Update: Toyota has released a short video of CEO Akio Toyoda assuring that the new Camry will be “the best Camry ever.” The clip shows Toyoda motioning to the new car’s headlight, which you can see above. Exciting stuff.
Car enthusiasts slam the Camry for inducing catatonic states in drivers, but the one million Americans who have bought one in the past three years tend to feel differently. (Yes, one million.) At a national dealer meeting in Las Vegas, Toyota execs told attendees that the company would be rolling out an all-new Camry this fall.
As is usually the case when Toyota introduces a new model, the 2012 Camry won’t be dramatically changed from the car it replaces. The 169-hp, 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine will probably carry over with a little bump in power, and the V-6 engine should return as an option, too. Similarly, we’ve heard nothing about Toyota developing a new transmission, so expect to see the same six-speed automatic and manual that the current cars have.
2011 Toyota Camry
While we’d love for Toyota to surprise us with news of some crazy twin-turbocharged, all-wheel-drive, stick-shifted Camry, it’s not going to happen. (Disturbing fact: There was, until a few years ago, a 323-hp version of the Camry in Australia. It routed power from a supercharged V-6 through the front wheels alone.) Instead, all the performance fun will be left to the rear-wheel-drive Scion FR-S.
For those who get their thrills from saving on fuel, there will, of course, be a hybrid version of the next-gen Camry. It’s possible this will see greater technological changes aimed at improving fuel economy and smoothing out the system’s operation.
Toyota told dealers at the Las Vegas meeting that it would be making a major push to clean up the Camry’s battered image. Advertising will largely focus on the car’s reliability and safety, both of which, ironically, were longtime strong suits for all Toyotas.
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