We all know the Camry sells. It outsells its competition on a regular basis. The reasons, we could argue 'til the cows come home. It doesn't matter.
But we do know it's not because it's the "best" car. McDonald's sells more burgers than anyone on planet earth. Are they the best burgers? I think we all know the answer to that. They're the best selling burger because consumers know exactly what to expect when they go there. Their business model is consistency. IMO, one of the reasons the Camry sells so well is the fact that consumers recognize the link between it and the ES350. I know, I know, they're not the same car but just knowing that your Camry was built by the same people that brought you the Lexus division means a lot to consumers.

 

sounds familiar

 

Once again, that's the point. This is a purely rational choice. Mr. Toyoda is looking over the product line up and evaluating each model for what it is but I think he would like every model to have some sort of emotional dimension.

 

Toyota Eyes Off Lease Returns for Growth

Toyota Division asked dealers to make a renewed push for customer retention as more lease returns come back this year.

At the make meeting on Monday, Toyota told dealers that it wants sales of Toyota and Scion vehicles to increase to 2 million units this year, up from 1.96 million last year. Toyota also encouraged dealers to repeat as the top-selling retail brand in America.

Part of the growth will come from a fall introduction of a "mega change" for the 2015 Camry -- with dramatic sheet metal updates normally reserved for a full redesign, said dealer council chairman Jay Caldwell, president of single-point Caldwell Toyota in Conway, Ark.

Toyota estimates about 125,000 Toyota Financial Services lessees are ending their terms this year. New sales and service retention tools are being rolled out, especially in connection with the ToyotaCare free-maintenance program, said Jim Lentz, CEO of Toyota's North America Region.

 

The Camry is a Camry.
It's not pretending to be anything else.

But I really like the design of the current Camry. Sedate looking







Who remembers the Camry killer LOL :P

 

But the Camry does 0-60 on 5.8 seconds

 

i like the camry SE.. looks sharp..

i would never get one though..

 

I don't think anybody can make an argument that the Camry has not improved over the previous generation. Styling is subjective (I would call neither generation good looking) but inside I think the current car is obviously an improvement. Materials are terrible...but they were in the previous car too. Toyota hopefully has seen the errors of their ways here if the Highlander is any example.

The issue is, this segment is really on fire. There are so many other good entrants out there now building stylish, comfortable, and yes dependable sedans that the Camry's lead has indeed been chipped away at. Toyoda is signaling he understands this, and he means to bring to the Camry what his competitors have brought to their cars. As a Toyota/Lexus enthusiast I think this is fabulous news...Toyota is guilty of resting on its laurels a little from about 2005 until now IMHO.

I don't really understand how this thread got to this point. Toyota has released a statement saying they are going to make the Camry better...are we saying the Camry doesn't need to be better and please keep your improvements Toyota?!? I don't understand...

 

it got to this point because people were claiming that Camry is crap and sales are going down, which they are not... Camry sales went up actually in 2013, despite all the competition. And Camry was first car that Akio signed off, so some people claimed in this thread how Akio does not like it - well he signed off on it.

Highlander starts at $10k above Camry though, so I am not sure what is going to happen to the car - i doubt you will see Camry thats going to be $2k more expensive. It is build to a price and audience.

It is the cycle that repeats every few years, back in 2011, everyone was claiming how Camry is crap and how Hyundai will take it over. Then in 2012 it was all about new Nissan, Fusion... then Accord came in 2013.

It is rinse and repeat when it comes to arguments about Camry.

 

These arguments come up every time it is announced that a new Camry is coming out. It was the same thing back in 2011 just before the 7th-generation Camry was introduced. Suddenly the internet was ripe with people (and professional auto reviewers) claiming that the new Camry could not come out soon enough, how the 6th-generation was so ugly, so outdated (I would not have been surprised if someone had tried to compare it to a Ford Model T) and how the competition would soon beat it.

Three years later, with the announcement of a POSSIBLE big mid-model change and the whole thing starts over again. Oh, it can't come soon enough, the current one is SO ugly, the previous generation is better looking, it is SOOO outdated (yet the engines and transmissions have stayed the same from since Generation 6.5), it will soon be beaten to a pulp, etc., etc., etc., etc.

There are only 3 constants in this world: death, taxes and beating up on the Camry.

BTW I read in a Southeast Asian automotive website that interprets the news of big changes to the Camry to mean the next generation (i.e. 8th-generation) in 2017 will be much different than the current one, not that the facelift to the current 7th-generation will be a big change.

 

this is news from US execs not Japanese ones... repeated several times.

But it is also "just" an PR... it does not mean that it means what we want it to mean. It might end up being typical MMC with minor changes

 

Toyota's mid life facelift always enhance the appearance of their vehicles. Which is polar opposite of the Koreans where their mid life refreshes look worse than the original.

Toyota may not point it out but their mid life facelift also enhance the entire vehicle. Engine, transmission and the general underpinnings.

 

So let's pretend that you're calling the shots at Toyota.

This "drastic" refresh of the Camry in 2015 with sheet metal changes, and yes that's huge for a mid-lifecycle update considering developmental and retooling costs, and lead times. Obviously a huge investment by Toyota, considering most mid-cycle updates are cosmetic tweaks.

If you were calling the shots...

YES or NO to this?

 

As someone that just happened upon this thread and read through the whole thing in one sitting...I will give you my viewpoint.

I think that you guys over-react a little bit to criticisms of the Camry. You have to understand that members on forums are enthusiasts, and the Camry really is the anti-enthusiast vehicle. Its a car for someone who really doesn't like cars, and to an enthusiast that sort of car is bewildering. Whats changing in this segment is that manufacturers are adding driving characteristics, styling, quality & features to their cars that inject some enthusiasm into them. Who would have thought that a Honda Accord would sport handsome styling and class leading technology. Sit in a Mazda 6, thats a car *I* would drive...which has never been the case with any car in that segment.

Toyota has said and shown that being the most reliable appliance isn't enough anymore if they want to maintain their sales dominance. If you look at new vehicles like the Corolla...they are matching their words with action. This is a GOOD thing...so why are we fighting about it?

If you look at the Corolla or the Rav4 though you will see that the much improved interior quality is achievable on cars costing less than the Camry. Toyota's competitors can offer a better interior for the money...Toyota can too.