http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/...mry-usat_x.htm

Toyota's dynasty has a new ruler
By Chris Woodyard, USA TODAY
DETROIT — At the all-important auto show here, muscle cars charge onto stage to the blare of screeching tires and roaring rock music. SUVs emerge from the mist as they are lowered from the ceiling amid fireworks and lasers.
"A play-it-safe redesign was out of the question" for the new Camry. "A play-it-safe redesign was out of the question" for the new Camry.

But the star this year? It might just be a humble family sedan.

The sixth-generation Toyota Camry rolled out Monday at the North American International Auto Show, redesigned to maintain the lead it has held since 1997 as the nation's best-selling car. (Photo gallery: Detroit auto show)

The new model represents Toyota's bid to maintain the bedrock of its entire line, the epitome of reliability and innocuous styling.

"It's the ultimate vanilla automobile," says Gordon Wangers of auto-marketing consulting firm AMCI. "On one level it has a silly name. The styling is invisible. It does not give you bragging rights at the valet, to put it mildly."

Yet those can all be positive attributes for drivers who crave Camry's durability and dependability, he says. "It inspires ultimate confidence on the part of its owner that it will never let you down."

But buyers demand more style, said Toyota Senior Vice President Don Esmond.

"A play-it-safe redesign was out of the question" because the late-40s/early-50s target buyers want looks along with practicality. He called the 2007 Camry's looks "athletic and elegant" with a big hood badge that dips over the grille and rounder flanks.

Camry also gets more horsepower. The new 268-horsepower V-6, for instance, will achieve 40% better acceleration than the version it replaces. Yet it will get 31 miles a gallon on the highway vs. 29 mpg in the 2006 model, Toyota says. A new six-speed automatic transmission has 21% fewer parts than the five-speed in the last generation.

A gas-electric hybrid version will get 43 miles a gallon in the city; 37 mpg on the highway.

The new Camry goes on sale in the spring backed by "the biggest launch we've had in nearly 50 years of existence," Esmond said. Price hasn't been announced.

Karl Brauer, editor-in-chief of auto research website Edmunds.com, says for all its talk, Toyota stuck with tried-and-true blandness — and need not apologize.

The new Camry lacks a lot of passion or emotion, "And that's OK," Brauer says. Toyota played it safe in the redesign and still succeeds, because overall, the new Camry is "well executed."

That excellence could prove a strong card as buyers turn back to cars as gas savers after a decade-long love affair with SUVs.

Introduced in 1983, the Camry soon was battling Ford Taurus and Honda Accord for the title of best-selling car. Camry took over in 1997, according to Autodata, and has held the crown ever since.

Last year, Camry held its biggest lead over Accord yet — nearly 18% more in sales. Taurus has since dropped out of the race, relegated to fleet sales only, its fate officially undetermined.

A byproduct of Camry's durability has been some of the highest resale values in the auto industry. After five years of ownership, a Camry retains 39% of its value. The industry average is about 35%, and some cars fall as low as 20%.

"It's become the gold standard in its class," says Jack Nerad, a top analyst for Kelley Blue Book.

Toyota dealers say Camry is the cornerstone of their showrooms. "It's probably the single most important product we have," says Toyota dealer Dave Mungenast of St. Louis. "It's the bread and butter of our business."

 

Wow. I was just reading Camry hybrid specs - it is actually a lot more powerful than Prius. It has 140HP electric engine, system voltage of 650v (vs 500v in Prius),

45hp is "battery" output, which is actually 25hp in Prius. Wow.

This thing will be fast!

Camry Hybrid will have a lot of standard features such as smart entry, bluetooth, 440W premium sound system with mp3 and 6cd's, dual zone air, 9 airbags, vdim, 16" alloys... which means it will not be that cheap.

 

Sorry guys, but am I the only one that thinks the 07 Camry's rear end looks more like the 06 GS rear end. The more I stare it , the more I think Toyota has mixed DNA in the wrong way.

 

Sorry Amul, this post has nothing to do with the 2nd gen GS. Moving this post to car chat

 

I think for once Toyota made a Camry that actually looked good.. The SE looks pretty damn sporty for a family sedan.
The V6 even has more power than my IS...

 

Looks good in Black.

 

Here is the comparo:
(Discuss...)

Next Gen Camry

3rd Gen GS

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Personally, I think the new Camry's tailights are similar to that of the new IS, and the bumper of the new Camry is similar to that of the new GS. The trunk between the Camry and the GS are distinctively different.

 

I think the new Camry's tailights are similar to the Sonata.

 

I must say the hybrid intrigues me!

 

i dont see a resemblance...to be honest

 

+1

 

If you actually cover the top half of the GS and the New Camry (from the bottom of the windows downward)...you will see alot of resemblance...(other than the door trim on the lower part of the GS' doors). Pay close attention to the door cutouts, bumper seams and etc.

 

It's practically the same damn bumper except for the style around the lights....you guys must be joking or blind

I just noticed that the front doors and fenders are the same . I see a lot of reuse in my book.......

Regardless, GS IS the best car out there IMO, but its sobering to know that you will have quite a few cars on the road that look the same from the back.

 

I always look at a car as a whole. It's always easy to find similarities between cars if you look at certain parts seperately, especially if they're from the same family

 

While I like most of the powertrain and interior improvements, the front and rear of the car looks like a Mazda product.