Best. Camry. Ever. At least, those are the words (if there were some liberties taken with the cadence) of Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda when talking about the all new 2012 Toyota Camry.
Toyoda said that they listened to customers and have built a car that will exceed expectations and will be a "remarkable car in terms of handling, safety and fuel economy." Remarkable handling? Camry? Ok....
But things don't stop when the video cuts out shortly after the peep show of the car's the new Camry's headlight. Nope, the internet of all things is running rampant with rumors about the new car. In particular, VW Vortex seems to have found a cache of early information....
What they've dug up is that the 2012 Toyota Camry will abandon the highly sought after manual transmission option (take that, sales crown) as well as the V6 LE. Wheels on the XLE will be 17s, up from 16s while the V6 SE will have 18s. Entune will be available on XLE and SE models. LE models will lose standard power seats, getting them only as an option. This probably means that the LE will follow in the footsteps of the Passat and be cheaper than the $21,650 it stickers for in 2011.
Of course, we won't know the exact specifics until the car is released sometime this fall, aka: at the LA Auto Show.
( Toyota, VW Vortex)
lucien4 says:
11:42 AM, 07/ 5/11
On carscoop there's a leaked video of the new Camry (which seems real).
Not much design changes other than front and back:-(.
tailgate1234 says:
09:05 PM, 07/ 5/11
Sorry, Mr. Toyoda: the best Camry ever was the 1992-1994 model. It's been a de-contenting, cost-cutting downhill slide ever since.
questionlp says:
09:18 PM, 07/ 5/11
It's not surprising that the stereotypical appliance car will lose the last non-braindead component. It also doesn't help that the some/many/all? of the competitors only equip the MT in the decontented models. It wouldn't be surprising if Toyota gave in and replaced the slushbox for a CVT later to make it even more appliance like. :P
igeekone says:
11:08 PM, 07/ 5/11
Remember, Akio is a car enthusiast. The new Sienna is actually really sporty for a minivan. This next gen Camry maybe surprisingly lively. Don't bash until it's tested by IL. Then you can bash all you want.
litewerk says:
11:58 PM, 07/ 6/11
Were I to ever purchase a Toyota Camry, which is highly unlikely, it would only be a manual transmission model - if one were available. My best guess is that there will only be modest changes, much like Honda did with the Civic. It may be all-new, but most folks will find it looks only slightly different from the current car; what's known as an evolutionary redesign.