2007 Toyota Camry - Colorful Colorado to Crowded California

Throughout the Plains, the Camry stayed clear of debris, but the mountainous roads took a toll on the paint's luster. I'll see later, after 2,292 miles, it cleans up and whether there are any exterior blemishes.

The Camry had me sailing along I-70, only stopping occasionally to admire the jaw-dropping Utah scenery like the Black Dragon rock formation. The sights, however, mask the rising elevation. Rather suddenly my attention shifted to the ominous black clouds, quickly falling outside temperature (where it reached a low of 27 degrees) and the need to downshift to fourth gear on a flat section of the interstate just to maintain speed against the headwinds. Before long, I-70 shrank to a narrow one-lane roadway with black ice and driving snow.

Crawling along at 15-20 mph, the Camry mostly held its traction. There was occasional wheel spin, but the traction control (an option on the LE) quickly countered. Descending from Fishlake National Forrest's 7,886-foot summit with the help of snow plows, was eased by manually downshifting to control speeds with minimal braking.

After two days of open stretches of interstate, 75 mph speed limits and courteous drivers who know the left lane is for passing, I entered 79-degree Southern California. I came to a screeching halt as traffic backed up on I-10.

Once in stop-and-go traffic, the brakes felt heavy and unresponsive, like the Camry was towing a trailer loaded with...dirt. In all fairness, this may be from three days of little use and it was more of an issue with lack of familiarity than a real change in the car.

Day Three's fuel economy was 30.8 mpg. According to old EPA estimates, the six-cylinder Camry LE rates at 22 city/31 highway. Under the new EPA methods, which apply to 2008 models, the Camry would be rated 19 city/28 highway. Either way, the Camry was only sipping its fuel across the country.

Here are the final results of my State Police sightings:

Utah (1 every 184 miles)
Iowa (1 every 148.5 miles)
Nevada (1 every 124 miles)
Colorado (1 every 115 miles)
Michigan (1 every 95 miles)
Nebraska (1 every 89 miles)
Indiana (1 every 45 miles)
California (1 every 39 miles)
Arizona (1 every 28 miles)
Illinois (1 every 22.5 miles)

The Camry performed remarkably well and made this trip uneventful. It's a good-looking, solid and dependable car, but like the road trip, it's uneventful. For those who care more about the destination versus the journey, the Camry's for you.

Welcome home Toyota Camry, welcome home.

Barry Toepke at 15,031 miles