zoom is Miata.x
Not sure what you mean….I’ve always found front-wheel drive cars to be so much better in the snow than rear-wheel.
lol yes. When I was in college a snowstorm came through during the winter break and buried a 1982 Celebrity and a 1987 Oldsmobile Cutlass up to their bumpers in the snow. Dad fired up the Celebrity and drove it over the frozen snow drift to freedom. I had to dig and dig and dig and dig to even get that Cutlass to budge (even with positrac).
FWD or AWD for me in the snow.
My stepmom had one of these, though in a higher trim level and with the normal automatic. I drove it a few times and had the exact sensation I had when driving her 74 Cutlass Supreme decades ago: “This is a nice car. This is what normal people drive. Some day this could be me. But not yet.”
I remember liking the interior and how nicely the 4 cylinder engine suited the car.
My Father-in-law has been a dedicated Camry man, starting in 1987 and owning a variant of each generation including this one. He still has that 2007 Camry LE 4-cylinder automatic. It’s charcoal gray outside with alloy wheels and a light gray interior. Boring, but nice. He’s at an age now where he has no interest in a new car, and is frankly still happy with the Camry. It has about 60K miles on it, and he doesn’t drive it much any more, though maintains it religiously. So it will be like so many of those 1970s GM A-Bodies were in the ’80s and ’90s: nice, boring “old” cars that will last until driven into the ground by second and third owners. I still remember all the A-Bodies–usually earth tones, that started with “mature” owners and were bombing around with a younger person behind the wheel a decade or two later. Salt of the automotive earth.
Growing up, my immigrant, depression-era survivor parents rarely bought a car that had a lot of equipment. At best, one level above the stripper model. As a consequence, my early buying habits were pretty well equipped cars biased toward performance models.
Competition and economies of scale in the last several years have pushed the “base” model car to new heights. My daughter got a stripper Malibu LS last year. It has all the standard items these days; PS, PB, AT, PW, ABS, traction control, AM/FM/XM/CD, OnStar, Bluetooth, auto start/stop, alloy wheels 4 wheel disc brakes, A/C and tinted glass. She got the all-season floor mats extra. That’s it. The car has cloth interior (not a bad thing in my universe), but no heated seats, no sunroof, no remote start or keyless entry.
I don’t know about you, but the lack of leather and the couple of other things listed there don’t bother me in the least. I’m finding as I get older, that I can do without less stuff and the appeal of the “stripper” Malibu growing stronger all of the time. My kid is in the process of moving and left me the car to drive until the house sells. So, I’ve been enjoying a little seat time in a “new” car.
I no longer diss stripper models; I’m rather willing to explore the lower end of the offerings these days.
There’s something about a car like this that I like, reliable, comfortable, roomy, and just a bit different with the 5 speed manual. And not too expensive.
Back in the day when I drove aging and dented personal cars, I was always impressed when I got into a nice new (albeit low end) rental car. That “new car feeling and smell” never really wore off my psyche, hence the appeal of this white over gray “appliance”.
Besides, I’d rather not drive a car that is more exciting than I am.
Now, if I was in the market for a new car, a low end Camry with that new 3.5-Liter V6 DOHC, 301 hp engine would be on my short list. Or a 2.0T Accord with a 6 speed. Both are appliance-like vehicles with Q-ship characteristics.
Zoom zoom indeed.
Lets add modest and understated to the list of adjectives and celebrate how lucky we are to have cars like this available at very reasonable prices.
Gml:
I have owned FWD and RWD cars and trucks and driven both types of cars in snow, I guess I’m not as good a driver as you. I have found both can be nearly equal in snow. What makes the difference, to me anyway, is the tires and obviously both require their own adjustment in….style(?) in bad weather.
In my experience, with good types (and brakes) FWD cars can be a ball to drive. Loved my Infiniti G20.
Recall renting quite a few of these for business travel, most in LE trim. Well built and stone reliable. Loved the big, intuitive radio and HVAC controls. Boring perfection, and I say that as a compliment. It’s not just luck that these have been the number one or two best selling car in the U.S. for decades.
Kind of an off-topic question about leasing – as I understand things, part of the calculation in determining your payment is the predicted market value of the car at turn-in time (aka the Residual). Given the undesirability (for most Americans) of a manual transmission car, would a manual transmission drive down the residual, making the payments more expensive than an otherwise identical car with an automatic?
As for the Camry, I have always respected and perhaps even admired them, but never really felt much affection for them. They kind of remind me of my Aunt, the Nun, who taught elementary school…..
Hmmmm… Needs a “gold package.” …NOT! 🙂
Count me in with those who can appreciate lower-end vehicles. Today’s feature COAL photographs quite nicely. The upgraded wheel covers and the side moulding were great additions that help this Camry CE to tastefully disguise its otherwise humble roots.
Part of me envies you for choosing a modern 4 cylinder car with manual transmission. The newest I’ve owned as a daily driver was my ’84 Chevette. The added oomph of today’s fuel injection, an extra gear or two and about 900 extra CC’s sounds like a blast.
Too bad about the lack of keyless entry. Were the locks were already powered? If so, perhaps remote could’ve been added? USB audio is one of my favorite modern automotive conveniences, but wasn’t yet common in cars of this vintage.
Why do manufacturers always put the manual transmission in with the stripper? Don’t they think those of us who like to control our cars like having a flossier interior and power windows? Or cruise? Since they have to certify the drivetrain combination for the EPA anyway, why not offer it across the spectrum? Even just make it special order only and the profit would be more than what Nissan made on the stripper I currently own.
I’m tired of option packages, too. I don’t want to have to order heated seats to get a sunroof.
Those gauges that light-up only when the car is running (‘Optitron’) are dangerous. At night, it makes it seem as if the headlights are on, and it’s worse with vehicles that have dimly lit DRLs.
I’ve seen more than a few people driving around at night with their headlights off and I suspect it’s primarily due to those illuminated gauges. I was recently nearly rear-ended when I pulled out in front of a newer car that I didn’t see because it was dark and he didn’t have his headlights on.
I’m not much for a lot of regulation, but I’d sure like to see vehicles equipped with those kind of gauges (which, today, seems to be everyone) required to have automatic headlights, as well.
I’ve seen this a lot this winter. Now that the days are shorter I’m going to and from work in the dark. It’s only 3 miles, and I can pretty much count on seeing at least one newer vehicle driving around with no lights on. It’s bright enough that they can still see where they are going, but all to easy for someone else to not see them.
To be honest, I am a bit surprised by this as I thought automatic headlights were standard on most cars now.
They are. I will say, my grandmother’s 2014 Kia Soul Plus has automatic headlights, but she keeps taking them off AUTO mode, for some reason. That said, I’ve never seen her driving around with no lights on…
My Mother In Law is one of those people who will drive around w/o her lights so my wife and I were quite happy when she was ready to dump her PT cruiser for a Mustang. Of course it took quite a while for her to get used to them and leave them in the auto position. She also has a problem with the dome light that doesn’t go out the instant you close the door. So more than once my wife and I received calls about them not going off. “The dome light is still on” “I opened and closed the door and they are still on and I’ve done that several times and it still won’t go off”. Of course every time she opened the door it reset the timer.
Auto headlamps are most definitely ‘not’ standard on all new vehicles. Unless it’s in the luxury class, if you go for the base or strippo model, the likelihood is nearly 100% it will not be so equipped.
But, yeah, move up to the next trim level, it’s one of the features they’ll throw in.
Not all stripper models don’t have auto headlights. I had a 2009 Pontiac Vibe with no options at all except for AC. (The car had manual windows, locks, mirrors, transmission) and it had auto headlights (before somebody says that it is because it was a Toyota so it had them, my 2012 Scion XB was fully equipped and did not have this feature so Toyota was inconsistent)
My 2011 Chevy Colorado is a stripper that has only a automatic transmission and it has them also.
The Vibe had them because it was a GM, I bet the strippo Matrix doesn’t have them.
Lots of base/stripper GM and Ford cars have auto lights, our ex-fleet zero option C-Max and Escape have them and my MIL’s Mustang with the only option being the Automatic trans has them.
Our ’09 Camry Hybrid has those same instruments, but it also has automatic headlights/daytime running lights. I’ve gotten spoiled by automatic headlights.
Our ’09 Camry Hybrid has sold me on the value of an automotive appliance. It does its job faithfully, reliably, uncomplainingly day after day after day, without drama. In over five years, it has never once let us down, and repair costs have been low indeed. At 104,000 miles, it’s still trustworthy and solid. We bought ours used; the original buyer had taken the bigger hit for upgrade packages (it has leather, moonroof, upgraded JBL audio (really, really good!) and (not terribly useful) DVD-based navigation, heated outside mirrors, heated front seats, and such). In the hybrid, one has no choice of transmission; Toyota’s CVT is part and parcel of, and inseparable from, their hybrid system. At any rate, it’s our right-sized vehicle.
Toyotas invariably get poor marks from the enthusiast magazines for indifferent driving dynamics, but they generally excel in two critical categories that matter most to many consumers: reliability and fuel mileage.
But, from what I’ve read, this has changed with the latest iteration of the Camry. If I were in the market for a mid-size sedan, it would be high on my list of contenders.
About two years ago, one of our kids was in need of an economical commuter car. My wife’s immediate reaction was “let’s give them the Jetta, and we’ll look for something different for me.” The Jetta in question was a ’12 tdi Wagon. Like most VW’s, it was satisfying to drive, and the diesel gave outstanding fuel economy. The flip side, of course, is that this car shared something else with VW’s as the miles and years rolled on- Constant little niggly issues that never caused catastrophic breakdowns, but had a certain nuisance factor.
After a bit of shopping and test driving, we came home with a new ’16 Camry SE. For just under $20K after discounts and incentives, I thought it was a good value. The wife loved the color (Blue Crush, I think it’s called). Two years later, not the tiniest thing has gone wrong, and more importantly, the wife flat loves it. Everything about the car is just right- right size, right price, decent fuel economy, comfortable long distance cruiser. Any way you look at it, from a regular consumer’s point of view, it’s a tough car to beat.
Damn, that’s a good price. In 2011 we got a new LE with the alloy wheel package for $20 even for my wife to use as commuter car. Just turned 90k miles and we’ve had exactly zero issues so far.
These are certainly great cars. Appliances true, but great. I thought Toyota had discontinued both the standard tranny and CE models by 2007, so I was surprised to see they were still available in yours. I think the Camry looks good in white for some reason. I like the touches you made to yours, too. My only complaint with the Toyota product is very odd lumbar support, or lack thereof, in the seats. They feel spongy to me, and curved in the opposite manner of how they should support my back. Maybe it has been too many Hondas – I’ve never had a problem with the seats in any of the Accords I’ve owned over the years. Other than that I could see myself owning one of these cars. They are bullet-proof and safe as well. Can’t ask for much more than that.
Based on the superlative. Perfect Performance of my (at the time) daily work commuter 2011 Camry LE: if anything happened to my current Early Retirement Daily Driver (2005 Lincoln Town Car) I would go pick out another red/tan interior new Camry.
If automotive perfection can be judged “boring” by some picky media and print pundits…..so be it.
In the “Real World” many of us don’t blindly follow the recommendations of pithy magazine editors, who get brand new, free cars that are driven for a short period of time and quickly turned back in.
“The car was assembled very well, and the interior, while basic, was made of quality materials. ”
I think you’re the first and only person to express this opinion :p
Aside from the velour seat material which was the last of its kind for a state-side Toyota, this generation of Camry is unequivocally the most cost cut, poorly assembled one that’s ever been made. In your photo of the dash, you can see all the misalignments and gaps in the (very hard and cheap) plastics. I’m as big a Camry-appreciator as you’ll ever meet (the older ones especially), so it was particularly appalling for me when I first experienced the ’07-’11 gen cars’ interiors.
Really neat that you hunted down a stick shift one of these, they are true unicorns.
gtemnykh: Have you noticed the interior quality (!) of the same years Nissan cars?
Talk about “decontented”……
Oh my goodness yes. Nissan (IMO) lagged Toyota throughout the mid 90s for interior quality, but holy cow was the early 2000s a horror show for them. They tried to deviate from the usual “no-nonsense” handsome/ergonomics-first look that the Japanese were traditionally strong in through the prior 2 decades and went to something “stylish” but also made with horrid materials.
Agree!
I had the pleasure (?) of renting this generation of Camry on a business trip to Plano, TX. I believe that it was an LE that I rented, with an automatic. The gauges were nice (I’ve always liked how crisp the Toyota/Lexus backlight gauges looked), but that center stack was just odd. The fading light blue/white lighting behind the buttons of the radio just looked out of place.
This was the generation of Camry that got snared in the “Unintended Acceleration” debacle for Toyota. By the time I rented my car, it was several months after Toyota had made a running change to install a brake override system in the car. Given that my rental had about 200 miles on it, it was safe to assume that this Camry had it on it.
Of course I had to test it out. 😉 So I found a back road near the hotel, brought the car up to about 70. I floored it for a second, and then stomped the brake pedal with my left foot while continuing to keep the car floored. For a few seconds the car slowed, clearly fighting against the floored accelerator. Then after those few seconds, the car nosedived and came to a rapid stop. System worked. 🙂 It did take a few days to clear the car of the brake smell though.
Every car built for decades now has brakes that are much more powerful than the engine. No car engine can outrun its brakes, if they’re firmly engaged once until the car stops, against a stuck open accelerator (due to floor mat issues, in Toyota’s case). Toyota put that system in mostly as a PR gesture. The Toyota UA debacle boiled down to “operator error”. It was the Audi UA debacle V.2.0
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/history/the-audi-500-unintended-acceleration-debacle/
With my left foot firmly planted on the brake pedal, then slowly stepping down on the gas pedal with my right foot, I took Perverse Pride in showing uninformed fools how my parent’s Audi 5000 (purchased for a fraction of what it cost before the “60 minutes” assassin/hit piece) could NOT do the “Unintended Acceleration” stupidity-in-action that it was so maligned for.
Then, with my size 13D right foot on the gas pedal and my left foot on the brake pedal I pointed out how close they were together.
I then explained the (at the time new) concept of “Operator Error.”
Invariably the other person’s comment was something like: “Why didn’t “60 Minutes” show this?”
Unlike SO many American drivers; I have NEVER been a “Left Foot Braker”.
oh agreed. The toyota thing was some what the floormats, but clearly operator error. There is no way that these cars could have overpowered the brakes when you are ‘standing up’ on the brake pedal. The problem is that they are standing up on the wrong pedal, assuming that they are standing up on the brake pedal.
But unlike other cars that don’t have the brake override system, it is weird to feel the engine just cut out like that when you floor both pedals.
Speaking of unintended acceleration, I witnessed this accident at the car wash last week. A car wash employee got into this Jeep Grand Cherokee in order to pull it forward a few feet to be dried off. He hit the gas instead of the brake.
The Jeep careened full-throttle through the parking lot, hit a slight embankment and became airborne, landing on the roof of a minivan in the adjacent parking lot.
Miraculously, no one was hurt. The driver is climbing down out of the Jeep in this picture. I’ve never seen a car fly before, and never want to again.
I have a 2009 LE with the same grey interior, so it looks familiar. Except that it’s got the automatic trans – I’ve seen maybe 2 Camrys with stick shifts in over 30+ years of models.
Sorry. Unless you have experienced unintended acceleration, don’t be so quick to claim operator error. In early 2013, my wife and I were driving in her 2005 Solara which we had owned since new. It was her car, and she was driving. She pulled into a parking spot at a local restaurant. At 5 MPH with her foot gently on the brake, the 6 cyl. roared, the car accelerated rapidly, jumped the curb and up an embankment. Too shocked to act appropriately, I looked over and she was standing on the brake. It lasted no longer than 3 seconds. She put the car in reverse and rolled back down the hill. She does not drive with two feet and the mats were secure. Toyota would do nothing for me, saying the Solara was not part of the recall. The day it came out of the body shop we traded it in. Had I not been with her, I wouldn’t never had believed it. I came home that night and read hundreds of anecdotes that sounded like I had written them. Again, thousands of lifetime drivers of Toyotas and Lexus across the model lines having the same dream. I don’t think so. Between the time your car suddenly goes to full throttle instantaneously, and the time it takes you to slam the brakes, that’s when the damage is done. Sure, floor the car with your foot on the brake and the car won’t move. When it happens independently, different story. Most of these situations occurred at low speeds. Pulling into a parking spot or garage. Stopping for a red light. Something you would never expect to happen.