With sleeker styling, a more powerful engine and a new hybrid, America's best-selling car sets a new standard.
America's most popular car for four straight years, the Toyota Camry gets even better as a new-generation 2007 model.
There's new styling, which is sleeker and more upscale than in earlier Camry cars, inside and out. There's also a new, sportier SE trim with the most powerful Camry engine ever—a 268-horsepower V6.
And there's a first-ever gasoline-electric hybrid Camry. It gets an estimated government fuel economy rating of 43 miles per gallon in city driving and 37 mpg on the highway.
This is up significantly from the best fuel economy rating for the 2006 Camry—24/34-mpg for a one with a four-cylinder engine.
Indeed, the five-passenger, 2007 Camry Hybrid becomes the second-best family sedan in fuel economy in the country, after the 2006 Toyota Prius, which is rated at 60/51 mpg.
Due in showrooms in March 2006, the new Camry—all four trim levels of CE, LE, SE and XLE as well as new Camry Hybrid—promises to "create a new benchmark for sedans in the United States," according to Jim Lentz, group vice president and general manager of Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc.
Pricing hasn't been announced. The 2006 Camry has carried a starting manufacturer's suggested retail price of $18,445.
Camry: A Very Important Toyota
There's no other product in Toyota's fleet quite like the Camry, which helps explain why Toyota officials labor so diligently on this car—from development to marketing.
With annual sales of more than 400,000 in the U.S. alone, the Camry accounts for more than 20 percent of the sales of Toyota-branded vehicles here. The second-most-popular Toyota is the Corolla small car, with only about half the U.S. sales of the Camry.
Put another way, there are more Camry sedans sold in the U.S. every year than the entire lineup of Mercedes-Benz vehicles. The Camry alone also outsells each of the following brands: Buick, BMW, Mazda and Volkswagen, to name a few.
And because the Camry is in the single largest car segment in the country—the nearly 3 million midsize sedan segment—it's responsible for bringing oodles of shoppers and strong traffic to Toyota showrooms, according to car dealers.
Auto analysts add that the Camry contributes healthy profits at Toyota.
Besides being sold in the U.S. and Canada, the Camry is sold in more than 100 other countries. Total cumulative worldwide Camry sales total more than 10 million.
No wonder, then, the new Camry's Chief Engineer Kenichiro Fuse, said "a greater proportion" of the budget for the Camry "was dedicated to ensuring significant improvements in quality than any project in the past."
Previous Camry cars already have received numerous quality and value awards, including "Best Buy" from Consumer's Digest and "Best Bet" from the AAA auto club. And the Camry's reputation as a reliable vehicle is among the best in the industry.
In addition, look for Camry cars to be used in the big leagues of stock car racing in NASCAR starting in 2007. For the first time since the 1950s, an overseas-based automaker of any kind will race in NASCAR's premiere Nextel Cup and Busch Series. Back in the 1950s, Jaguar of Britain raced in NASCAR's top series before NASCAR reverted back to all domestic cars.
Good-Bye to Timid Styling
Toyota officials admit that previous Camry cars have had mild, unprovocative styling that made the vehicles blend in, rather than stand out, on the roads.
But they hope consumers recognize a bolder look for this new, sixth-generation Camry. Even wheels are upsized to 16-inchers on the base Camry, up from 15-inch wheels on the previous base trim. And the sporty Camry SE comes standard with 17-inchers.
While the wheelbase of the '07 Camry is 2.2 inches longer than that of the 2006 Camry and the track is increased 1.2 inches, the new car's size, overall, looks about the same as its predecessor's.
Officials said research showed that current Camry owners weren't looking for an appreciably bigger car. They just felt their car was a bit too "ordinary."
New Interior Features
Toyota also makes strides in the Camry interior for 2007. Seats are improved, the rear floor is completely flat, all Camrys have tilt and telescoping steering wheels, the instrument panel in the LE trim has Lexus-like Optitron illumination, and rear seatbacks now fold down to allow additional cargo space in all but the SE trim and Camry Hybrid.
There are thoughtful touches, too. For example, cloth seats in the XLE are coated by a protein that comes from silkworm cocoons in order to reduce possible skin irritation. This same material is used on women's bras in Japan.
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