Hehe thanks Dave!

Yes I actually wanted one when the first came out in 1994. They came SXV10 and MCV10 (4cyl & V6). The SXV10 5S-FE 4cyl version was the only one to come in manual. They were made for 1994, 1995 and 1996. The 2 door was discontinued after 1996 as the 1997 Camry was a 4th gen redesign. Then the Camry Solara was introduced in early 1998 as a 1999 model....which is the rebirth of the Camry coupe.

The 4cyl version was available in DX and LE versions the V6 version was available in LE and SE model trims. The coupe was made exclusively at Georgetown.

1994 was a transitional point for the Gen3 Camry as:

1) the 1MZ-FE 3.0L V6 replaced the old heavy cast iron block 3VZ-FE
2) Passenger Side Airbag was available and standard.

 

Very simple. The reason the 2-door Camry ( and Accord ) did not sell well is that these cars are mostly family-oriented, and families usually want 4 doors. Recently, however, the V6 Accord Coupe has had some appeal with enthusisasts.

 

While, of course, I cannot read your mind, flip, I don't think you would have liked the 2-door Camry if you actually had one....especially in stock form. It simply was not designed as an enthusiasts' car. Even in the SE version, the steering, chassis, suspension, and tires would have probably been too soft and numb for your tastes....especially compared to the IS300 you have now. Yes, there have been rather rare reworked versions by tuners...but these did not come from the factory.

By the way, who's the blonde in your signature? Not bad. Is that your better half or significant other?

 

Seen plenty of those

 

well flip had a solara before the is300, so maybe that will relate. imho the solara might be a tad better than the camry for an "enthusiast's car", but still far from the sportiness the is300 is giving him

 

Sorry, Henry.....I guess I was off about the signature question. I notice you have the same one as flip.

As far as the Solara goes, in stock trim, the first one was just a nice, quiet, (and I mean QUIET, especially in the hardtop version ) fairly soft cruiser...the second one slightly less so.

 

Well even throughout college I was still in the search for a rare Gen3 Camry Coupe preferably SE V6 as it had a conventional e-brake whereas the LE V6 coupe had a foot brake like most of the other Camry V6 models. My good friend also like this car. He was lucky enough to find a very clean 94 Camry LE V6 Coupe in Silver Taupe Metallic back during our college days. This is what got us started in starting a very big Camry Owners Club exactly 5 years ago. The rest is history.

I ended up getting the Solara from a friend who had to move back to Taiwan because of his dying father. As much as I love the Solara, the IS is by far more fun to drive and more easier on my 100 mile/day commute to Orange County and back. The Solara is manual but it's not fun to drive in heavy SoCal traffic. If I were to still do it all over again, I would still look for that perfect SE V6 Coupe w/the moonroof in White with gray interior. Call me weird but i've always admired that car.