Long time lurker, first time poster.

The Camry is still one of the best cars you can buy, and I think any of the Camrys as long as they have alloys on them (LE, SE, etc) is a nice ride, especially in Blue Ribbon Metallic or Spruce Mica. Certain things like interior quality are not what it used to be, but it's not woefully terrible like its portrayed on some other sites. I'm anxious to see the new Camry and see if Toyota steps up in these areas again.

 

That's true for people like you and me and Mike (and many of us here on CAR CHAT), who can come up with our own opinions. But, for decades, millions of people have been buying Camrys and Accords, not only from their own prior experience or opinions, but also from the high ratings that Consumer Reports gave these two cars. CR is one of the most widely-read magazines in the country, and, like it or not, its findings influence millions of car buyers every year. In 2006, though, the Camry fit/finish and reliability dropped some, and CR just reported what their information and experience showed. And the Accord's high rating was not only given by CR, but also by Car and Driver....C&D had it on their Ten Best List many years in a row.

A lot of those "real paying customers" you mention apparantly do still look at Consumer Reports, because when the Altima overtook the Camry's sales, CR had rated it its top family-sedan. However, I also agree with Mike that rebates/incentives were a factor.

And, I'll also agree with you, to some extent, that if the Camry can once again reach #1, more power to it. It's hard to argue with success....CR or not.

 

so what happened last month? they stopped looking at CR and purchased Camry again?

 

Welcome to CL and your first post!

 

1. One month of a sales peak means little compared to months/years of the Camry sales rankings (even as it nears the end of product life cycle).

2. Looking at CR (like many of us do) is common. As I said before, the "rankings" are not that valuable to the astute and don't correlate to sales rankings. Apparently more non-buyers on the internet (versus "real paying customers") are using the rankings.

I also agree with Mike on the use of rebates/incentives to help boost sales.

 

My '11 Camry hybrid has been a very good car.No rattles or creaks.Smooth quiet ride.Best ride quality in it's class.I'm happy with it.Seems it hit or miss with rattles and creaks.I got lucky.
The Camry hybrid has an acoustic windshield and more sound deadening than the gas Camry.
The only negatives I have are the door gaps are pretty wide and a minor one with the wood trim at the shifter is a bit lower than the door piece next to it but I'm ****.
I should have noticed those issues when I picked the Camry.
The gaps are funny on the Camry.Some cars are tight,some are wide.Same goes to where the trunk meets the bumper cover.

 

Sorry, I missed your edit to your post (above).

Note: Camry did reach #1 in April btw, smoked the Altima.

 

Part of it was what Mike hit on.....the incentives ran out. But, with Toyota, some of the negative-publicity in the media that Toyota endured the last year or two is also starting to fade.

 

Here's the complete Toyota breakdown: The Camry led all Toyota sales (as it usually does).

http://www.toyota.com/about/news/cor...1-1-sales.html

Toyota Reports April Sales


May 1, 2009 -Torrance, CA.- Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), U.S.A., Inc., today reported month-end sales of 126,540 vehicles, a decrease of 41.9 percent from last April, on a daily selling rate basis.

The Toyota Division posted April sales of 112,345 units, a decrease of 42.2 percent from the same period last year. The Lexus Division reported April sales of 14,195 units, a decrease of 39.2 percent from the year-ago month. Toyota Division Toyota Division passenger cars recorded April sales of 70,662 units, down 41.6 percent from the same period last year. Camry and Camry Hybrid remained Toyota’s volume leader in April, posting combined monthly sales of 25,324 units. Corolla recorded sales of 18,534 units. Yaris reported sales of 8,118 units for the month. The Prius mid-size gas-electric hybrid posted April sales of 8,385 units.

Toyota Division light trucks posted April sales of 41,683 units, down 43.1 percent from the year-ago month. Light truck sales were led by the RAV4 compact SUV with sales of 11,126 units. The Tacoma mid-size pickup reported sales of 9,027 units for the month. The Tundra full-size pickup recorded April sales of 6,156 units. Highlander and Highlander Hybrid posted combined sales of 5,595 units.
Scion posted April sales of 4,442 units. The xB urban utility vehicle led the way with sales of 2,036 units. The tC sports coupe recorded sales of 1,526 units. The xD reported sales of 880 units for the month.

Lexus Division
Lexus passenger cars reported April sales of 7,189 units, a decrease of 47.8 percent from April 2008. Passenger car sales were led by the ES entry luxury sedan with April sales of 3,549 units. The IS entry luxury sport sedan posted combined sales of 2,324 units. The LS flagship luxury sedan recorded combined sales of 765 units. The GS luxury sport sedan
reported combined April sales of 468 units.

Lexus Division light trucks recorded April sales of 7,006 units, down 26.9 percent from the year-ago month. Lexus sales were led by the RX and RX Hybrid luxury utility vehicle, which posted combined April sales of 6,237 units. Thanks to strong sales of the new 2010 RX 350, the RX was the industry's best-selling luxury vehicle for the month of April.

TMS Hybrids
TMS posted April sales of 12,223 hybrid vehicles. Toyota Division recorded sales of 11,516 hybrids for the month. Lexus Division reported April sales of 707 hybrids. There were 26 selling days this month and last April.

 

^ Note: That's a 2009 Toyota press release.

Recent sales data for Toyota/Lexus has already been posted on CL "April 2011 Sales thread".

 

The bottom line is so many people love crapping on the Camry and the bottom line is its still arguably best in class. All these newcomers, Malibu, Fusion, Sonata, Optima etc are all aim for the Camry, drive like a Camry, are labeled Camry killers and they haven't killed anything. They haven't even stabbed the Camry. They basically showed up to throw a punch and held their fist up to swing and then dropped their hands and just got in line. Like an internet fanboi would do

 

I don't know about the Optima and Sonata, but the Fusion and Malibu are NOT better than the Camry. The interior is still better in the Camry than the Fusion and Malibu (especially) and the ride is better in the Camry than either. Let's not even mention the raw power of the V6 Camry that is essentially top of the class.

 

Camry is kicking a$$ for sure, but it's not because it is a great car. it's because midsize buyers really don't care about what they drive. they are automotive zombies. you can't possibly like camry over optima, fusion, sonata or even accord if you have any kind of automotive soul.

and i believe Sonata would outsell Camry if hyundai had 1 more plant. Sonata is selling at a much faster rate. Elantra is on a 7 day supply. they can't build them fast enough. but hyundai is being patient. they know becoming too big too soon is a risky business. contrary to popular belief hyundai's growth has been steady in the U.S

Altima is not a threat to camry. also they have high numbers of fleet.

oh by the way, Accord outsells Camry in retails so far.

 

I think that Camry sales would be more stalwart if the hybrid were a better offering. The Fusion and Sonata are tough to beat. The new Malibu hybrid is also promising. Spoken by someone who would only buy a Camry for the hybrid, I would be choosing a different midsize hybrid at the point because there are cheaper, more efficient options out there.

 

What car today is as good as a Camry was circa 1987-2001? Probably none, those cars were bomb proof, we may never again see cars with that level of quality and reliability.