The second-generation Camry is where Toyota got serious about the midsize sedan. The Camry had always been designed with the U.S. market in mind, but the styling of the first-generation Camry (CC here) was–at least for conservative Midwesterners–just a little too Japanese, both inside and out. It was batting practice–and the second-generation Camry was the swing that scored a solid home run.
Camrys (and Accords) are such icons for today’s midsize sedans that it’s easy to forget how suddenly the 1987-1991 Camry was everywhere once it burst onto the scene–at least, that’s how it went out here in corn country. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, we’d slowly become comfortable with Japanese cars as second cars and grocery getters. Throughout the 1980s, Toyota kept working to make its cars less…well, weird, and they finally hit the mark perfectly with the second-gen Camry. It still didn’t hew to the American idiom, but somehow it felt right, and it came with plenty of room and Toyota’s bulletproof quality. We Midwesterners immediately embraced it as primary family transportation.
Sometime around 1990, I had a girlfriend who was a news reporter for a radio station. Radio, like crime, does not pay – especially in such small markets as Terre Haute, Indiana, where we lived. She barely made ends meet on her poverty-level wages (supplemented by occasional cash infusions from Daddy). Although she drove a used-up, badly rusted first-generation Honda Prelude, she aspired to finer cars; in fact, her idea of a fabulous date was visiting a new-car dealer for test-drives. We did a lot of that, at least until we ran out of dealerships in the area.
At the Toyota dealership, she made up a story about being recently married and wanting to get into a family way, a situation to which her Prelude obviously wasn’t suited. The salesman steered us directly toward a long row of Camrys and handed me a key, despite my girlfriend having done all the talking.
As a naive youth, I had staunchly bought American cars, and had never before driven a Japanese car. While sitting in that Camry listening to the salesman yammer, I saw that what everybody was saying was true: Every detail on this Camry was tight and right.
But then I drove it. It was as if Toyota had erected a cognitive-dissonance field around the steering wheel. I felt the wheel in my hands, and it was steering the car; however, when I turned it, the wheel didn’t seem to actually be there. That was my first experience with Toyota’s famously numb steering.
Clearly, that didn’t matter to the millions of people who bought these cars and then drove them for years. I don’t remember when they finally started disappearing from the roads around here, but it’s been long enough ago that I was surprised to find this one during a recent visit to–where else–Terre Haute.
My first Toyota purchase was a 1989 Camry LE. A thoroughly enjoyable car that I drove for two years and 31,000 miles before trading it off for a 1991 Buick Park Avenue. It is one of a very few cars that I have owned that I sometimes wish I could find and repurchase in the condition it was in when I traded it off. There are a couple of these in my hometown still in the hands of elderly owners and believe me, these are on my radar to snap up when (if) they become available.
Took a ride with someone back to college who owned one of these once. I got to drive it, but kept having to turn the overdrive button off to get any serious power from it, even at freeway speeds.
I prefer Budweiser that car reminds me of 3/2 beer.
I had a ’90 Camry in “businessman’s grey” during college. My dad bought it at 8 years old with only 67k on it. He drove it for a year before deciding he wanted something newer and replaced it with a stripper Geo Prizm, a rationale I’ll never quite understand. He gave it to me when my Saturn’s problems were mounting too high to deal with. It was an extremely boring but competent car, and the 2.0 liter + automatic made for leisurely acceleration to say the least. Turning on “sport” mode woke it up a little bit, but the car still had nothing off the line and sport mode really just served to drop the gas mileage. I drove it through college at which point I replaced it with a much less reliable E21 BMW and the Toyota became my sister’s.
We affectionately called it the Old Gray Mare, and it met an untimely end at 200k miles when my sister spun out into a semi one winter back in 2005. I say untimely because despite the significant rust, the drivetrain was still near perfect and likely would have soldiered on to 300k. She actually kept driving it for six months after, but with a smashed windshield, blown rear shock and smashed in right side. The car really wasn’t worth fixing so she donated it and replaced it with another rusty cockroach: a final year A-body Ciera!
The only issues I recall having with the car were yearly exhaust replacements (not the whole thing but at least one component would require replacement every year) and a drivability problem that was eventually solved by replacing the distributer. The aforementioned Prizm became my other sister’s car after my dad was finished with it, and she drove it for ten years up until two weeks ago when she finally replaced it with a used Focus. It sits in my driveway, rusted to hell and also at 200k+, but mechanically solid, while she decides what to do with it.
I wonder if the yearly exhaust repairs were a late-80s Toyota thing. My ex’s ’89 Corolla coupe needed a new muffler every year.
I’d say that is more due to the quality of replacement parts and/or lots of short trips that didn’t heat up the exhaust system so it could dry out, rather than something to do with Toyota
They figured out the pipe/exhaust issues on the next generation.
I have a ’95 with 215k on it, and I’ve replaced the “flex pipe” once, at about 120k. The rest of the exhaust system, including the muffler, are original and intact.
The car has lived in salty areas its entire life, and parked outside for the last 15 years.
Sometimes I wonder how muffler shops stay in business these days.
I’m sure the quality of the replacement parts had something to do with it, but the point was that the OEM exhaust system wore out quickly. If you replaced parts with OEM, those wore out quickly too. If you used aftermarket parts that weren’t any better (or worse), they also wore out quickly. The third gen exhaust systems held up a lot better, both in the Camry and its contemporary Corolla. I don’t know that the exhaust in the second gens was worse than any other car at the time, but I know it wasn’t good!
now with seat belt laws firmly in place all over the country, I think they should bring back that automatic seat belt. Grandfather had one of these and it was a decent car and that was my favorite feature. Sometimes when I’m driving around, I’m too lazy to put it on but am a little fearful of getting hassled by the Jakes.
The problem with that is that people used the automatic shoulder belt but usually failed to put on the non-automatic lap belt.
So everybody’s safety should be compromised to benefit people who are too stupid or stubborn to wear a proper belt?
Mouse crawler belts are a first-cut eliminator when I’m shopping for a beater. I won’t own one. Ever.
“…famously numb steering.”
Remember, the Japanese companies at that time were trying to ape the American manufacturers. Their strong suit at that point was imitation with higher quality. Innovation, even now, is not where they excel.
I have to wonder if the key people at Toyota USA or from Japan…used as a model, the famous Ford Feel-Free® linkage power steering. Hey, we at Toyota can do it better! We’ll get the numb feeling, while putting the power assist inside the steering gear!!
I never drove a non-power-steering Toyota; I’m a relatively-new convert. And I owned them for the value, not for sporting pretensions. But you’re right about the numb steering…in fact, with today’s electric power steering, it’s worse today.
When I was a kid, as part of my job I had to run a Case/David Brown tractor with full hydraulic steering. No mechanical connection…no feedback or centering action…in fact, the valving turned it faster left than right, so the wheel never had a fixed center.
That’s what today’s Toyota steering reminds me of…not that bad, but they’re moving in the wrong direction.
Being conservative doesn’t equate to not innovative. After all, Toyota did bet big (and won) on hybrid technology before any other automaker. (Honda’s Insight showed up in America first, but Toyota’s Prius was actually first on the market in Japan, and Toyota’s hybrid system has proven superior to Honda’s)
+1 beat me to it. The amazing thing is the radically innovative 1st gen Prius was just as reliable and bland as all the other Toyotas.
JustPassinThru:
With regards to numb steering or
steering with little to no return from
turns, this steering thing is being waaay
overthought by manufacturers.
How difficult is it, really, to have steering
that is proportionate to driver input,
gives decent, but not over-bearing
feedback from the road and wheels,
and centers quickly coming out of
a turn??
If this cannot be done with fly-by-wire
or electrical power assist, then maybe
the amount of power boost needs to be
cut back some, so that natural alignment
angles are allowed to center the steering
wheel out of a turn, and naturally build
up weight going into one. And make sure
the steering column is actually connected
into the steering box – not a servo motor
that attempts to guess what the driver and
the wheels are doing, and give vague
feedback as a result.
And to suggest a BMW if that’s the
kind of steering I want does not
cut it: These are all basic alignment
angles here combined with power
steering assist that is reasonable,
not numb and overbearing. Those
things can be designed into any
$15,000 economy car, as well as
into a $50,000 Teutonic sport sedan.
A good steering car does not mean
“easy to park” – it means tight but
crisp handling. It is a matter of
safety when you can’t judge the position
of your front wheels.
I would argue the average midsize sedan buyer doesn’t care about steering feel. Despite the “numb” steering, all the Toyotas I’ve owned cornered fine with just enough feedback to know when you reached the limits. Besides, when I’m cruising on the interstate I don’t want to feel any more road than I have to. Combine that comfort with the consistent 33-34 mpg and I’m a happy Camry owner.
No doubt about it, the average driver doesn’t care whether the steering is numb. Honestly, for a daily driver I’m not sure I care that much, either. I have two cars, a Toyota Matrix and a Ford Focus. They both work fine for getting me around town, but after driving the Focus for a week with its tight steering, the Matrix’s numb steering always surprises me a little.
What was really shocking to me is how tight the Camry steering feels compared to the Highlander I owned for awhile.
I don’t think that’s the right way to look at it. There’s an old saying, “you don’t know what you don’t know”. Meaning if someone buys something over and over and experiences nothing else he/she will be “fine” with most characteristics of the car.
But do an A/B comparison with them, A) with average steering feel and handling and B) with best in class and even a grandma would notice the difference and appreciate it.
You see manufactures making this kind of effort when they are doing an all-new car with hopes of intercepting buyers from bigger selling brands. The 86 Taurus wasn’t just a great looking car it was dripping with competitiveness everywhere including the steering and handling feel.
Same with the late 90s Audi A4 and VW Passat. The first Ford Focus used the same strategy, thrill them during the test drive and keep them more satisfied during the ownership period.
I do think car makers shoot themselves in the foot though when they make the steering unnecessary heavy, to say “sporty”. That worked on 1970s Trans Ams but just feels old fashioned today. And it makes driving the car too much work.
Calibrick:
Heavy steering “unnecessary”? “Old
fashioned?”
How about safe??? I personally
find modern steering(particularly
electric assist) to be both too soft
and almost twitchy by comparison,
and could care less about infinitesimal
fuel savings compared to a good solid
conventional, proven hydraulic PS
system, perhaps with variable assist.
I may be American, but I want a
car that is directionally stable at
speed, not one that is easy to
park. 😉
Jim Grey, et al:
Well as a driver who can’t stay in
their own lane on the interstate, I *do* care
about steering feel. In fact, if there was a way
to safely disable the power steering in
most modern cars, or even convert to
a manual steering box – I would.
I don’t want that car to drift – even one
centimeter – from the lane I’m in –
until *I* muscle it from that position.
That requirement might change once
I am 70 or older, but until then.. tight
steering it is.
When I was about 14, our next door neighbors found a ’72 Pontiac Bonneville with about 20,000 miles and a 455. They loved everything about it except its appetite for fuel – about 9 miles per gallon.
A few years later, they obtained a new Toyota Camry like this one. They hated it, but kept it due to its fuel economy. She told me the automatic seat belt had caused her to lose many a good cigarette early on. She would turn the key, the seat belt would jump into motion, she would get startled and turn her head toward the movement and her cigarette would be knocked out of her mouth by the passing belt. She said after the Pontiac, acceleration and climbing a hill at speed were no longer something she could truly experience.
imagine that, the seat belt cutting off her cancer stick. G_D bless Americans!!!
I’m on the lookout for an example of one of their former vehicles. There was much more to her than her vice of smoking. An amazing woman she was.
Sad to say Jason, as of the mid-
2000s, women edged out men
51-49% as the majority of adult
smokers. Compared to forty
years ago, when men comprised
70% of adult smokers.
Back in 1988, my dad had to put his new F-150 in the shop for a few days, and the dealer gave us an Escort for a loaner. It had those automatic belts. Well, a day after we got that car, we took it on a family trip up north to Sault Ste Marie, MI. Dad gassed the Escort up in Ypsilanti and we didn’t stop till after we crossed the Mackinac Bridge. Well, as we were leaving Ypsi, dad took the shoulder belt and put it behind his back. When he went to get out of the car for our stop about five hours later, he forgot about it, and before I could say anything, the belt promptly shoved his head into the steering wheel. I couldn’t stop laughing, he couldn’t stop cursing, and mom had keep him from getting his pocket knife out and cutting the thing off!
Good memories of a bad design…
I always called them the “electric cigarette remover”
Thank you for writing up this car. I am not sure I would have been up to it. When I met the future Mrs. JPC, she had recently bought an 88 Accord LX. Nice car, but didn’t excite me. After we got married, I finally sold my beloved (but un-air conditioned) 66 Fury III and bought an 83 Plymouth Colt from her brother. Ironically, it had been Mrs. JPC’s first new car. The Colt had the twin stick 4 speed and was a hoot to drive.
One day, the Colt got totalled. The other guy’s insurance paid for a rental – one of these Toyota Camrys. During the 2 weeks or so that I drove it, I came to discover how thoroughly wonderful that Accord was. I had never thought of the Accord as thoroughly wonderful, always having something that I liked better (either a V8 cruiser or a little zingy roller skate). But the Camry set me straight.
I simply hated the thing. This was the small/midsize sedan that GM would have built if it had been building competent cars in the early 90s. The Honda had personality. The Camry had none. The Honda was fun to drive. The Camry was an appliance. The Honda had tons of clever little touches inside. The Camry interior was like a rental grade Celebrity. Where the Honda felt like a sports car, the Camry felt like a Buick, only without all of the room, comfort and torque.
From that moment, I came to appreciate that quality of Honda-ness that was completely absent in Toyotas, and I have never been able to work up any enthusiasm for Toyotas since. In truth, Honda has been working on losing me too, but that is another story. So, my hat is off to you, Mr. Grey. From here on out, I will bypass any nice old parked Camry that I see with a clear conscience, knowing that one has already received a proper CC treatment.
I’m relieved to have rescued you from having to write a Camry CC!
My brother bought a silver ’08 Civic LX 5-speed coupe a few years ago, upgrading from his silver ’98 Civic LX 5-speed coupe. He’s proud and thrilled with his car, but I don’t have the heart to tell him that the thing is bloated and ungainly, downright not like the Honda I knew.
The other day I rode in a friend’s 2011 (latest generation) Odyssey minivan. It is a much higher trim level than my base-level 2012 Kia Sedona, and I did not get to drive the Honda, but I found the Honda disappointing. The interior trim materials in the Honda did not seem appreciably better than those in my Kia (and the Kia interior is not all that nice) and the Kia feels stronger from a structural standpoint. In particular, the Honda’s doors have a less than solid feel/sound to them. Maybe the driving dynamics are better, but from just the ride, I would not trade.
I couldn’t agree with you more, JP. The total driving experience that differs between a Honda and Toyota is amazing. If you have never driven a Honda then it might not seem like a big deal. But if you have and then drive a Toyota you are in for a big surprise. I had a first generation Prelude that was years ahead of its time – loved that car until it was totaled – and guess what my rental was? A 1987 Camry! Hated that car so much – couldn’t wait to get a replacement for my old Prelude!I I also had a 1993 Accord EX wagon – 5- speed – regret selling it every day of my life!! The undercarriage was starting to rust in places that could not be repaired so I decided to part with it. 244k miles and it was still running like new. When it came time to replace it I was undecided as to what I wanted so I looked at everything – Camry’s, Highlanders, Accords and CR-V’s. Ultimately I chose a CR-V which is a fantastic vehicle. Both my wife and I felt the Toyotas handled very poorly, the steering felt vague and overall the quality was not up to the Honda’s. I know the Toyotas are good reliable cars, they are just not for me.
My exact-same feelings on the Camry…no matter the generation; I’ve driven several. As a competent, reliable-as-a-brick transportation appliance, I can respect it…even recommend it. As an interesting ride, I’d rather walk.
Unfortunately that’s true of too many cars today. About four years ago, I had a then-new Honda Civic four-door as a rental for a day…that thing had even less personality than a Camry. A long way from the original ski-boot car they made their bones building…
Let me be the sole contrarian. I much prefer the Camry vs the accord. I make this statement based on briefly driving a 91 accord back to back with a 91 Camry wagon, followed years later by driving a 2001 accord v6 back to back with a 2000 solara v6. In both cases, the Toyota felt significantly more refined, substantial, smooth, comfortable, and luxurious. Note that I didn’t say sporty. For my needs, this is what matters (although I did really like the nice airy interior feeling of those generation accords) I currently drive a 1996 Camry v6. I will admit the current gen accord looks much more appealing than the Camry, but I’d have to drive one to find out.
I am with you guys on the numb feel of the Camry then and now. After I corrected the mistake of buying a Malibu a couple of years ago, I decided to compare the 2012 Accord, Camry and Altima head to head by test driving each. Despite being the oldest model of the bunch, I picked the Nissan strictly based on driving feel. I like the Honda, and would take it over the Altima for overall reliability, but the Accord seemed to have less legroom where I need it (and that is a problem when you have bad knees). The Camry was the most comfortable inside, but I just can’t get over it’s disconnected feel.
You bought a mid-2000s Malibu too??
Omigosh.. The electric steering on
my ’05 felt like driving a video game!
Plus, it pulled to the left after repeated
wheel alignments, so much I had the
bowtie logo on the steering wheel tilted
over to 2 o’clock to keep the thing from
shooting left into oncoming lanes!
Glad they let me terminate my “smart”
lease 6 months early, and I went for
an ’08 Kia Optima. That machine handles
like a 5-SERIES compared to the Malibu
LS. lol! I still own the Kia.
Aside from the color (mine was a somewhat sportier dark red), this car is identical to my 1990 Camry, including the rust in exactly the same place over the rear wheelwells. The car’s distinguishing features were its total blandness and complete indestructibility (aside from the rust). I had it as a 5 year old hand me down, which all three older members of my family had already crashed and otherwise abused. It had a rusty front clip and hood from cheap and badly painted accident repairs, a badly off-center steering wheel with no feel whatsoever, and numerous interior coffee stains from afterthought cupholders. At one point, a radiator pinhole allowed all of the coolant to leak without being visible from the driver’s seat, resulting in my driving the car in air-cooled mode for at least a week. (Fortunately, it happened in a Chicago winter, which may have lessened the heat damage.) I used it for 6 years with no problems aside from the radiator leak, which was a straightforward repair, and I discarded it only because I was tired of it and had no place to park a second car in the city. It probably made someone a good cheap daily driver or winter beater for many more years. It was the kind of ownership experience reported by people who owed Darts and Valiants in the 1960s and 1970s, but with 25-30 mpg, cold air conditioning, and a good factory stereo.
The car had only one unusual feature: a lever between the front seats which, when pulled up, started a flashing red light on the lever and a beeping alarm. It had no apparent use, aside from startling gullible passengers, although I assumed that it had someone to do with the automatic seatbelts. Does anyone know what this lever really did?
That was the emergency release for the mouse belts so you could get free from the car after a crash had caused the retractor to lock. Very common on mouse belt cars.
I still drive one of these Camry’s… the third I’ve owned. Except for the unstoppable progression of rust, i love these cars. Big enough to be comfortable, small enough to be very nimble in city traffic (esp. compared to the size of most cars today), and light enough to return decent fuel mileage.
And the beige one in this article is actually a bit rare. Most of these came to us in White, Grey, Maroon, and light or dark Blue. Don’t think I’ve seen a beige Gen II Camry in two decades.
PS: The Gen II Camry was introduced for model year 1987, not 1988 at stated in the article.
Ok, I’m a little confused on this, I’ll admit. Toyota introduced this Camry in different model years in different markets. I thought it came out in ’86 in Japan, ’87 in Australia, and ’88 in the US. Or is ’88 just the first year they were made in the US, but they were imported in 1987? If I can get some confirmation, I’ll change the article.
It appears that this generation was first sold in the US for the 1987 MY. Wikipedia is not correct, or a bit misleading.
I found a picture of the ’87 Camry i owned. Base model, 5-speed, no A/C, no power steering, or power anything for that matter. Factory rims and center caps on this car, painted black (orig. silver). Imported? Yes. Everything under the hood was labeled in Japanese & English.
Based on Google Books archives of Popular Mechanics magazines (and Rock Auto’s excellent parts “Bible”…err, catalog), it appears that 1987 was indeed the first year of the second-generation Camry, but all were imported, and only the four-cylinder engine was available. The V6 and All-Trac apparently became available for 1988, and production in Georgetown, KY began in July 1988.
If this Camry’s VIN begins with J, it could be an ’87; if it begins with a number, it’s an ’88 or later.
Georgetown production did begin in 1988 but Toyota still imported Camrys from Japan all the way up to the last generation. The current generation is the first to not be supplemented by Japanese imports. My ’90 USDM Camry was made in Japan, and it was possible to have a “J” VIN Camry in NA as recently as the sixth gen.
Ok, I adjusted the article.
A little understanding of the automotive
model year is in order here:
Car mfgs do not follow the calendar
on our walls(or phones 🙁 ). The new
model year starts anywhere between
June and September, meaning we
should start seeing ’17s of certain
makes on our roads any time.
So the confusion over the debut year
of 2nd gen Camry is completely
understandable.
The Lexus equivalent, the ES 250 also was pretty bland
That didnt sell here LS400 was the only Lexus we got, What you guys fail to realise Lexus does not exist as a brand in Toyota they happily rebage certain Toyotas to harvest more money from US customers we get the same cars ex JDM with Toyota badges.
I thought they belatedly introduced the Lexus brand in the JDM around 2005. Before that, though, yes.
Would have assumed this was a Honda the way it’s parked.
What was funny, was that until I drove that Camry, I sort of assumed that all smaller Japanese cars were pretty much the same. Our Colt and Accord seemed cut from similar cloth, one was just bigger, more refined and more expensive than the other. But the firsthand comparison between Camry and Accord (I think the Camry was an 89 or 90) was illuminating. I have no doubt that the Camry was a good car and that they gave a lot of people very good service. But the only thing it did for me was to make me appreciate our Accord.
jpcavanaugh sums up my Toyota ownership experiences perfectly. Toyota’s look good on paper and they can last nearly forever with proper maintenance and care. But they’re lifeless transportation pods with no character. They’re safe, non-threatening appliances for people who don’t necessarily like or appreciate cars, and just want a reliable way to get around. As for my ’06 Corolla, I don’t really like the car but can’t think of a rational, logical, argument to get rid of it. I can’t argue with how reliable and inexpensive to own it is. It’s the boring responsible car.
There’s an awful lot of generalization going on here by calling Toyotas “lifeless transportation pods”. Toytota has built some of the more dynamic and fun-to-drive cars over the decades too. Shall I list them? It would be pretty long.
I suppose I am generalizing based on some recent models I’ve driven over the last decade or so. My ’89 Corolla SR5 was actually fun to drive. And you’re right – there have been some exciting entries from Toyota through the years.
My experience in my friend’s 2003 or 04
Celica, 4cyl & automatic, while not dull,
was nearly embarrassing!…
On a test drive down that end of my
street which slaloms mildly down hill,
I nearly OVER-steered the thing onto
the curb! I had to muscle it back from
the brink. On the straight-ahead just a
right turn away, I had to grip the wheel
with both hands to keep the ride
centered. Conventional hydraulic
power steering I’m sure, but too soft
for me. I’d swear it had no self-centering
at all.
With all due respect, this particular Celica
has over 130,000 miles on it, and to my
friend’s knowledge has had no suspension
parts replaced. That might explain what
happened to me at the helm.
PLEEASE list the 2000GT, sports 800, AE-86 Corolla, most any Celica or Supra, & Toyobaru BR-86-S!
And the MR2.
You’re absolutely right.
“lifeless” might be a term best limited to
describe certain models or trim levels
from after 2005 – when things like
electric power steering became
prevalent. ?(where electric steering
belongs!)
I owned a 1989 Corolla sedan that was reliable but utterly uninspiring. Then I got an 1989 Civic in a similar bottom-end trim level. An amazingly better car in so many ways.
I’d thought that the key reason why the Corolla was so bad was because the basic design was a joint venture with GM. I’d ridden in a 1989 Camry and it seemed much less tinny than the Corolla. But still no contest with the Accord, which was at the top of its game.
The design and development of those Corollas were not a joint venture with GM. The production of them at Fremont, CA was, resulting in the Prizm. GM was desperate to learn the “Toyota Way” just-in-time production methods. But they had no input in the basic design and development of these Corollas.
You’re comparing apples and oranges. The Camry was a significant step up in refinement from the Corolla.
Well, the car felt unusually tinny for a Toyota. Surely there was some collaboration at the design and/or supply chain level. This was a cheaper-grade car than an early-80s Tercel I’d owned.
Maybe you got a bad one? The E90 Corolla was generally noted for being more refined, quieter and better riding than its predecessors. And this was during Toyota’s “fat” era, when the quality of materials was generally higher than when the lean period started in the mid nineties. But subjective experiences do vary.
I’ve had some recent experience with a high mileage Corolla of this vintage, and found it to be still a very solid little car, despite its age and 220,000 miles. https://www.curbsideclassic.com/curbside-classics-asian/curbside-beater-1992-toyota-corolla-the-almost-free-almost-perfect-beater/
Around here, these are highly desired as cheap and reliable wheels.
Oh, the late-80s Corolla was bigger. And totally trouble free. But the plastics were ultra cheap, the door shut with an embarrassingly hollow sound, and some of the fixtures were flimsy.
It reminded me of a GM car. Remember that GM didn’t just slap a Geo badge on a Corolla. They came up with unique sheetmetal, so the corporate beancounters likely weighed in at various points. Did any of GM’s cost cutting carry over to the Corolla? I possess no inside information but do wonder.
I recommended Corollas of this generation to those who sought a relentlessly reliable appliance. But I was soooo much happier with my Civic. In fact, I still have it.
I suspect that the Camry was the bigger beneficiary of Toyota’s efforts to add value to their products in the late-80s and early-90s. The first few years of the next generation may have represented the peak of that trend.
You’re entitled to your opinion, of course. But GM had nothing to with this car, except watch (and help) it being built and sell it.
Essentially, the did just slap a GM badge on a Corolla , just not a version that was sold here. The NUMMI Chevy Nova/Geo Prizm were just variations of Toyota’s other JDM Corolla, the Toyota Sprinter sold at one of Toyota’s other JDM sales networks. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Sprinter No new body stampings or body engineering was necessary; except to adapt it to LHD and US safety regs.
The consensus opinion on these generations of Corollas/Novas/Prizms is that they were well built, but not everyone is going to agree.
I drove (and reviewed for TTAC) a pristine low-mileage 1990 Camry V6 that a tenant of mine bought a couple of years back. I was amazed at how rock-solid that car felt. And how the interior was of high quality materials that all looked like new still.
Though 20 years old, the car drove like new; everything was tight and solid. The steering is not so much numb (overboosted) in the old Chrysler way, but its just somewhat heavy, like an old Mercedes. Admittedly, the electric steering in new Toyotas (and many other new cars) is numb. But there’s a difference between heavy and numb.
That Camry reminded me very much of the classic Mercedes of the eighties, the W123 and W124. Their steering was similarly heavy. But it somehow all adds to the solid feeling of these cars.
Of course, they’re very different than Accords; Toyota and Honda took quite a different approach. The Accord is much sportier. But the Camry is decidedly quieter and calmer to drive on a long trip, or to spend the rush hour commute in. To each his own.
You have summed up my experience with the Accord vs. Camry. I have owned both cars and although the Accord feels “sportier” the Camry is more pleasant over the long haul. Also the steering in the newest gen Camry feels heavier than previous models.
What you said about a 20 year old model still feeling tight and new. I have experienced that as well in Corollas and Camrys. If you can find a 20 year old Accord that hasn’t been beat to hell I think you’d find they also age well.
I’m sorry but this era Accord does not age well, normal use beats them to hell. The Camry was much more solidly built from the get go and that is what translates to still feeling solid 20 or more years after they left the factory.
My mate Brian pictured with my Hillman and trailer recently disposed of a 1990 Camry the NZ widebody model with 400,000kms on it knowm history from new it still had the original cambelt and could easily create tyresmoke at 145kmh when floored NO-ONE else got those cars they were specced for NewZealand only so while the US and others made do with the 80s model we were the proving ground market for the WORLD Camry that you saw in 92/93 vastly detuned and with much taller axle ratio,Why you may ask? As I have pointed out before we have very challenging roads and if you dont believe me just try driving a JDM/US spec car at 100lmh over hwy5, you cant stay on the road in one, the steering is too slow and the understeer will put you in a guard rail and in case you think your Toyota corners well throw a U turn at 50kmh, tell me how you got on.
This was one of the last Broughamy Toyotas. Plenty of velour, fake stitching and the ride was pillowy. While successful the design was stodgy in comparison to the 1986 Accord and Taurus. When the 89 Maxima came out the Camry really looked old (and narrow).
Toyota learned its lesson and pulled out all the stops with the 92 Camry. So sad Ford lost its direction around that same time.
calibrick:
I don’t know. I never drove a 3rd gen Camry
(mid-90s), but from a looks standpoint,
compared to any other generation, the
92 launch does the least for me. I’m just
not feeling it.
This is era Camry or its successor was the best Camry ever and they along with the same era Corolla built the reputation Toyota continues to rely on to this day.
I still see lots of them in service around here, yeah even in the PNW they rust around the wheel wells and windows but it doesn’t seem to progress to terminal levels.
They go for ever Eric with only basic maintenance rare cars here now due to only a 2 year sales run and rust.
our boy Saabkyle04 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3eU1MPaSbQ. These cars are okay.
We had a maroon 88, 5-speed, maroon cloth interior, 16v 4cyl DX. Great A/C, only an FM stereo. No tape. My mom got her money back from GM after the terrible lemon of an 86 B-Body Caprice wagon we’d dealt with for two years – problems from day one. (I’ll never forget the look of horror on her face when she opened the hood and was like…”It’s a goddamn Olds engine!”) After the payout, we bought this demonstrator off the floor. We put 135k miles on it before the head gasket blew. We loved it though, no problems with it aside from that and a weird speedo. Woulda bought a Gen 3 Camry had they had what we wanted (it was at this time that Toyota decided only stripper models could have manuals, and there was no way my mom was going auto). We got a leftover 94 Passat instead. Best decision ever.
Believe it or not, back in December before I bought my Olds, I looked at a one-owner 1989 Camry LE. It was white with a MINT burgundy velour interior. If the driver’s rear quarter wasn’t so badly rusted, I would have been seriously tempted to have acquired it.
A little boring, but a rather competent automobile.
my dad bought one new on 1991(base model with 5 speed manual),still driving it with over 430 k miles on stock engine,several timing belts&two clutches,one starter,one alternator and the rest just normal wear and tear(belts&brake pads(or shoes),battery,tires)that is it.stil no signs of burrning oil,he is planning to put a million miles on it.but the v6 camry from that generation was a p.o.s.
I was selling this generation of Camry in the early 90’s in Georgia. Many of the previous comments echo my experiences with the cars. The dealership I worked for was part of a multi-line dealership that had locations in Georgia, Florida and Alabama. I got to see and drive most of the contemporary competitors, almost every day.
I got to drive hundreds of these things, they all were pretty competent cars. The interiors were laden with hard plastics, and the seats were rather firm not unlike Mercedes seats of the time. While it was a high gloss interior, there were some things that were less than brilliant about it. This was the generation of Camry that had the cupholders on top of the automatic transmission’s “brain” in the console. They were not completely sealed off, so if you spilled your drink and it leaked through the compartment, water got into the controller and caused all kinds of problems. I had a 1987 Dodge Lancer ES Turbo at the time, it had a fold-out twin cup holder built in to the face of the dash. I thought that a much more elegant solution than the ones built into the consoles. I never cared for the Toyota implementation of velour. Nothing was more broughamy on these cars and it never looked right. Just a personal preference.
The 16V 4 banger was a resolute little motor, and the V6 was a rocket. I was on a test drive with a customer who liked a particular color of Camry, which was one of the (apparently rare) 1991 V6/5 speed Camrys. The guy could barely operate the clutch, but we got that thing going on I-85 rather rapidly. Of course, he came back later and bought a Corolla.
I have to laugh when folks were discussing the exhaust system issues these cars had. My FIL had a 1988 Camry for about 6 or 7 years, he extolled the virtues of the car and how reliable it was. Like clockwork, in semi-arid mid-Georgia no less, he was putting on ANOTHER muffler. For the last one, he gave up and put on a Sears muffler. By the time he traded in this car for the 1994 version of the Camry, even the Sears muffler was sounding ratty. I also observed this phenomenon with other Toyotas of the time, I was continually amazed that so many cars came in with exhaust system issues in semi-arid mid-Georgia. My old Dodge (and other cars I’d owned before and since then) ran all 11 years and 160K+ miles without any thought to the exhaust system.
Much is mentioned about the Camry vs. Accord and other cars. I drove all of the contemporary cars at that time and I would agree that the Accord was more sporty, the Camry more “grown-up” and quiet. My favorite from that time is still the Olds Cutlass Supreme with the DOHC V6, neither one of those cars could touch it for acceleration and driving dynamics. My old Dodge was another one I’d rather put 1000’s of miles on in a day rather than an Accord, Camry or Taurus. But my Dodge was the optioned up turbo model, with the optional sport seats, so that made all of the difference.
Along with the numb steering previously noted, the Camry had another nastier issue: Snap oversteer induced by sharp braking when wet. It was something I’d found out while delivering a customer car and it gave me a whole new level of respect for the car. Not in a good way, either. I was entering an on ramp to a rural freeway in an unfamiliar town and suddenly the car in front of me braked rapidly. I was probably following a little too closely, so I spiked the brakes and the back end of the car rotated around, sending me tail end first into the weeds. The only other times that kind of thing has happened to me is when I’ve encountered black ice while braking sharply. Scary stuff if you’re not prepared for it.
These cars were definitely from the time Toyota was overbuilding these cars, in attempts to gain marketshare, these cars served that function well. As we’ve noted, they are not built this stoutly anymore, it doesn’t surprise me to see one of this generation still prowling the streets.
You should have written this CC! Great firsthand memories of this car.
Thanks for the compliment, Jim! There was a period of time during the 80’s and early 90’s when me and my friends were driving (and buying) new cars.
But, as the time has passed, I’m finding my memory isn’t as good as I think it is; and some things are not what I remember exactly… But I did spend a LOT of seat time with these cars, some of it memorable… 🙂
I can’t believe I’m saying this, but this is a very good looking car. Back In 1987, I went shopping for my first new car. A friend had a Camry and tried to convince me to buy one. They looked OK, but I thought they were boring and uncool. I went for a cooler VW Jetta GLI, and didn’t regret it. But now I’d have to say the Camry is the better looking car. Especially in profile… it’s exceptionally well-proportioned, subtle, has just the right amount of rounding of its lines. I don’t think I’ll ever change my opinion of any Camry since, though, as they seem go ever farther down the path of being an old fart’s car.
“numb steering”
Something that still garnishes a complaint even today
among the major car review publications, print and on-
line.
In my personal opinion I see power steering(of any type)
as useful only for parking lot speeds or parallel parking at
the curb. Above about 30mph, power steering’s efficacy
should fade to almost a background role. A big part of
safety to me is oneness with the road.