So just how exactly does one become the best selling car in America? The only reliable way one becomes number one in just about anything: doing your homework and practicing every day. And it really does helps if the competition has forgotten that formula.
Read old reviews about the first generation Camry, and the exact qualities that I felt when I drove a new one a while back are all there, right down the list except for one (roomy): “quiet, smooth, solid, competent but not exciting handling, comfortable, well built, reliable, plenty of torque and power but not sporty”. Same car, twenty eight years ago; just add some super-sizing and drop the hatch, and the formula is as intact (and winning) as ever.
My first exposure to the Camry was in 1984, when the Chief Engineer of the tv station and I took a business trip together, and he talked me into renting a Camry. Having long learned to trust his judgment, we made sure one was available and reserved. Good call too, as the default rentals of the day would typically have been a floppy Buick Regal, Ford Tempo, or K car. The Camry’s obvious solidity and quiet manners despite it being a compact was immediately apparent, although it lacked the tip-in and roarty zest of GM’s V6s, and of course the torque steer that came with it.
Undoubtedly, there were two cars under Toyota’s microscope when they designed the completely all-new 1983 Camry, a major departure from the long family of RWD cars that preceded it: the Honda Accord of course, but also the Chevrolet Citation. Clearly, the Accord showed the way forward with FWD in the popular sized class. But I’m guessing that Toyota, like most of the imports, was more than a bit worried about GM’s highly ambitious X-cars. And in size, configuration, and even design, the Citation’s influence is unmistakable.
The Citation had all the right ingredients: modern, space-efficient bodies, including five-door hatches. But as we all know all too well, they were a flash in the pan that quickly sizzled out due to their lack of proper full development and a rash of quality issues. The X-Bodies’ flame-out threw the gates to the now-biggest sector of the market wide wide open, and the Camry glided in, in stealth mode at first.
Because before the Camry could live up to its name and take the crown (which is what “Camry” means as an Anglicized phonetic transcription of the word Japanese word kanmuri), it had to sit out the Taurus’ and Accord’s years at the top. But who’s in a hurry, when you’re thinking longer than average. The Camry truly is the tortoise. How it outran GM’s X-Bodies and even the Taurus is easier to understand than its ability to knock the Accord off the throne. But it did, in its silent but deadly way.
What’s somewhat remarkable is that the just announced 2012 Camry is only the third truly all-new Camry since the first one. The popular and quite successfully restyled gen2 (front car) sat on the same platform as the first one, despite the very different external sheet metal, which made itself felt by the relative compact interior. The all-new and definitive gen3 (rear) set the brutally high standard that wiped out the competition once and for all; its remarkably refined manners truly made it the Lexus of its competition, and was what most distinguished it from the decidedly tauter and sportier Accord of the time.
The gen4 was a rationalization of the gen3, as Toyota found ways to cut costs like the expensive double seals on the doors. Hardly anyone noticed, especially since prices now became more directly competitive against Detroit’s ever-more pressured competitors. The Camry’s march downwards in price forced GM to fight ever more on price, and cut corners and content in the process, but it was a losing battle.
The differences in the gen5, 6 and 7 are more subtle than ever. Not surprising, as they all share the same basic platform. New platforms aren’t what they once were; car development is now more about refinement and cost rationalization. And as the dramatically reduced cost of the Camry in inflation-adjusted terms shows, this approach is obviously working very well, for Toyota anyway.
The profits that Toyota has made with three distinct generations of Camrys over almost three decades have undoubtedly been remarkable. It wasn’t that long ago that some well leaked info suggested that Toyota was making 90% of its global profits in the USA. The Camry is the gold crown, regardless of the language or the spelling. And Toyota’s going to be mighty reluctant to see anyone else wearing it.
I have never failed to be very impressed with every Camry I have ever driven. Every one, and I have done wheel time on every generation, has struck me as well built, solid, easy to drive, intuitive and exceptionally reliable.
Last year, I spent a week with a 2010 Camry SE. It rode and handled exceptionally well, as close to an ideal balance as I have ever seen. The 4 banger was smooth and never once lacked for power. It also returned a solid 30 mpg at Grand Canyon altitudes, this at 80 mph. All the controls were easy to understand and worked flawlessly. I knew why this was America’s most popular car. I was determined to find a good used one for myself. It simply doesn’t make sense to buy a new one since the cars are about as reliable as you can get and the “unintended acceleration” fiasco made used values very reasonable. Further, there is not a huge difference between generations so you really don’t miss much on a five year old example. I ended up finding a mint 2000 Acura TL with only 66,000 km on it at a very reasonable price and decided to indulge myself. However, I would recommend a used Camry to anyone.
Why you may ask? Have a look at the interior of Paul’s example. That is quality.
Ok, I admit it. I am the original owner of a 2002 Gen 5 Camry XLE, 4 cyl, with 167,000 miles on the clock. The metro Washington DC area is my grind and the Camry is perfectly suited for the task. Whether doing 85 mph at 5 AM on I-95 or crawling on the beltways at rush hour, I’m comfortable. It has held up well inside and out and I can not find a reason to purchase a new car.
I was at the dealer having a new “smart” key made having worn the original to the point that it would not open doors, which is usually done with the fob anyway. Looked at the new Camry Hybrid with a sticker showing 34 MPG on the highway. I still get 28 and I am not all that gentle.
Other than tires, brakes, and battery, repairs have consisted of an A/C relay and serpentine belt tensioner to date…knock on wood! Interior and exterior have held up well. A recent fender bender meant getting a new head light assembly. Shortly after, I decided to install a new assembly on the opposite side and the car looks pretty much like new again.
I keep thinking about what I would want to buy next. That’s how I spend much of my time while I drive…and drive…and drive the Camry.
I too am an owner of a Gen 5 Camry, 4cly although an, LE and she just crested 250K miles. I’ve taken it on some pretty mean forest service roads, been sideways into a fence at 60 on a dirt track, high centered it on a snow bank and it keeps going and going. I have a roof rack and tow hitch and regularly have both in use.
What I love about my Camry is that it has never missed a beat no matter what I’ve thrown at it. That and how exceedingly comfortable it is on long trips.
I constantly wonder what my next car will be after this bites the dust. I would get a new Camry, but need more space. If Toyota would only make a Camry wagon I would be set.
Look, I’m not doubting you and the Camry’s reliability, but this is where I start to smell rats:
“Other than tires, brakes, and battery, repairs have consisted of an A/C relay and serpentine belt tensioner to date”
Well, that and your key wearing out. And I hope you buy in a new belt at the same time. And two new light assemblies. Did you replace the bulbs? o2 sensors?
All cars wear out, eventually.
That is an impressive repair history for 250,000 miles, charlie. Compare that to a Taurus, for example. That is if you can find one with 250,000 miles on it.
Your right, I had already previously replaced the belt and some bulbs. The entire light assembly on front right was damaged and replaced. As the left front was still original and “fogged”, despite trying a polishing kit, I desided to replace it and the car no longer looks like it has cateracts.
Items do and will wearout, but I am still on the original exhaust system to my own surprise.
I don’t “love” my Camry and it is not particularly exciting. I enjoy mentally shopping for a new car, but i don’t have a need to buy a new car yet and I am starting to wonder how long the Camry will keep going on a most reasonable maintenance budget. Even the driver’s seat is still holding up well.
I drive a lot of clients around in it and have NOTHING to be embaressed about. I keep it clean and there are no obvious signs of wear. I couldn’t say that about the long progression of Taurus wagons I treated the same way.
Astute observations; I can add little to it.
And I’m familiar with the breed. It was the Camry that converted my mother, in her senior years, from an import-distrusting automotive hyper-conservative to a three-times repeat Toyota customer.
What happened? Exactly as you say. Toyota and GM started with the exact same formula and package; the one (Toyota) was a little better out the gate than the other.
But Toyota didn’t rest on their laurels. Nor did they pretend the Camry was something it was not, or that it was the car for everybody. They identified its niche; conservative buyers like my mother; and starting with a good first package, they strove for continual quality improvement.
And GM…we know what they were about. Deny the flaws in the brakes, until forced into recall by the NHTSA. Pretend the torque-steer was a sign of quality or uncontrollable road power. Ignore the corrosion issues. Hang a “II” behind the Citation’s name. And, finally, take the whole rotten package, give it new dressing and pretend it’s a new model…the Cavalier.
GM’s way led to failure; a failure they still deny. Toyota’s way was one of delivering raw consumer VALUE…and that is why they are attacked by shyster lawyers and the government owners of GM on sham defects such as the alleged sticking throttles.
The Celebrity was the continuation of the X body and it was quite successful all the way up to the Corsica.
The J (Cavalier) body hatchback looked similar but was a different platform all together.
I’ll accept that.
Frankly, the geneology of those little GM cars of that era, kinda bores me. At best, they were bland and disposable; at worst, they were dangerous and exploitative.
Both the Camry and the X-Car are right where they belong right now.
I like to think of the X-cars as beta test A-bodies. Of course, you shouldn’t release a beta version to the public! The A-bodies were competitive cars for the ’80s, if conservative looking once the Taurus was released.
My stepmother was exactly the same type of Camry customer as your mother–she converted from driving Suburbans (she lived in Texas during the oil glut years) to a first-generation Camry, bought used–then when that one got a little long in the tooth, bought the next generation, again used. That one was lost to a massive tree toppling in a storm and flattening it (luckily with no one inside). Then she went to an Acura TL, which although not a Camry is not too far from the Camry formula, just a little more upscale. I doubt she’ll ever go back to a Suburban or any American vehicle.
I’m glad to see some positive remarks on Camry for once.. I sold them for a while and I was always impressed with them. From my college buddy’s rotted out 88 Camry that started and ran flawlessly through 287,000 miles all the way up to the 2012, they were/are above average cars.
Have a look at today’s TTAC article about the Camry’s pricing and how the youngsters are slagging it for not having RWD and 400 hp. It is a bleeding joke because most of them drive beaters or econoboxes themselves and have never been in a Camry or any family car for that matter.
I love the Camry and I have driven many over the years. But then again I am 47 and have three kids and I have realised that I have no place to drive a 400 hp car, nor do I want to pay to insure it, keep it and put gas in it. Neither do the Camry haters on TTAC for that matter.
I keep forgetting that 2/3 of the comments on TTAC and Jalop are made by people that are either still in college or they’re a bunch of Kippers that haven’t been out in the real world yet.
I have never paid much attention to these cars, but a friend has driven them for years. He had a silver 1992 LE bought brand new, drove it until he bought a new 2000 LE, then gave the ’92 to his son in the Chicago area, who may still be driving it. Last time I talked to him he had a 2006 or so Camry and his wife had a late model Sienna. I didn’t care much for the 2007 redesign, but must admit I rather like the 2012, which recalls earlier Camrys. It reminds me of the 911s (997) that recall the final air-cooled 993s.
Or have either never had a new car or one they paid cash for. I pay cash for cars. Never financed one in my life.
My local Subaru/Toyota dealer used to have these type of Camrys as loaners. In exact same color too, though it was the sedan version. I remember driving it often when my Subie SVX is out for service. and I always like its honest, direct feel. It just feel trustworthy, you know, an automotive appliance it might be, but you just know it won’t let you down. Today’s cars seem to feel like there’s a layer protecting you from the road and the environment. But that’s the ‘refinement’ that Americans crave. And the 1992 Camry, unlike this thing, finally have it in spades, and only then the Camrys started to sell like like hotcakes.
In 1999, I bought an 84 Camry for $250. Was in great shape except for a wheel bearing which was replaced in a few weeks. It wound up as my daily driver for three or four years. Had well over 200k. 5 speed, A/C, cruise. And it all worked. Took me to see Steely Dan at the Gorge, Colorado to see the family, even across Nevada’s vaunted Highway 50 (The Loneliest Road In The World).
But like any machine it wore out. Breaks were shot, alternator went shortly after, and then it simply wouldn’t start. I had other cars by this point, so me and a friend did the honorable thing and burned it up with fireworks. A truly great car.
Those early Camry also had the Corona badge on them plenty of runners in NZ also we have countless SV series JDM Camrys here which suffer in the handling area thanks to soft JDM suspensions and too narrow tyres but the damn things keep going I wanted a turbo diesel but couldnt find a good one niow I have a ‘new’ car I see the right model for sale on line turbo diesel manual 4wd its hit $600 and climbing Most Camcams here are the Australian built widebody models though thanks to used imports the Lexus Windom got here[camry with gold badges] The haters on TTAC as usual are full of **it and the only big hp RWD cars worth having cant be got in the US anyway just shut up and buy a Camcam.
I very much respect the 80s and 90s Camrys, however the Camry is no longer class-leading, though it doesn’t have any obvious faults either.
Because the class is finally catching up to the Camry. For years its only competitor was the Accord. I might add they used to cost a lot more, too.
In 1985 or so I knew a guy who had bought a diesel Camry. He really liked the car, but after an engine failure, he was upset to find that he could not get another diesel.
Later in the 80s, my then-future wife had an 88 Accord. Around that time spent a week or two in a rental Camry, and just never liked it as well. It felt like what GM would have made had GM made a good Japanese car. The Camry made me really appreciate the Accord more.
But most people aren’t as fussy about their cars, and I know a lot of satisfied Toyota Camry customers – many of these people were longtime GM buyers. I will tell you this – I have driven both the late model Camry and the 06 Buick LaCrosse, and I would take the Toyota any day.
The Toyota diesel used in the Camry Corona and Corolla was the 2c usually turboed for the Camry basicly unbreakable I sold one recently with 259000kms but it had done 4 years with the speedo off to avoid diesel tax it,so the milage could be anything still runs well but gutless the 3c is the better engine 2.2 litre turbo but that was in later JDM models.
One thing noone has mentioned is how well Yoyota pulled these off the car pictured was also on sale in sedan and wagon form with RWD a friend had one in OZ from new its only problem was a failed clutch master cylinder in 98
It appears Toyota fitted a FWD subframe with powertrain into a RWD chassis and it worked GM started from the ground up and created a disaster Nissan pretty much did the Toyota trick with their FWD bluebird though I had to move to New Zealand to see any Aussie didnt seem to get any front drivers that size The 90 model Corona diesel I had was really the rear drive body with the FWD subframe tube rear axle on leafs primitive with mediocre road manners but it worked and there are many survivors.
My father in law had an 87 Camry (XLE?) about the same time I had my 87 Dodge Lancer ES Turbo. Even though his car was an atmo motor, with the fuel injection and twin cams it made about the same power as my SOHC 2.2 Turbo. My FIL would give me crap about how cheesy Mopars are/were. I had the last laugh, my Lancer went 11 years and 160+K miles… He traded the 87 for a 92 or 93, after replacing a bunch of parts. (He’s very hard on equipment. So is his daughter, my wife.) The two cars couldn’t have been more different, probably because they were a reflection of their owners. I remember the seats in that Camry, they were as hard as the ones in contemporary Mercedes, I came to think of it as the Japanese Mercedes.
Oddly enough, by 1991 I was in Georgia selling Toyotas (along with other lines, but mostly Toyotas), and that bodystyle of Camry was coming to it’s end. It was still an excellent car, I can remember having conversations with the mechanics about the new models (1992s) were going to have plastic connectors holding the key lock mechanisms together instead of the stainless steel clips that were used on the current version. Plus, they had their doubts about the V6 motors. They had seen the fours do 200,000+ miles (remember 20 years ago), but the V6′s needed to prove themselves.
I did a pretty brisk business in Celicas, Supras and MR2s. I was the ‘motorhead’ on the lot. But the real business was trucks. I shoud have realized this was the shape of things to come in the Roaring 90′s. Especially when 4Runners and pickups were outselling Tercels, Celicas, Supras and MR2s.
My father in law bought two more generations of Camry. By the time we moved back to the midwest (1998), he had switched to Grand Marquises. Something about the last Camry he didn’t like and they never bought another one. I never found out why, and he never wanted to elaborate.
As for me, I have certain memories (not all good) associated with the name Camry, One in particular is the time I went to demo a car with a client, he managed to find one of the few low line Camrys with a V6 and 5 speed. You meet all kinds in that line of work, and I don’t think this guy really had all of his marbles. He got the car up to 110 MPH when I stridently reminded him he would be responsible for any moving violations he invoked. He eventually bought a 4Runner or something, after we test drove every frakin car on the lot. Paid cash, too. Still a weirdo.
Another time, I was ferrying a customer home from dropping off a car at the service department, when while getting on to an on ramp in damp weather, I found that the Camry had a tendency to snap oversteer with the application of light braking. That was not fun, at all.
Not my cup of meat, but I do respect them for what they are. However, like the Accord and the Taurus before it, it’s no longer a given that this will be the runaway sales champ anymore. Detroit (Ford in particular), Korea and VW are gunning for the crown so to speak.
Lift off oversteer is the main handling failure of Camrys the 6 is the worst that combined with turn in understeer makes them a lousy canyon carver Kiwi Toyotas have near rally spec struts new to curb the cornering problems but try a JDM car they really are awful US and JDM share suspesion settings but you lot are on straight freeways so it dont matter
I bought a derivative of the 2nd generation in 1994 and to date, its one of the best cars I have ever had the pleasure to drive. It was a 1990 Lexus ES 250 with a 5 speed. The 2.5 V6 was the only engine choice in that model. It was also an option on the concurrent Camry. I put over 155,000 (mostly) trouble free miles on the car and would buy another today-if the right car came along. The engine was smooth as Jack Daniels and Coke and the transmission was light and precise. Alas, my son became very proficient at soccer and we had to have a minivan to schlepp him and a good part of his traveling team around the south. The ES was replaced by a T&C. Worst auto related decision that we ever made.
I have a 2011 Camry as a rental this week and next for my southwestern hootenanny and it’s a great car. It has the 2.5L I-4 and despite a totally non descript interior,I could easily see putting a couple hundred K on one of these.
“The ES was replaced by a T&C. Worst auto related decision that we ever made.”
EPIC!
Quote of the day, for sure.
The most expensive part of owning the Town and Country was building the spare room onto our house for the MoPar mechanic to spend his nights and weekends.
I owned a ’95 Camry 2.2 LE automatic immediatly before I bought the Lincoln featured in my CC story here.
I REALLY hated that car when it came to driving and so forth. The driver’s seat seat bottom cushion was every bit of 3 inches too short, and offered what felt like almost no thigh support. The gas pedal was about ten feet off the floor, so in stop and go traffic you’d get a cramp in your right shin from having to point your toes back toward your face to feather the pedal as you putt around. It was painful.
Interestingly, the REAR seat was fabulous. Good leg room, the seatback angle was perfect, it actually had the thigh support the front seat lacked, and the flip-down arm rest was at EXACTLY the right angle and height. The front seat didn’t even have a fucking arm rest! Just a padded thing on top of the console lid; the armrest was optional for the FRONT seats!
Still, it really was a great car. I am not exaggerating AT ALL to say that the ONLY non-maintenance or wear and tear costs with it were a dogbone motor mount, a driver’s door ajar switch, and a sway bar end link bracket. That’s IT. If you count struts as a failure, then they failed at about 100k and were too soft since new. I am a maintenance fanatic and the car was maintained to my normal lunatic degree (the diff and tranny drain plugs got used many times in 248k) but that car would have ran till the sun burned out if a drunk hadn’t totaled it for me. Still got good mileage, too.
Hmmm, I guess I kinda miss it after all.
We only saw a few (relatively) of this model Camry in Australia because the RWD Corona continued on for another generation here, my brother in law had one of those. The Camry really seems an evolution of the Corona liftback, Toyota was one of the last to convert to fwd.
Yes John I saw the difference once back in NZ . Australian Toyotas were a long way behind, NZ has no local assembly and used JDM cars are common so the JDM/US market cars are here either new or used imports. Australia has a very limited car choices with few models being assembled compared to what Toyota actually have on offer, the range is mind boggling but importing cars into Oz is very very expensive the tax is horrendous and based on OZ value not purchase price Ive been investigating moving back and Ive seen car prices that are way more expensive than NZ even for Holdens and such.
I occasionally see a JDM import sedan/hatch, sometimes even a JDM version of a car that was sold here, which I didn’t think was allowed. Most are sports types, or newer Skyline (Infinity G35/37), etc.
I would agree car prices are more expensive, my sister is about to come back from a stint overseas and looking at cars in the $8k range – this seems to be about 2004 Holden Astra, Ford Focus or about 2007 Fiesta, Hyundai Getz territory. Haven’t done much searching yet.
you were allowed to import non Australian models but anything sold new was verboten
My friend had a 03 camry that he hated with a passion. I saw him get it new in ealy 03 and within 60k miles it was burning oil, transmission failed. Everything that could go wrong, went wrong. He got the engine rebuilt and everything only to have it go out again last year. Drove him back into the arms of American cars. He bought a Ford Fiesta. Those cars are really nice, but they are tiny.
I never owned a foreign car. I have driven plenty and my wife is a nut about foreign cars but i never bought a bad American car. My 78 El camino SS i bought new and it is sitting with 287K miles on the odometer. 350′s are generally pretty hardy engines. bought a 1987 Cutlass Supreme. It was a great car, but gave up the ghost in early 2000′s with 200K on the odometer. Sold it for 500$. Then i bought a 2004 S-10. 30 years and only three cars owned. I am shopping around for a corvair right now though.
The Fiesta is NOT American so it should be ok
It’s a euro car in American guise.
Fair enuff its sold here as a European
As I commented on the Sable post, the late 80s Camrys had harsh interiors, especially if you were tall. But they fixed that after 92, while Ford kind of lost the thread until the 06 Fusion.
And then there were Chevy Luminas, Pontiac Whatevers, Mopar cloud cars, ad nauseum. I can’t imagine anyone getting attached to a midrange 90s domestic FWD as a fun car…though I suppose people used to say that about Valiants and Chevy IIs.
GM X-cars are the automotive equivalent of cooking lobster in a microwave…
My mom loved her 87 Camry bought used in 1990. But Midwestern road salt ruined its undercarriage by 1994-ish.
But, now has an 07 Avalon and a better value than the base Lexus ES.