Topic: Spy look at '12 Toyota Camry

[whistler]

I suspect it's a reflex reaction to car enthusiasts that the Camry has to be boring no matter what. Or perhaps a Pavlovian response

I'm not saying it's exciting but that looks decently handsome. So does the headlight. But I think Toyota just needs to show us the damn car and get it over with! It is after all a midsized sedan and not a Mustang GT

Some people feel that in order to be "real" car enthusiasts they have to hate the cars that regular buyers love. It is an elitism thing.

Kind of like how "real" Grateful Dead fans all say they hate Touch of Grey.

Personally, even if I might not be the kind of person that would buy a Camry, I respect the car for what it is good at and see how it appeals to so many people (over 300,000 a year in NA...).

[rrocket]

"We're thrilled Buick is offering a manual gearbox, but unfortunately, it's a lifeless piece that doesn't provide the mechanical feel that's such a satisfying part of changing gears. Also, as we've noted before, the Regal's structure doesn't feel as solid or as well-screwed-together as its competition."

So I guess the question becomes....In this class of car, would you rather a crappy manual or a good auto?

Crappy manual please! 

Where did you get that quote, ArticsAutoReview?

Oh sorry, man!!  http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/reviews/drives/2012-buick-regal-gs-test-drive

And I'm not sure.  My IS350 (with flappy paddles) was much more pleasant to "shift" than the stick in my Audi TT until I fixed it with $300+ worth of linkages, shifter ball and fluid.

[aaronk]

I suspect it's a reflex reaction to car enthusiasts that the Camry has to be boring no matter what. Or perhaps a Pavlovian response

I'm not saying it's exciting but that looks decently handsome. So does the headlight. But I think Toyota just needs to show us the damn car and get it over with! It is after all a midsized sedan and not a Mustang GT

Some people feel that in order to be "real" car enthusiasts they have to hate the cars that regular buyers love. It is an elitism thing.

Kind of like how "real" Grateful Dead fans all say they hate Touch of Grey.

Personally, even if I might not be the kind of person that would buy a Camry, I respect the car for what it is good at and see how it appeals to so many people (over 300,000 a year in NA...).

Since when is mediocrity so fashionable? Sure it looks 'decently handsome' but if you're shelling out $30K for a new car do you really want to go for 'decent'? I don't think enthusiasts hate on the Camry for reasons of elitism, it's just that there are cars that deliver similar virtues to what the Camry offers yet have more style, character and performance for similar money. If I saw someone buying a ham and cheese sandwich for $5, am I an elitist for telling them there's a grilled steak sandwich right next to it for the same price? I'm just looking out for my neighbour!

[Sir Osis of Liver]

I've had 4 Toyotas in the past and was pretty happy with them. I'm disappointed in them now because they just don't seem to try anymore. They are following the crisis curve TG referred to earlier in the Corolla thread, too conservative, no longer innovative, spend more effort on cost cutting than R&D.

Their great strength and fallback position has always been stellar reliability, and even though it's still very, very good overall, it is nowhere near the night/day difference that it used to be 10+ years ago. The Camry in particular is now rated as "average". A few model years have been "worse than average" or "much worse than average". Hard to charge a premium for a car when the competition is at least as good, or in some cases better, at delivering the reliability it used to be renowned for. 

At the risk of starting the Buick hate machine up again, of all the things the Regal can be legitimately accused of, flimsy body structure isn't one of 'em. Solid as a church.

[rrocket]

I've had 4 Toyotas in the past and was pretty happy with them. I'm disappointed in them now because they just don't seem to try anymore. They are following the crisis curve TG referred to earlier in the Corolla thread, too conservative, no longer innovative, spend more effort on cost cutting than R&D.

Their great strength and fallback position has always been stellar reliability, and even though it's still very, very good overall, it is nowhere near the night/day difference that it used to be 10+ years ago. The Camry in particular is now rated as "average". A few model years have been "worse than average" or "much worse than average". Hard to charge a premium for a car when the competition is at least as good, or in some cases better, at delivering the reliability it used to be renowned for. 

At the risk of starting the Buick hate machine up again, of all the things the Regal can be legitimately accused of, flimsy body structure isn't one of 'em. Solid as a church.

So a guy with a Subaru is talking about reliability??   

[whistler]

Here she is:

[Ontariodriver]

Here she is:

I can hardly contain my excitement.... It looks so dated almost like the old MK5 Camry..

[whistler]

Here she is:

I can hardly contain my excitement.... It looks so date almost like the old MK5 Camry..

Suit yourself. I think its probably the best looking Camry ever made, inside and out. Definitely a big improvement from the previous car.

[rrocket]

Here she is:

I can hardly contain my excitement.... It looks so date almost like the old MK5 Camry..

Suit yourself. I think its probably the best looking Camry ever made, inside and out. Definitely a big improvement from the previous car.

WTF is with the silly/stupid style line on the passenger dash??

[EV Dan]

Here she is:

I can hardly contain my excitement.... It looks so date almost like the old MK5 Camry..

Suit yourself. I think its probably the best looking Camry ever made, inside and out. Definitely a big improvement from the previous car.

WTF is with the silly/stupid style line on the passenger dash??

It is symmetrical with the driver's side.

From the pics it looks bigger and perhaps more stylish than the current 1.

[rrocket]

It is symmetrical with the driver's side.

No it isn't.  Unless you mean the teeny 4" section above the vent on the drivers side.

[EV Dan]

It is symmetrical with the driver's side.

No it isn't.  Unless you mean the teeny 4" section above the vent on the drivers side.

 

[Frontier1]

Hey neighbour see my new Camry.......Where?.......cough cough cough......oh yes yes I can see it now.  Mix of the last 2 generations.........yawn..........bedtime.

[rrocket]

Hey neighbour see my new Camry.......Where?.......cough cough cough......oh yes yes I can see it now.  Mix of the last 2 generations.........yawn..........bedtime.

Yup...like the Altima, Fusion, Malibu, etc.  I think the only design most recently that was a radical departure was the Sonata.

(BTW, the Camry has looked pretty much the same since 2006, whereas the Altima has looked the same since 2002)   

[Sir Osis of Liver]

WTF is with the silly/stupid style line on the passenger dash??

Yeah, That's a bit weird.

Front end is a huge improvement. The rest of the exterior is fine, which is enough in this class.

[Ice]

It is symmetrical with the driver's side.

No it isn't.  Unless you mean the teeny 4" section above the vent on the drivers side.

Yep that's probably what he means and that's how I saw it. My OCD self would probably get annoyed if it wasn't ultimately symmetrical... so I'm ok... phew

I think it looks decent. If the materials are higher quality like they said (class leading? Come on Toyota) then it'll be a great midsize car. Even if the exterior isn't inspired it's the interior where you spend the time and if that is well engineered from both a ergonomic perspective and from a materials and nvh perspective then good.

[Frontier1]

Hey neighbour see my new Camry.......Where?.......cough cough cough......oh yes yes I can see it now.  Mix of the last 2 generations.........yawn..........bedtime.

Yup...like the Altima, Fusion, Malibu, etc.  I think the only design most recently that was a radical departure was the Sonata.

(BTW, the Camry has looked pretty much the same since 2006, whereas the Altima has looked the same since 2002)   

You mean the Altima has been the sportiest ride since 02   Thank You Nissan   I'm sure a new sporty design is in the making.

[whistler]

Hey neighbour see my new Camry.......Where?.......cough cough cough......oh yes yes I can see it now.  Mix of the last 2 generations.........yawn..........bedtime.

Yup...like the Altima, Fusion, Malibu, etc.  I think the only design most recently that was a radical departure was the Sonata.

(BTW, the Camry has looked pretty much the same since 2006, whereas the Altima has looked the same since 2002)   

And even the Sonata isn't all that much of a departure in real life... it just looks like the other sedans inflated over PSI than it should be.

[Jaeger]

Definitely dullsville. Looks like they just went back to the model before the last one and sad "Right, let's do that again."

Any word on engines - or just carry-overs?  The existing V6 is still one of the best out there, IMO, so it wouldn't shock me if they just hung on to that.

Jaeger

[Mike]

Oh look, toyota borrowed Acura's beak 




More shots:





Camry paddle shifters:


More Photos
http://ca.autoblog.com/photos/2012-toyota-camry-first-drive-0/#4388252