For what now seems like decades, I have heard so much yammering about how the Toyota Camry is an absolute gem of a car, a car that has enveloped all the passions and inspirations of mankind into one composite lump of steel and glass.
After putting 1,100 miles on one driving to the CC Meetup in Auburn, Indiana, I must confess that I concur with these relentless exhortations about the greatness of the Camry. However, I agree for different reasons.
For years, people have always rebelled to some extent against those who sired and/or raised them. It is simply human nature. So for those of us who grew up in the pillow-topped, tufted velour, smooth riding comfort of various Detroit offerings, a pronounced alternative was in order. Enter the Camry.
The Camry has been selling like ice-water in Hades since seemingly forever. After spending seventeen or so quality hours in this guardrail colored example, I believe I have figured out the utter brilliance and simplicity of Toyota’s methodology in building and selling this car. The most ingenious plans are often the simplest, and theirs is a doozy.
My deduction is that Toyota has simply mimicked or modified many of the proven elements of automotive design and dynamics seen in various Detroit cars of the past forty years. Of course, they have put their own spin on it in a ruse to make it appear more original to those rebellious types who purchase the Camry.
Let’s discuss these various facets on an individual basis.
The steering wheel is critical to the driving experience and this is the steering wheel of my rental Camry. Looking at it, it has about 78 various buttons to distract me while I should be driving. From my desire to stay safe on the crummy portions of I-70 between St. Louis and Indianapolis, plus the spastic drivers always traversing the interstates, I didn’t bother to familiarize myself with their functions. But looking at it reminded so strongly of another steering wheel.
Doesn’t the Toyota tiller remind you of this Pontiac’s? Yes, there is a difference, as the Pontiac wheel has large buttons aimed for near-sighted drivers but the results are the same: There is a bumper crop of buttons on each wheel, most of them serving the same purpose. These buttons are as abundant as rubber at the Firestone factory.
Perhaps the seat fabric shouldn’t be an issue as there is generally a fair amount of it eclipsed when being sat upon. In the case of this Toyota, that is likely a good thing. I can’t help but wonder what dramatic and messy physiological reaction one might experience from staring at this seat fabric for too long. But again, this is a repetition of previously used design elements.
Doesn’t it seem to be reminiscent of the Castillion seat fabric from a 1976 Chrysler, a seat fabric that could also induce projectile physiological reactions? Even Mr. Chrysler himself, JPCavanaugh, commented how the seat fabric of this pulse-quickening Toyota was a contemporary take on 1970s era seat fabrics. While some of you may interpret this as a slam, it is truly a compliment of the highest order. 1970s fashion is so often talked about as being so undignified, but there is nothing as dignified as how Toyota has taken a stand to be independent and fearless – the way Chrysler was for years upon end.
As an aside, the designers of the Camry interior are such a creative bunch. Looking at the dash reminded me how I needed to buy shaving cream before our soiree on Saturday. How did my brain reach this conclusion?
As a Mach 3 user, the shape of the dash reminded me of my razor. Even Mrs. Jason had the same realization. Toyota must own stock in Gillette. Sorry; I digress.
As one who is rather finicky on his seat adjustments, I am always thrilled to encounter a car seat that grants me the ability to sit up high along with being a wee bit more vertical than the average Jason. In turn, I also don’t like having my arms too far elevated as the blood tends to drain after a while; thus, I like to adjust the steering wheel as far down as possible. This is my eye view when situating myself in a comfortable position in the pilot house of the Camry.
Okay, so the speedometer is blocked by the steering wheel between 25 and 115 mph. That’s just like the majority of every other vehicle I have ever driven, so this Toyota certainly provides an assurance that I will be in familiar surroundings. This must be comforting to those people who are always trepidatious in driving something different and seek the reassurance of familiarity.
From all I have heard and read, I knew to expect a delectable driving experience while navigating this Camry over the rivers, hollers, and valleys between my house and Auburn, Indiana. It provided me a truly sparkling sea of tranquility. In fact, the sea was so deep and vast, the Illinois Department of Transportation provided a message board in one of their umpteen work zones reminding me to quit snoozing and stay awake. How thoughtful! As I jolted awake upon seeing the cornea incinerating flash of the message board, I experienced perhaps the largest epiphany of my life since figuring out the deal about Santa Claus!
This Camry drives just like a W-body Impala! It has the same numb power steering, the same languid acceleration, and many of the same driving dynamics! Those folks at Toyota are freaking geniuses! Had I rented an Impala, it would have cost me another $8! I was able to experience the same flaccid feel I have experienced in the 4,328 W-body Impala’s I have driven in my lifetime all while saving money. I was simply fooled by the jazzier upholstery and sterling reputation of Toyota. Why would I want to experience anything like that recall infested Impala?
image source: www.quincyheraldwhig.com
Oh wait. Wasn’t there some sort of kerfuffle involving the Camry a few years ago? Can’t be; this is a Toyota. It’s all hogwash as despite my best efforts, I could not replicate any form of sudden acceleration in this Camry. Anything to besmirch a giant; Toyota’s are infallible, aren’t they?
After exhaustive research, I have determined this car also provides its own unique appeal to those pickup driving, beef eating and corn-fed Midwesterners like myself. For so many years, some number of us (but not me) enjoyed the auditory delights provided by a pickup with a raised suspension, straight pipe exhaust, and truly knobby tires that sing like an incarcerated criminal being offered immunity. We have a lesser amount of environmental concern around here, so we could drive stuff like this without anyone having a second thought. Truly a rolling phallus, these were popular with a certain subset until fuel prices sailed past $2.50 per gallon.
On any concrete or open graded asphalt pavement, this Toyota is able to replicate the kidney shaking ride and eardrum lacerating tones provided by pickups such as this Ford F-250 seen above. Careening across I-70, with frequent changes between asphalt and concrete, this Toyota with its worn tires was caterwauling like a goat with a bloat. It so reminded me of the rattly pickups of my youth!
All these juicy morsels are rolled up into one exhilarating package that is even so revolutionary as to instigate the Next Great Thing – stitched vinyl! Friends, this will be the plasti-wood of the 21st Century.
Toyota is shrewd beyond compare. They have taken a whole host of styling and driving components that people have railed against for years and successfully recycled and repackaged them into something people are clamoring to purchase. Just don’t tell these buyers they are purchasing a facsimile of cars they have rebelled against.
I rented a 2014 SE version this summer for a short business trip and actually came away rather surprised – and in a good way. We owned a Gen1 ’83 which was the epitiome of boring but dependable, other than one snapped timing belt which thankfully didn’t bust anything else.
The 31 year newer version was a great sedan – even in a generic wrapper. It seemed to do everything that your test car didn’t; it accelerated crisply, had paddle shifters behind the wheel, had great supportive leather seats, an adjustable column, and non-confusing buttons on the wheel.
It so impressed me that, having recently split with Mrs. Farfreakingout that I had it on a short list of cars to buy for my new single life. Then I realized that it was too generic to be a babe magnet, and that for less money I could buy a different, lightly used car more my taste. In a perfect world,…
I admit to a certain degree of snark in this piece and this car was quite worn for its age and 36,000 miles. It didn’t repulse me but it didn’t endear itself either.
Coincidentally, Paul had a rental Camry a few days prior in Baltimore and it was just fine.
“and that for less money I could buy a different, lightly used car more my taste.”
This is why I’ve only bought new once in my life (and doubt I ever will again) and why I tend to look past a whole lot of perfectly good cars like the Camry. Get something that is more my taste for less money? Sign me up. If someone else takes the initial depreciation hit, I’m not as worried about resale value. The “status” and “cachet” of a brand new car don’t matter much to me. And if I’ve saved money up front, I’m not too bothered by a repair bill here and there. So, please, bring on something more interesting!
The parallels with American cars are interesting to see plainly stated but I’m not too surprised. The average Camry buyer is one of the most conservative creatures on the road, so they don’t want sharp driving dynamics or daring style. The things that give them warm fuzzies are safety, reliability, and value for money. And if those are at the top of your list, the Camry is hard to argue with. And other than that, follow the old rules and realize that Detroit didn’t have it so wrong after all. They simply suffered from a very tarnished image, and Toyota was able to step in. Meet the new cool kid, same as the old cool kid, except his last name is Toyoda rather than Sloan.
+1 Chris M. I haven’t bought a new car in years for the same reason – I can handle the issues of a previous owner, moreso than the depreciation of a new car.
It’s funny, though, when you think about these discussions of Country of Origin. The 2014 Camry is made by Americans, using a design influenced by Americans. The Malibu is made by Americans, using designs influenced by Europeans. I ended up buying another car made by Americans, using a design more heavily influenced by Americans.
American midsized cars are more global than ever, and their corporate parents can be just as global. Whence the flag?
Babe magnet?!
As an overweight 2001 Camry driver, I had to scratch my head a bit when I saw this ad!
Now, I just got that in my email today!
Will this really be more exciting?!
The whole ‘babe magnet’ thing is laughable at best but the guy they used in that ad is spot on to what the camry’s target market really is. And to play devils advocate, if the same caliber of dude were to go and buy a Porsche, corvette, etc people would hate on him for overcompensating for something…
This ad really made me wish to replace my Camry with something else for a few seconds! I guess it fits me well just like it fits with the guy in the ad!
At least, I got mine used for cheap, and the cost of ownership has remained cheap since!
Jason – you’re absolutely spot on in recognizing that the current Camry is a very cynical but shrewd design. The car focuses on only those things most American buyers care about – basically, while a Camry will never thrill anyone, it very rarely hassles anyone either. It starts, every time. It doesn’t shock you when you fill up the tank. Nothing breaks off in your hand. It rarely surprises you in any way. That button-laden steering wheel -the only part of the car you see every time you drive the car gives you the illusion that the car is fancier, and better, than it really is. However, it is only designed to meet average conditions –
stepdrive beyond the edge of the ‘average conditions’ envelope, and the limitations of the design are starkly apparent. Still, you have to accept that 30 years of good reputation (contrasted to GM’s 30 year bad reputation) carries a lot of psychological weight for a buyer on a budget.Your comment, ” I was simply fooled by the jazzier upholstery and sterling reputation of Toyota. Why would I want to experience anything like that recall infested Impala?” sums up the situation nicely.
“a Camry will never thrill anyone, it very rarely hassles anyone either.”
I guess Im that one weirdo who is completely repulsed by a bland inoffensive design. Id buy and Aztec or a Subaru Baja or the like a zillion times over given a choice between a polarizing vehicle like one of those vs an invisible sedan. But that’s my personality: Love me, or hate me…just don’t ignore me!
Ironic that it cost more to rent a W-Impala but to purchase a W-Impala either new or now likely used would be much cheaper than a new or used Camry of nearly any trim level.
And if you get one of the final W-bodies w/the 305-HP DI V6…the acceleration will be anything but languid. I drove one about a month ago…125 MPH in a snap, without breathing hard.
I really like the license plate on this Camry, I need to buy one someday!
Ok the Camry dashboard is weirding me out and is making my head hurt. Why does it rise above the vent like a snake slithering over a log!? So bizarre!
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/IMG_3317.jpg
Over the past 5 years these are the dashboards I have been seen the most and there are no weird angles to mess with your head and befuddle you.
http://www.allpar.com/photos/plymouth/voyager/caravan.jpg
http://images.thecarconnection.com/lrg/2010-chevrolet-express-passenger-rwd-3500-155-ls-dashboard_100245928_l.jpg
http://images.gtcarlot.com/pictures/50701215.jpg
Good to know about the Camry because I drove a 2012 Impala for about 600 miles and I found its most annoying feature was the seat. The seat bottom was flat and began to hurt my legs so I busted out a pillow to wedge under my legs and boom, it was nearly as comfortable as my 95 Voyager. I also felt like I was sitting on the floor of the Impala, but then again I had just gotten done driving a 95 Voyager for 3 plus years. Never driven a vehicle where I cannot see all of the speedo. Sometimes I drive on the right or left edge of an Interstate lane to avoid the ruts in the middle especially if it is raining.
I find the 1988 Camry from earlier today somewhat interesting, but I have a feeling that by 2039 I will not find this Camry as interesting.
Rather than a snake slithering over a log, for some reason it reminds me of a raised eyebrow.
It looks like it was warped in some insanely hot climate. Either way, I find it ugly and distracting.
I had a rental 2014.5 Camry SE 2.5 for a weekend and couldn’t wait to get my 2013 W-body Impala back that the folks were borrowing while there car had some collision damage rectified. No it wasn’t the worst car I have driven. No it didn’t do anything really bad other than fail to start the following morning due to a mysteriously discharged battery that required a jump start to get me to work. It was the sum of it’s parts that made it fail. The all black interior with fake silver. The cheap feeling seat material that felt like sand paper. The dash vents that popped out after going over some rough railroad tracks (no joke). The hollow tinny headliner that sounds as cheap as it is. Then there was the Novocain injected steering with zero feel, the 2.5 that fools you with responsive take off response but tepid highway power and it also never saw more than 33 MPG on the open road despite having over 10K miles on the clock. The seats were okay comfort wise and rear seat legroom was better than expected.
The biggest shocker was the lack of equipment for an SE model which is two steps up from the basic L. The driver’s seat was not powered. The mirrors were not lighted. The climate control lacked dual zone and worse had two round knobs reminding me of dads old 90’s Lumina. Even the bluetooth just seemed to give up often cutting out on some Important calls with work for no apparent reason. Looking online as some forums this seems to be an issue with other owners as well. Remote start, retained accessory power, rear air vents, XM radio. Not on this car!
The Camry drives just like a W-body Impala. Well maybe a 2000 3400 Impala. My 2013 300 Hp 3.6 feels nothing like any Camry I have driven. For starters it will blow the doors off that said rental SE 2.5 and I have no doubt would give a V6 model a good run. My Impala is easier to enter/exit, rides and handles better, is quieter on the highway, especially wind noise and the steering is superior and outright handling is similar. It is just so much more fun to drive and has several features that the rental Camry lacked that one takes for granted. My Impala has also proven to be more reliable with not one scheduled trip to the dealer for any issues other than service. The Camry rental failed to start right in my driveway with a mysteriously dead battery that needed a jump giving me an uneasy feeling when left to sit at work. I reported this issue to the rental place and surprise- it was already at the dealer for this very same issue before and was supposed to be cured.
I would hope that your car blows the doors off the SE 2.5, and that it would give a V6 model a good run. The 300 Hp 3.6 is, after all, a V6.
Man! That’s one ugly steering wheel and the thing that looks like a top Asian eyelid (I don’t mean to offend, but seriously) look! —> http://tinyurl.com/p43dytf on the passenger side looks weird. Not a fan of the stitching trim either.
We still have our dark grey 2004 Toyota Camry that still looks great and has 60,000 miles. It gets up to 35 MPG on long road trips. Our other car is a silver 2002 Saturn L100 SE that has 95,000 miles. If we ever need new cars, it will be a Toyota Camry! Hopefully they would have made changes to those ugly interior design features.
About 20 years ago, a co-worker traded a Nissan 240SX for a Camry. Why a Camry? It was a good deal and it did have a lot of safety features… (apparently) that was a strong selling point. A few years later that Camry was traded for a newer one, the same exact color…for the same reasons. Driving dynamics NEVER entered into the buying decision.
As others have said, Toyota (and Honda) has taken the Camry (and Accord) and with each generation refined those characteristics that buyers say they feel are almost perfect but not 100% perfect.
BTW, I am no fan of Toyota’s interior designs. Imagine combining a dashboard of several colors that looks like a Transformer toy caught mid-change with seat upholstery that looks like it is better suited to line the bottoms of animal cages.
FWIW, I think Toyota’s latest attempt at shedding it’s stodgy image is bordering on laughable. Just calling yourself BOLD doesn’t make it so.
“FWIW, I think Toyota’s latest attempt at shedding it’s stodgy image is bordering on laughable. Just calling yourself BOLD doesn’t make it so.”
+1000!!!!
Toyota’s been trying to play that tune for some time. I cant decide if its funny how brain dead the ad men are that concocted that, or if its downright insulting. Kia is no better, with that commercial showing whatever their version of a cammacoord is driving on a racetrack with motley crue playing. I mean, get real!
All of the visual issues Jason objected to can be rectified by checking out the previous generation Camry. (Good luck on finding a clean, low mileage one that is below retail book, though.)
My 2011 Camry LE has none of these eyesores.
Well, as an owner of a 2009 Camry, I actually think the interior appointments have improved over mine, which is even blander than this current one. The interior door panels are an improvement, and so is the dashboard cover.
OTOH, though the exterior isn’t an improvement, especially the eye-brow like rear light reflectors.
The upper management people in my company drive some high-end cars- a few Audis, a couple BMWs, a Land Cruiser. So what does the CFO drive? The spittin’ image of your rental!
I’ve noticed that finance and actuarial types seem more likely than most buyers to have done the math on cost of ownership and if you ask them, “Why did you buy that and not X?” they may very well have a spreadsheet to show you.
I rented a 2014 SE a few months back in Oregon. The interior was ok – the seat fabric was puzzling to say the least. I can also vouch for the singing tires – WOW! – depending on the pavement they were LOUD.
I did manage about 40 mpg on a three hour trip that took me up and over Mt. Hood – which I though was pretty good.
Other than that it was “fine”.
Gauge-obstructing steering wheels must be the latest trend; I was incredulous when I noticed the same thing while sitting in a new Jetta displayed at the Mall not long ago. Evidently everyone wants small but thick rims, which goes against everything critics have emphasized for decades about instrument visibility.
Now my 8th-gen Civic has a little wheel too, but Honda moved most gauges to the dash top, in digital form, leaving the analog tach & warning lights under the wheel. I thought this disjunction was strange but bearable, but maybe there’s a method to this madness, considering that Honda also has to support a different gauge set for the Hybrid.
You hit the nail on the head. The Camry is just the Japanese version of an American sedan with better reliability. There is nothing wrong with that. I had a 2010 that had to go after two years for a Maxima that was just as practical but more fun to drive. Arthritis forced me into a Honda CRV, but I miss my my Maxima.
Getting older sucks.
Yes, but the alternative to getting older sucks even more. Camrys (and all Toyotas for that matter) are what they are, reliable transportation for people who don’t really care all that much about driving. We have a 2009 Highlander that is my wife’s daily driver; about the only time I drive it very much is on vacation (great car for this by the way). Compared to my Mustang the Highlander feels like I’m driving a bus; one sits up much higher and you quickly realize that braking and handling are much different. I will say this for the Highlander though, even with the 2.5 liter four it will easily maintain 75-80 mph on the highway and return 25 mpg while doing so. I wouldn’t want to drive it every day but it is a good vehicle for long trips.
Viva La Difference!
Our last Maxima had rock hard seat bottoms, a noisy interior and a rather rough & noisy ride. Road trips in it were not all that enjoyable (Awesome, peppy V6 engine, though!)
Our 2011 Camry LE is a much better balanced overall car; sometimes a tad bit dull but supremely competent and reliable and never irritating.
That V6 covers a lot of sins compared to the Camry. In all fairness the Camry is a better highway car than a Maxima due to the noise / isolation. Then again, being able to pick up 40mph instantly to blow by some asshat who’s been blocking the left lane for 7 miles is priceless.
Jason’s on to something though – if you think a Camry is quiet and has good isolation you’ve never experienced what GM and Ford could do when that was considered something to strive for in an automobile.
I recently rode in a co-workers mid 90’s Buick LeSabre and was reminded of how nice that old school soft, quiet, isolated ride could be. Visibility was great, I actually liked the car.
I don’t think the Camry is sold in meaningful numbers outside North America at this point (it’s been dropped in most European markets and the only version still offered in Japan is the Hybrid), so it really is an American car.
“You hit the nail on the head. The Camry is just the Japanese version of an American sedan with better reliability.”
I disagree…you have it backwards. The impala, Taurus, and the like are American versions of the camry, accord, etc. We’ve been trying to out-do the Asian carmakers at what they do best and we’ve been getting our asses handed to us.
An ‘American sedan’ would be the B body Caprice, Panther, or the Charger/300. totally different animal and VERY American in nature. If we would focus on building cars that appeal to the demographic that wants an ‘American car’ then we would have that market to ourselves. I doubt many buyers cross shop between the two flavors.
It is interesting that on a per-capita basis the Charger & 300 (approx 155k sold in 2013) combined is roughly as popular as the Ford Falcon (10k sold). Large sedans are not very popular, at under 5% of the total market in both countries. I’m not sure that says a lot for the demand for ‘American cars’? Buying habits have changed.
What the Asian carmakers do best is sweep in to uncharted territory and outgun the big 2.5 with superior product. They started with small cars in the ’70s, midsize in the ’80s, and luxury cars and SUVs in the ’90s. The only toehold they can’t maintain is pickup trucks, but that is a conservative market with tremendous loyalty.
The Asian carmakers forced the big 2.5 to make an honest effort to get their act together. Whether they succeeded – well, we all can be the judge of that. But in the meanwhile the 2.5 lost millions of customers due to poor product in the ’70s and ’80s. They won’t be back.
My worst Japanese car has still been better than my best 2.5 in terms of reliability, durability, and resale. We dipped our toe back in the domestic pond when we bought our Edge 5 years ago…it hasn’t aged well, and we’re looking to replace it with a Lexus next year. Oddly enough, they both sell for nearly the same price equipped as we want. Chances are 50/50 you’ll be employing American factory workers with either purchase.
My late father-in-law said about an almost-new 2013 Camry I rented when visiting…
“It rides nice.”
That was his only criterion for judging a car, so the Camry must have been
made for him. To ride. In the back seat.
LOL at the “guardrail” description of the color. I’ve heard that underneath, despite what Toyota tells you about the car being “all-new”, is at least two generations old. The more modern platforms, like from Mazda, give you great handling and also good refinement there is no need to trade one off for the other. That’s the kind of effort you have to go through if you’re not Toyota.
That sure keeps the development costs down, no wonder they are making so much money.
I actually like the stitched vinyl I didn’t know T was using that. Clever how they cribbed the beloved fake stitching from our classic broughams, and added a fresh twist. I’m starting to get your point.
The Camry styling is pretty decent and on the Corolla I just rented downright attractive. But geez what a boring drive. It also had a terrible ride and a ton of noise from everywhere. Another cash cow for the big T.
This is actually hilarious to me. In 1991, I lived with a rental Camry for a week. It was my first in-depth experience in a Toyota. At the time, I considered it a low to mid level General Motors car perfected. Now, nearly 25 years later, a Camry is the very same thing. You have to hand it to Toyota, it is consistent.
What Toyota has done is to beat GM on its own playground. In 1956, 1966 or 1976, if you chose a mid level GM car, it would reliably do what you needed it to do, and nobody at your workplace, your neighborhood or your family reunion would tell you that you made a mistake. This is the real estate that Toyota has owned since maybe 1990.
My stepmom was a GM girl for decades. She is on either her second or third (I forget) Camry. They are completely anonymous and forgettable cars and are perfect for her and those like her that want a nice, reliable car that she doesn’t have to think about.
A terrible ride and a ton of noise reflects its old underpinnings.
Toyota’s not alone in long-in-the-tooth mechanicals. Ford kept its basic Taurus platform from 1986 to 2007. The looks up top may have changed along the way, but ask the man who has seen them from underneath.
Wow, is that a dash pad with that stitching or is it actually part of the dash? It’s hideous and I would pull it out if at all possible.
I hate busy steering wheels. Everyone is making them these days. Sure you have all the buttons to control that touch screen display so you can keep your hands on the wheel while you follow along on the centre display. Jeez! Oh but you have Bluetooth so you’re not distracted by your phone. Not saying this Camry was so equipped. touch screen wise, I’m just speaking in general.
I don’t mind Toyotas, they are what they are and nothing more. I like a daily driver that gets around without any drama year in and year out and lets you have your cash to spend on the toys in the garage. I could think of a whole lot worst things to daily drive. I had a few of those.
I test drove a Camry once about six years ago and barely made it off the dealer lot without saying no not this one. It just felt wrong right away and I crossed Camry off the list.
My daily driver has cruise control buttons on a pod on the steering wheel, three pedals, a stick and unfortunately cup holders.
I never got a chance to look inside one of these, but that dash design just looks horrible and unfinished. On the passenger side it looks like they kept stacking different layers of material on top of each other, so the passenger side air vent doesn’t look well integrated at all.
When I had first seen the new redesigned Camry a while ago, I had immediately disliked the design of the front bumper. It just juts out at the bottom instead of being tucked in like the Impala, especially since the Camry is a family car. I had a strong feeling that such a design would leave it susceptible to road abuse. Although it’s a more aerodynamic design, steep inclines and dips in the road could be a problem. My research confirmed my suspicions when I had read about owners easily scraping the front bumper.
The newer Toyotas are not built in Japan, unlike some of the most reliable predecessors that we keep hearing stories about. I would like to refer to the new Camry as a sheep in wolf’s clothing.
Last December, when the “$199 down $199 a month” 3 year lease expired on my 2011 Camry; I checked out the new ones.
I was immediately put off by the same visual issues mentioned above. I considered the interior and exterior a downgrade from my current Camry. The new one drove little, if any, better than my 2011.
I chose to exercise the closed end lease option of buying my 2011 Camry at the quoted price of about $3K less than “the going rate” for the same year used car lot model.
Well, the bulk of Toyota’s vehicles sold in North America are built locally. TMMK (Georgetown, KY) is Toyota’s largest manufacturing facility outside of Japan – and Camrys are built there. Maybe only the Land Cruiser and the Lexus line is nowadays built in Japan. The Lex ES350 is going to be built in Georgetown, so it will in the future be imported from Kentucky. The RX is built in Cambridge, ON, Canada.
It follows that the Camry is a North America-centric model so it’s no wonder that it’s designed and tuned for the American motorist.
OK, it’s not just me. The last time I drove a Camry was also a rental, about 2 years ago, and my first thought was this is the 2012 version of a ’68 Chevy Biscayne. My second thought was maybe it’s the 2012 version of a 1990 rental Taurus. Every single thing about it screamed “cheap car.” The brakes sent the front suspension diving for the bump stops on the lightest touch, quickly rendering my passenger seasick. And like many modern 4 cylinder larger cars, the engine gets the job done, as in the acceleration number would probably embarrass that aforesaid Biscayne, but it FEELS and SOUNDS like the car is working hard.
I wonder to what extent Toyota is living off the brand loyalty they created with the 1992-96 generation which was worlds better in terms of quality and refinement.
The latter point is honestly my biggest objection to these cars. Not every car needs to be exciting, exotic, and sporty — there’s something to be said for upright functionality — but buying a Camry used to be a step up in materials and refinement. It wasn’t cheap for the class, but when you compared it to a lot of the competition, you could see where the money went and it felt like you got what you were paying for. In trying to maintain its margins in the face of unfavorable exchange rates and shrinking total volume, the cost-cutting becomes progressively more apparent.
I’m also not fond of the styling — not because it’s dull, but because Toyota keeps trying to dress it up to match (usually a couple of years late) the current styling fads, which just ends up looking forced. There’s nothing wrong with trying to make a family sedan actually stylish (it worked for GM for years), but the recent Camry and Corolla generations have that same sort of aura of desperate contrivance that you get when middle-aged marketing people try to cash in on a perceived youth market trend: “I don’t really get it, but that seems to be where the money is.”
Well, perhaps a new Camry may resemble a mid-range ’68 Chevy Impala.
As others have mentioned: “Not necessarily a bad thing.”
For a modern “cheap car” ’68 Chevy Biscayne try the Hyundai dealer.
And the centre console?
Ive only driven a camry once or twice…a few friends and one of my sisters ex b/f’s had them. Its a pretty dull and numbing experience. Sure, they’ll get you where you want to go, but in the most boring, uninspired and flaccid manner possible. Obviously if youre a stuffed suit middle management type, elderly, or just plain car-averse then these things have their place. People seem to be lining up to hand Toyota their money….so be it.
What I think really sucks is that more and more, you see automakers following the money and trying to water down everything else to this lowest common denominator. As an enthusiast, I want to see more sporty high performance 2 doors but that don’t cost $45K or get hit with a nasty insurance penalty. When you know damn well that Toyota can make something like the last few generations of Celica, why wouldn’t you make a car like that which someone might actually WANT, rather than just accept?
With a username of “MoparRocker74” I can understand how you could not understand & appreciate the appeal of a car that does everything desired in an unobtrusive, quiet way, a car that is the personification of mechanical perfection.
“Different Strokes For Different Folks”.
Subtlety is lost on some.
Guilty as charged.
“Everybody’s Different”.
No offense intended.
This has been a very interesting post. A couple of weeks ago I accompanied my younger daughter to the Toyota dealer where she traded in her 2008 BMW 328i (Sports package) for an off-lease 2011 Camry. Why because the BMW no longer under warranty was gobbling up tons of $$$. After two BMW 3 series she couldn’t take it anymore.
I felt bad for her, it was like having to move to a Motel6 after having lived at the Ritz.
I’m just going to leave this here. A succinct summary of the Camry pro versus con conundrum. 😉
I’ve actively been staying out of this discussion because inevitably whenever the Pricamorolla trifecta is brought up I know I’m going to get stressed out and irritated, but this afternoon was kind of a drag so here I go down that rabbit hole…
I don’t discredit The Camry, Corolla and Prius for what they are, they are fine automobiles that do their intended purpose without issue, (well save for the occasional recall). I just do not place them on a pedestal, There’s very few cars out now a days that the Camry does anything better than, and that’s including reliability and dependability. Quite honestly I think those who can’t accept that have their heads as buried in the sand as much as those of us who blindly hate them. The reason quality and reliability are where they are today can be credited to those Toyotas, so they did deserve much praise.
BUT I agree with the enthusiast sentiment, It is very hard to get into cars these days because of “those cars”. For the past 20+ years everyone from Ford to Nissan have feebly attempted to beat Toyota at their own game and the used car market is now littered with blandmobiles because of it(then Cash for Clunkers crushed a sizable remaining chunk of the interesting ones, but that’s a different discussion). Luckly many in the younger generations like myself are savvy enough to seek out the gems, but for the rest there’s little to entice interest when your best options to choose from is a 4 door FWD 4/6cyl blah blah blah. How many of you sought out a car you were passionate about out, perhaps during high school, college or even later in life and faced the roadblock of everyone from your parents, friends, coworkers, teachers, relatives ect. becoming consumer reports experts and drill into your head that it’s unreliable, unsafe, uneconomical, ect. ect? That usually works to dissuade most people right then and there, and without any actual experience with a “bad car” themselves, are convinced their “practical” choice they were pressured into was “right”, and the cycle continues.
Point being there’s way more unfair propaganda directed at enthusiast cars than there is Camcords and Prii, so maybe the animosity against them is a bit more founded than you think. There’s a general attitude that performance = unreliable, attractive styling = bad MPG, RWD = death trap. Cars like the Camry perpetuate that, simply because it does what it does so well while not being that. I drive a 20 year old car, I’ve had it 9 years, never left me stranded, never needed more than oil and tires, and usually gets 18/29 MPG. Sound like a V6 Camry? It’s actually a 3800lb V8 powered RWD 200″ long 2 door that does low 14s in the quarter mile. How impractical!
It is not surprising that there has been a fair bit of convergence on how to build a sedan, and given that most people view their car as just another appliance it makes sense that the Camry is popular. If I apply the same process of buying my refrigerator to a car I could well end up with one, on the basis of buying a known/reliable brand with no specific preference.
I last drove a Camry a couple of years ago, coincidentally I had one as a hire car while I had a hybrid model as a loaner from the dealership when waiting for a new company car. My thoughts are they do everything ‘well’ and nothing objectionable enough that would put you off the car unless you were after a more dynamic driving experience. If you pushed the car harder in corners than what passengers would like the car gave very clear “that’s enough” signals, far before any limits were approached.