(first posted 1/6/2017) Can a product be so strong that it builds a nearly indestructible reputation, and one that holds for decades in the minds of many consumers, even as product quality and competitiveness lapse to unremarkable levels? Well, I can think of at least one.
That’s right, the Toyota Camry, America’s poster child for dependable, no-nonsense, middle-class transportation for the past generation of drivers. But just how did the Camry achieve this pedestal, and dare I say iconic status?
Naturally, it all goes back to the 1980s, a decade that saw drastic shifts in consumer tastes and spending habits alike. In the automotive world, the 1980s was a time when the once almighty General Motors began showing us its fatal flaws to the point where an increasing amount of Americans were turned away, many permanently.
Coinciding with this was the increasing physical size of Japanese imports to the level where they were comparable substitutes for most compact and midsize American sedans, thus finally achieving mainstream appeal and success. One of these such cars was the Toyota Camry.
Officially introduced to the U.S. market in March of 1983, the Camry was Toyota’s first compact, front-wheel drive, transverse engine car, and the automaker’s answer to cars such as the GM X-bodies, Chrysler K-cars, and of course, its perennial arch-rival, the Honda Accord.
(The succession of Camry interiors, generations 1-3)
Early Camrys had broad appeal, offering inoffensive styling and the expected choice of several four-cylinder engines, manual or automatic transmission, and several trim levels with various options to accommodate different budgets and degrees of comfort. While the Camry offered little in the way of extraordinary features, it was screwed together well and offered owners a comfortable, efficient, and reliable package — everything the average A-to-B sedan driver desired.
The second generation Camry, sold in the U.S. for the 1987-1991 model years brought with it added refinement in such ways as more fashionable styling, higher quality interior materials, advancements in suspension and braking systems, and for the first time, an available V6 engine and optional all-wheel drive.
With the second generation, Camry sales and reputation continued their rise, with U.S. sales surpassing 200,000 units in 1988, a mark the Camry has stayed well above every single year since. So while the second generation firmly grounded the Camry’s place in the large-compact/midsize class, it was our featured third generation car that cemented the Camry’s status as the industry benchmark for years to come.
Part of this reason is owed to the fact that the third generation Camry sold in the North America and Australia was truly a midsize car, capable of competing with key players such as the Ford Taurus, which was then America’s best-selling car.
In fact, Toyota wisely elected to produce a separate body (known as the XV10) for these markets that was seven inches longer (riding on a 0.7-inch longer wheelbase) and three inches wider than the third generation Camry/Vista (pictured above) sold in Japan (V30), as Japanese tax legislation dictated the size of the domestic Camry to remain within its size bracket.
The XV10 Camry was conceived before the collapse of Japan’s asset price bubble in a period when Toyota and other Japanese automakers were less concerned with cost cutting and more concerned with making their vehicles the best within their respective classes. Toyota’s somewhat no-expense-spared attitude was clearly seen in this third generation, making it the best Camry yet, and what many feel to be the best Camry of all time.
Along with its larger physical size, rounded sheetmetal with soft curves and flowing lines, flush bumpers, moldings, and aircraft-style doors gave the car much greater substance and elegance than any prior Camry, and quite possibly any other Toyota-badged sedan sold before it in the U.S. Much like the E100 Corolla which premiered the same year, Toyota designers were clearly going for a premium, almost Lexus-like appearance.
With numerous advancements and improvements made over previous Camrys, refinement was the name of the game. Replacing the previous generation’s motorized seatbelts, a driver’s side airbag was standard on all models from the start of production, while a passenger’s side airbag joined the list of standard features in 1994. Anti-lock brakes were also a new option, becoming standard on the top-trim XLE in 1995.
In many ways, the Camry was an “almost Lexus”, boasting the same high levels of fit-and-finish, the same V6 and very similar driving dynamics (especially in the SE) of the ES 300, with no real noticeable downgrade in interior plastics. Minus real wood trim and a few luxury options, a top-line Camry XLE V6 was little different than its Lexus ES 300 cousin.
Toyota engineers spared no effort in making the Camry smoother and quieter than ever, incorporating measures such as engine balance shafts and a hydraulic cooling fan, aircraft-style doors with triple door seals, and sound-absorbing foam injected into body cavities to create a vault-like interior. With interior noise measuring at 68 decibels at 60 mph, the Camry’s interior was as quiet as many luxury cars costing thousands more.
Engines were now all dual-overhead cam design, with the base four cylinder enlarged to 2.2 liters and making 135 horsepower and 145 lb-ft torque. The available 3.0L V6 was the same engine found in the ES 300, initially making 185 horsepower and 189 lb-ft torque, and from 1994-on, producing 188 horsepower and 203 lb-ft torque. Automatic transmission was now the only choice in all but the base DX and sporty SE models, which featured a 5-speed manual as standard equipment.
The Camry could hardly be called sporty, even in SE form with its very minor performance upgrades, but it did offer a confident, controlled driving experience that was forgiving to the everyday driver, especially in emergency maneuvers. Exceptional ride was a stronger quality than performance, with its four-wheel MacPherson strut suspension featuring subframes to better isolate vibration from the chassis.
As far as the lineup was concerned, the 1992-1996 Toyota Camry offered something for everybody, for the penny-pincher looking to buy a cheap to maintain car that they’d be able to keep running for the next 20 years, to the family hauler looking for a maneuverable wagon to hold seven in a pinch, to even the Camry-class buyer looking for a bit of sportiness with a firmer suspension and manual transmission.
Nearly all North American-spec Camrys were now produced on U.S. soil, at Toyota’s new Georgetown, Kentucky manufacturing plant. The volume-leading sedan in base DX, midlevel LE, and high-end XLE trims were the first models to appear, soon followed by the sports-oriented SE sedan, and the DX and LE wagons later in the 1992 model year.
Rather belatedly, for the 1994 model year the Camry gained a 2-door coupe for the first and only time, offered in DX, LE, and SE trims. Despite its ever-slightly sexier appearance, Toyota was decidedly a few years (or a full decade) behind the curve with launching a Camry coupe. The coupe market, especially the mainstream midsize coupe market, was drastically shrinking, and the Camry coupe never found many buyers, resulting in its disappearance for the Camry’s 4th generation (though a distinctive bodied “Camry Solara” coupe and convertible would soon appear, to only marginally greater success).
Convenience features such as power windows, air conditioning, and AM/FM stereo with cassette deck were standard in all but the base DX models, with numerous other amenities such as an 8-way power drivers seat, 4-way power passengers seat, in-dash six disc CD changer, and remote key-less entry all available. Among other niceties, XLE models featured a power glass moonroof as standard.
All models received cloth seat upholstery and door panels as standard equipment, with leather available on SE and XLE models. DX models received a lower-grade cloth with vinyl trim on non-seating surfaces, while all other models received full-cloth seats. Regardless of model, all Camrys featured interiors of high-quality plastics with many soft-touch surfaces for added refinement over their predecessors and most competitors.
Over the course of its run, the XV10 Camry was showered with near-universal praise from consumers and professional industry reviewers alike. Camry sales steadily rose over this generation’s five-year life cycle, with U.S. sales alone surpassing the 300,000 mark in 1994, and U.S. sales totaling nearly 1.6 million units for this car’s generation.
Toyota designers, engineers, and even the accountants worked together to make this Camry the best one yet, and very confidently, the best of all time. They made the exterior classier and more stylish. They made the engines smoother and more powerful. They made the interior quieter, more spacious, and more luxurious. They made the ride more velvety plush yet more confident and controlled. They made the Camry one of the best Toyotas ever by making numerous refinements, improvements, and advancements to an already competitive car.
Toyota gave the people what they wanted, and with a little luck the 1992-1996 Camry set the industry benchmark for all mainstream midsize cars through the end of the decade. Clearly this benchmark has sunk in for much longer in the minds of the commonly stuck-in-their-ways American buyer, even as the Camry has been outclassed by competitors from the U.S., Germany, Korea, and other Japanese automakers. If the Camry isn’t the epitome of building positive brand equity, then I don’t know what is.
Related Reading:
Curbside Classic: 1986 Toyota Camry (Gen 1)
Curbside Classic: 1988 Toyota Camry (Gen 2)
Curbside Classic: 1992-1996 Toyota Camry (Gen 3)
Curbside Classic Comparison: 1997 Toyota Camry versus 1998 Honda Accord (Gen 4)
I’ve thought the 3rd generation Toyota Camry was the best one of all the Camry’s ever built, 25 years later you still see a lot of Camry’s of this era driving around, many of which in good condition.
All with dents in the left rear corner bumper!
http://jalopnik.com/the-incredible-mystery-of-the-camry-dent-1785413530
I live in Iowa where rusting is a problem and these seem to be holding up quite well. The rest of the car may look ragged but little or no rust.
My family has several of this generation Camry. Both V30 and XV10.
This is the car that took it to our big two (and Mitsubishi).
And from what I see on the streets… sold like hotcakes
Like the VT Commodore 3-4 years later
Yes the beta test market was New Zealand in 91, you got a toned down version my sister bought new examples of both and was quite disappointed in the Australian version slightly under equipped and without the performance her development model had she did keep it ten years without any major issues though.
This is peak fridge, and a beautiful one at that. The beige one looks very clean for its age.
Newer ones are probably much better, but this car, like some Toyotas of that era, has a timeless design.
A BIL bought one of the early ones. That V6 was a hoot and a half to drive.
It is funny how this follows the 91 Acura COAL yesterday. A 91 Integra was my Stepmom’s first non-US car. Her next car turned out to be a Camry (a 97, I believe), and she has driven nothing but Camrys to this day.
All Camrys are eternally reliable, but this generation has to be my least favorite appearance-wise! Dull, disjointed, like sections from three or more different cars hewn together. The generations preceding and succeeding it were my favorite Camry bodies.
Disagree, sorry. I think it’s a very sleek, Lexus-like body that was rather attractive for it’s time period. The Gen 2s scream “80s”, and while these might scream “90s”, the design language is still a lot fresher.
The following iterations of the Camry were much more generic IMO. My mother had one similar to the featured one in ’94 that was an excellent ride. The color was called “Champagne”, and it really looked great with the “gold package” trim. Great car for the times.
With a few minor changes and rebadging it was a Lexus,
All Camrys aren’t eternally reliable. Excessive oil consumption leading to engine failure is one issue that someone I know has had to deal with. My step son has a Camry and loves it. His RAV 4 however is drinking oil to the tune of a quart every 500 miles with only 80,000 miles on it. Toyota says this is normal. He is not impressed.
I take it the Rav has the 2.4l 4 cylinder engine? That engine is a POS. Have him take a good look at the under hood liner near the passenger side. If there is a pinkish or reddish line then the water pump is leaking.
Also pay attention to the coolant level. These engines are known for head gasket leaks that are caused by the head bolts stripping out the block. It seems that Toyota did not bother to drill the bolt holes in the block deep enough and the bolts themselves pull the threads out of the block. The only way to fix this is to get a new short block or timesert the thread holes. Toyota will not make good on the issue despite all of these 2.4l being a possible time bomb
It is the 2.4L. His experience with this RAV, and Toyota’s response to the issues have him vowing that this will be his last Toyota. GM started on their slippery slope this way too.
There is something approaching a 10% failure rate on some 2.4l engines from the 2006-2010 period. I have know of a RAV4, a Camry, and two second gen xBs that have had the issue. One xB got traded, Toyota fixed the other three for free. Including rental car for downtime and a lengthy warrany on the repairs.
Anecdotal, sure. But your son isn’t doing it right if they haven’t fixed it yet. Obviously, proof of regular oil changes (anywhere-no Toyota dealer requirement) is required.
I must be in the minority here, but that generation Camry has to be one of the ugliest. plain-vanila cars ever to come out of Japan. Absolute zero love for these. Reliability be hanged!
I prefer the 1996-2001 design as the most American-looking car Japan has ever produced up to that time.
And I personally think the ’97-’01 Camrys were the most vanilla and least attractive of the lot, whereas these were one of the better efforts. Different strokes and all.
This. My parent had a 94 and then a 97 — the 94 was far superior in materials and design. Their benchmark was the W124 Mercedes E Class of the late 80s, and featured Merc-like touches such as two layers of door gaskets to reduce wind noise. Surfaces and controls were high quality.
The 97 by comparison was severely “value-engineered” as the yen rose, and it shows. Generic design, cheap plastics, competent and reliable but nothing Mercedes-like about it.
A coworker had a ’93 XLE with a five-speed. It was in a beige several shades darker than the featured car. He had purchased the car from an old man, so at the time (it was fifteen years old by this point) it only had about 50,000 miles.
Having ridden in that car exactly once, I will admit to being thoroughly impressed at the time how a four-cylinder engine could rev past 3000 rpm without sounding like a buzzbomb about to explode. It was a good epiphany.
As I discussed about the previous generation Camry in the article Brendan so graciously linked to, these fall into the same realm as these are all but extinct in my neck of the woods. There is a very beat Camry wagon parked occasionally across the street from where I work and last week I saw a two-door Camry parked in a driveway in Hannibal that appeared to be dormant.
Hands down one of the best cars I’ve ever owned. Bought used with almost 100K and it ran great for another 50K or so. Being young and stupid, I ran it into the ground and a leaking head gasket that cost more to replace than the car did.
I feel like everyone on the planet had a Camry at some point in their life.
I myself owned a 2004 Toyota Camry SE, with the 200 bhp V6. The previous car I had prior to this Camry was a 2000 Monte Carlo SS. I can say that I loved the Monte Carlo, especially in SS Trim, but to me the Camry felt special for some reason. Sure I felt like a Soccer mom but the car was very roomy and airy.
Today in 2017 I do not think the Camry is the benchmark of it’s segment anymore. From a stylistic POV, or mechanically. With Kia, Hyundai, Accord, and even GM’s very attractive and efficient Malibu. The competition caught up with Camry about 10 years ago to be honest (JD Powers) also confirms this. The same manufacturers that supply Camry with electronic parts, sell the same parts (just modified) to the Camry’s competition.
For the younger newer generation today, that was not born or around to see Camry’s rise to fame. To these folks the Camry is just another bland look alike piece of metal and plastic floating on the streets. Much like the Lexus brand lost its allure as the car to have with the after 2002 (exclude the RX Sport Utility). Same fate with the Camry. The brands are not new to the American market anymore. The foreign-ness of them, as well as the “It” factor that made them so special has vanished!
“I feel like everyone on the planet had a Camry at some point in their life.”
Not me. At least not yet, heh, heh…
Me neither, nor has anyone in my direct or extended family. In fact I can only recall having ridden in two of them, though one of those two (a ’91 so the previous generation to this) belonged to a close friend in college so I have a lot of passenger time in that one.
My late father-in-law had one (the next generation), now in my son’s possession. Needed a new power steering rack last year – first major repair in sixteen years. Not impressed with the gruff engine nor the understeer though.
My brother-in-law is a Toyota nut, but he’s had decades-worth of minivans until the kids left home, pickups for the farm, SUVs to get there and even an MRS and now an 86. Not a Camry though.
Aussie Camrys had a unique steering rack for that market very sensitve at straight ahead to suit OZ driving conditions they probably turn to fast for the mid range suspension tune on OZ models, Kiwi versions had the stiffest spring and shock rates available and a quicker steering rack to suit our roads, JDM and US models shared the mushy full comfort suspension tune to suit their roads,
they may all look the same but there are differences under the skin.
I’ve had one Camcord (I don’t even remember which one is was so forgettable) with a wheezy four banger as a rental. Absolutely hated it and couldn’t wait to get back in my v8 Explorer.
Explorers would put me to sleep if they didn’t rattle so much, and ride so poorly.
I’ve never been on the Toyota bandwagon, let alone the beige Camry bandwagon, but even I like this generation. The coupe especially.
Bland and beige or not, I still respect the Camry, even if it inspires little passion. For many people, it offers fresh enough styling, comfortable interiors, smooth and reasonably efficient performance plus good resale values. My father-in-law is the prototypical Camry buyer: he’s had a representative from most of the Camry generations, starting with Gen2 all the way to Gen6 (which he still has, and it is still unfailingly reliable with ~150K on the clock). His favorite was Gen3, like the featured car–it really offered Lexus-level refinement at a Toyota price. Least favorites for him were the de-contented Gen4 and Gen5. But all of them did exactly what he wanted them to do: benign, no-fuss daily drivers that felt current and didn’t make waves.
My FIL likes cars but his priorities are elsewhere, and Camry simply delivers what he needs. Earlier in life, he had Chevrolet Impalas, and the concept was the same (we think of old Impalas as “interesting” now but they were the decent-but-boring Middle America transportation devices of their day).
It will be interested to see how the newly redesigned 2018 Camry will fare. Like most new Toyota products, the styling is pretty out there. Not sure that jarring grilles and busy, angular styling is the best way to add panache. To me, the current Kia products are much better looking than the ever-more visually overwrought designs from Nissan, Honda and Toyota.
My parents had a V6 wagon that we ran to 160k miles, including time as a hand-me-down to two teenage sons. Indestructible, endlessly capable, fast, quiet, flexible….
It looked boring and the front seat cushions were too short. Other than that, it was an object lesson in how to build a car. I’m still amazed by the sheer excellence of the thing.
Even if you look beyond the automotive world, how many complex, mass-produced mechanical devices are as good as this generation Camry?
Despite the beigeness, if I found a Camry coupe that wasn’t used up yet, I’d be hard pressed not to buy it. I have always liked them.
as boring as I find the coupe even, it WOULD be a decent daily beater. Even if its going to see the scut work of door dings, early morning commutes and winter driving theres just something very wrong feeling (to me, anyway) about driving any midsize sedan.
I have a first year 92 wagon in the same color I picked up for $300. It is a true beater but has many high quality details I’ve been wanting to sample for quite a while now. The engine is surprisingly sprightly for a four, it accelerates about as fast as my ES250 did.
The dashboard is probably my least favorite feature, something about the black plastic detailing just looks off but these cars were indeed built to a Lexus quality that was completely stripped in the best-selling 1997 update, which to me is the most ‘American’ oriented. The door panels are somewhat thinner than a second gen but nowhere near as cheap looking as the contemporary ES300 and look quite nice with the integrated tweeters. The sedan is beautiful even 25 years later and the wagon has always appealed to me since I was a child… Something about that D pillar and the chrome brightwork just screams high dollar design. Give me a 94 XLE V6 wagon in dark green please.
GM/Ford could have matched the quality and features but probably not at the price point Camry hit.
Looked at a 2016 Camrys a while back. Not shopping, just wanted to see what they were like. Interiors very very disappointing. I was surprised at how cheap and plain they were at all trim levels.
Our first Camry was a gen III SE, beige just like the one pictured above. This particular car was leased so we only had it for three years but it was comfortable, reliable and even fun to drive, in a sort of sleeper “Qship” sort of way. Of all of the Toyotas we have owned (six so far), the 1993 Camry had by far the most comfortable seats. I once drove straight through from Minneapolis to Evansville (around 12-13 hours), stopping only for gas and restroom breaks, and didn’t feel fatigued when we got home. Now (of course I’m older), if we don’t stop every couple of hours to get out and walk around, I almost need the Jaws of Life to get me out of the car. The one thing that I have noticed through the years is that Toyota has steadily decontented the Camry; the drive train is as good or better than ever but the interior screams rental car cheap. This doesn’t really affect how the car drives or anything but the vista of cheap plastic is a little off putting sometimes.
I had a ’91 wagon, which I liked except for those roving whirring seatbelts. Of the wagons, I think gen 2 is the cleanest and it had nicest stance. I had it aligned at a good old time shop where the computer/laser thing was under dusty covers and piles of parts and they handwrote the degrees on the lift in grease pencil while setting it, after that it drove itself. The only reliability issue I had was valve oil seals, no one wanted to replace them and I didn’t have the knowledge then.
The gen 3 my dad had as a company car was great except for the lights in the trunklid being unreliable, he used it a lot traveling so the trunk got used hard. He tried to buy it when the company retired it at about 200k, but the company sold the whole fleet to a South American taxi company.
He was then issued a ’98, which was good points/bad points compared to gen 3. It was sleeker but felt decontented somehow. There were many little evidences of trimming costs, but also some structural improvements. In some ways it was more like my gen 2, seating felt lower like my ’91.
I did some maintenance work on it and that went well, it was easy to deal with. We took it up to and across Newfoundland and back, including on rough side roads chasing icebergs, it held up well with all our stuff packed in it. They let him buy that one, not sure if demand for those was less than gen 3 or they figured out that it was easier to resell them domestically.
TOYOTA was making great cars in 1990s.recently i was talking to an Airport taxi driver and asked about his 2015 CAMRY CAB,He mentioned the excessive oil consumption problem.Less than 100k KM on clock and he needs to add a quart of motor oil every other day.a while back one of our CC friends had mentioned that TOYOTA going down the same path like GENERAL MOTORS is inevitable.Now i think that he might be right.
A very fine look at a very Finley built car, and one that is still rampant on the streets here (our next door neighbors have had theirs for ages).
One very important thing: These were considerably more expensive than the domestic competition at the time, and also substantially pricier than today’s Camry. A 1992 Camry LE had an MESRP of $16,988, which is $30k adjusted. A 2017 LE has an MSRP of $23,070, and there’s big incentives on them. It’s possible to buy one for around $20k, which makes the 1992 version a whopping $50% more expensive.
This explains of course why Toyota reduced the material quality on the Camry starting with the XV20. They decided that in order to keep expanding volume and become #1, lower pricing was key.
Oh yes, the XV10 is one of the favorites touted among Camry aficinados (if there are ones for a model which is often derided as a basic transportation appliance), lots of them still running around here in the SF Bay Area.
I have a 2009 Camry LE and while it does its job well, its interior is definitely cheapened out compared with the XV10 and even its successor 1997-2001 generation.
I have probably posted this before, but one night in the late 80’s I happened to get drunk with a couple of engineers- one American, and one Japanese, and we got to talking about their training as engineers.
The American was taught to ask himself: How can I make this (widget) just as good but cheaper to manufacture?
The Japanese was taught to ask himself: How can I make this (widget) better but no more expensive to manufacture?
The Japanese thought model ultimately leads to improved product but increased prices.
The American thought model ultimately leads to weakened quality but contained costs.
There is room for debate about which model is better, of course, but the Japanese model served Toyota very well for many years. It appears that, some years ago, Toyota abandoned that approach for whatever reason.
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-02-12/opinion/ct-edit-toyota-20100212_1_toyota-motor-corp-rival-automakers-auto-industry
Certainly around 2008 or 2009 I attended an auto show and was shocked at the cheapness and sloppiness of the interior on the base Camry on display.
I hope the company has shifted away from ‘the American model” since the return of the family to control, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/21/business/worldbusiness/21toyota.html
However I don’t have had enough seat time in recent Camrys to make an informed judgement.
Can’t recall where it was, but read about a new engineer being told not to worry about cutting costs, the company had a separate dept of specialists doing that that would go over his design after he was done.
Eventually that catches up. One example is the faulty capacitors that many electronic devices had at one point. I’ve fixed “broken” audio equipment just by replacing the caps. In the late 80’s Bosch had bad solder at a Mexican plant, thus many ECU’s “failed” but some could be resoldered and spring to life.
Also, Toyota supposedly runs its production lines very fast for cost control, a GM union rep was saying that GM lines are the safest, Toyota the least safe. But there might be other motivations for such talk. :^)
These will collect hundreds of “Camry dents” and keep on going.
My mom had a rare manual 96 coupe in that grayish purple color these came in. These things are still everywhere here.
Neither the author nor the commenters mentioned the tan/beige current-model Camry sitting right next to it?! (Unless I missed it).
And the featured car’s apparent hypogonadism.
I had to look twice, but you’re right. Nuts.
I was just scrolling through to see if anyone had mentioned it and was surprised that it took so long as well. The color (on the new Camry) is actually called “Creme Brulee”, same as our Highlander.
Yep, spotted that too, and had to scroll down this far to see if anyone else noticed the other newer Camry of similar color. Just shows how much they blend in.
Hopefully (for Toyota) the new 2018 that Paul wrote about later in the day will fare better and keep cars relavent. I for one am a little tired of the SUV and CUV’s dominance of the market of late. I prefer cars, especially coupes (loved the ever so rare third gen Camry coupe and subsequent Solara personally).
Of course I say I’m so over SUV’s and their omnipresence, however I’m considering replacing my wife’s Lancer with a Mazda CX-5 one day, though that’s more her than me. Good looking SUV actually. Didn’t think that was possible! ;o)
Curbside karma….lately, there’s been a Gen 3 Camry XLE in great condition parked in the driveway of a new house that’s just being finished in my neighborhood, and I’ve remarked (to myself) how good this car still looks. Very clean and timeless styling that’s aged remarkably well. One of the best Toyotas ever, for sure.
My parents had a Gen 2 LE V6, which was a nice, comfortable car. Smooth, quiet and quick, if a bit tinny and soft. They then got a Gen 3 (again LE V6), which was a giant step forward. Staid but solid in a way that reminded me of a Mercedes W124. Excellent quality, very quiet, and those doors had a really nice thunk. After that, they switched to Avalons, as the Gen 4 Camry was a big letdown.
I have to admit I have a love/hate relationship with these cars. My sister had a white/blue 1992 LE 4-cylinder, which was a great car right up until about 110k miles when things went bad. Her transmission went, the A/C compressor failed and it started to leak oil – not sure from where – but it didn’t matter. She loved that car and had it right up until about 150k, when her boyfriend totaled it. Even though it had issues, she always said how much she loved that Camry for years after it was gone. I loved the way that car looked and felt – the precision of the controls and the tight fitting, vault-like doors always screamed Lexus to me. Where that Camry fell short was in the driving dynamics. It was always loose and numb feeling in comparison to my Accords. Granted the ride quality may have been better than the Hondas and it was a quieter car for sure, but the overall feel from the driver’s seat never impressed me. In fact, it was a car I wouldn’t have wanted to own because the numb steering and sloppy, soft suspension made it boring and uninspiring to drive. But were they good cars? Absolutely. Just not my cup of tea.
I bought a base model 93 Camry sedan stick shift with crank windows and when my Caravan died in December it became my only vehicle. If the Camry makes it to January it will be antique. I like the quality of the Camry and it is even better than the 03 Caravan plus I love the Cruise Control. The weather stripping is a bit worn since it is noisy at highway speeds in a windstorm, but when there is no wind I think it is quieter than the Caravan. There is no place to rest your arms so I end up driving at 5 and 7 during long trips if possible, the stick shift is so easy to learn, and I wish there was a stick shift wagon. Would have been cool if my Camry was a coupe and in that shade of Electric Blue, but at least Black looks nice enough.I figured an Accord wagon stick shift would be a bit smaller and noiser so that is why I got a Camry. Also, I have the seat all the way back in order to be comfortable and I can still sit behind myself so no Corolla for me.
Nobody’s mentioned The Onion yet?
http://www.theonion.com/article/toyota-recalls-1993-camry-due-fact-owners-really-s-50480
Hysterical.
Just not my thing,and never will be.I equate a Camry with eating at an ‘Olive Garden’ restaurant.You may get a halfway decent meal at a reasonable price, put you just can`t shake the blandness of either one.But,hey,they say that you can`t argue with sucess..
If it were possible to capture the essence of a car and cast it as a person, the Camry would be Ned Flanders from the Simpsons..maybe with a healthy dose of Brian Johnson. Breakfast Club, not AC/DC, obviously! Devoid of any outstanding personality traits or pizazz but annoyingly….pleasant. It does its homework, pays its taxes, doesn’t smoke or drink, never swears….a real automotive goody two shoes. The car you love to hate because its follows all the rules, never once stepping out of line and going wild. Johnny Bender might describe the whole package as a ‘very nutritious lunch’. The coupe might be its ever so slightly edgier older brother…might just find a Stryper cassette in the door pocket for when it wants to let its hair down!
I hate these cars. Ive driven a few, ridden in many. The build quality is very good, theyre easy on gas, and economical to own and maintain. But man, oh man does it just suck out your soul. The only thing about these cars that stands out is just how much these cars DONT stand out. But that’s why I’m thankful that cars like this exist and are as popular as they are. If every car on the road was a jacked up Jeep with every piece of offroad armor in the Quadratec catalog or a big block Mopar in a high impact color…it just wouldn’t be so special to own one or to see one out there. As a guy who has owned almost all ‘interesting’ cars and trucks, they aren’t for everyone and when ‘everyone’ tries to glom onto that it takes away some of the uniqueness. Its a lot like the tattoo thing that has gone a bit crazy. Ive been tattooed for most of my life at this point, and I remember when (especially living in the south) it was uncommon and a real strong statement. Now, theyre everywhere.
Being a car guy, people always ask me what is a good used car…? Buy a Camry.
Take care of it and brag when you reach a zillion miles.
Nobody does it…. They buy their ego and change it like they would their clothes.
Wasteful.
The color-keyed flush door handles are just one of the many premium touches you don’t see any more. Nowadays they are all chrome to avoid the parts complexity of bodycolor. Then there is the ignition key switch on the dash which no one was doing back then except Mercedes. And check out the timeless interior door panels, as fresh today as they were 25 years ago.
The body reminds me of the LS400 which reminds me of the Mercedes W126. Like a game of telephone the Camry doesn’t remind me of a Mercedes but it does have that same rock solid look.
This Camry is a stocky car with a great ride. A lot of that comes from the balloon-like tires. We don’t appreciate tall tires around here as much as we should. The doors shut with a whisper and the powertrain is really well isolated. You were always aware of the rubber up front but in good way. They built a ton of these in the beige color like on Brendan’s feature car — beautiful find! The wine red was also very popular and so was that deep emerald green, it was #1 out here in LA.
Th ’92 Camry was so luxurious that no one cared it was only a 4-cylinder. From that moment on the 4-cyl. became the volume engine for all mid-sized sedans and we’ve never gone back.
If my personal fortunes took a turn for the worse and I found myself needing to live out of my car I can’t imagine a better choice than a 92-96 Camry. It will keep you save and look good doing it.
I bought a ’96 Camry wagon last September as a 2nd car for my uncle. It’s an LE with a 2.2 and automatic. It rides and handles great for its age (169K miles) and everything worked other than the the “D” light in the dash. No rust is present either. It may be soulless but it’s built like the Rock of Gibraltar.
Camry,Boring and Bland…….Hmmmmm
How many years has it been the best selling mid size automobile in the USA ?
About 1996 or 1997, when my mother borrowed a friend’s 93 XLE for a week while they were on vacation, she loved it. We soon ended up with a ’98 CE with 5 speed stick. It was the first car my stingy parents bought with a/c, cruise control, or power accessories. It was reliable, I suppose, although the transmission blew under 100K. It was bleach white with the classic late 90s Forgettable Grey Cloth interior. We took it on some trips to look at colleges in upstate New York and a memorable drive to Maine to visit Bowdoin. My father asked me to take the wheel coming back down I-95 from Maine to the Boston area. That was my first stretch of more than 20 minutes behind the wheel on the highway, and my first time paying a toll.
I never thought these were memorable looking or very interesting, I think they are utterly lacking in style and character, but I can’t deny their broad appeal, data points of reliability, or perfect suitability for today’s daily commuter.
If I moved back to the suburbs and needed a beater to not care about and commute in, I’d definitely consider buying a slightly newer Camry (maybe Gen 4 or 5). Drive it, change the oil, sell or scrap when it becomes too expensive. Ignore the Camry dents, use a different car for road trips, Sunday driving, and non-utilitarian life. Yes, it’s a completely disposable appliance; but, a proven, useful one.
They were amazing. My 1992 Just died last month, and even then it wasn’t really dead, it just needed to many power steering repairs that would exceed value of the car and I am not a DIY’er with power steering. Im sure someone could still get it going if they really wanted too. I replaced it with a well cared for 2000 XLE V6. A nice car, but no Camry will every be quite as nice as the 1992-96. They just were amazing cars. Powertrain, interior and body are all very well built. I drove my 1992 from 2005 until last month as a daily driver. I made it to 211k. Grandparents bought new, bought it from them. Had been in the family its whole life. We actually got the car in January 1992. I never thought it would last over 25 years, but it sure did. Hell of a car.
I know there’s not much comparison in other catagories, but looking at the top photo of the blue cloth interior Camry, it’s amazing how much the texture of the seat material, shape of the seat, and door panels look like the interior of my 88 and 94 Taurus.
I look hard, and feel…nothing.
Building the same car forever even after it becomes hopelessly uncompetitive has been done before, The Ford model T should have been replaced years before it finally was but it was cheap so it sold, Ford did the same in UK markets building the 1930s style Ford Popular and selling it at giveaway prices untill 1959 after it had been superseded by the 100E,107E and 105E, Volkswagen Beetle 1930s design minor upgrades for the next 30 years they kept selling it except only certain markets thought it was cheap.
Variable speed hydraulic radiator/condenser fan, driven by the power steering pump. Quiet.
Oftentimes, when I’m behind a modern SUV/CUV, I laugh a little at the tiny tiny window wiper on the tiny tiny back window, and remember the Camry wagon with the dual rear wipers.
And it’s decently-sized glass for that matter.
And I wonder when it all went wrong.
–
As of 2023 new Toyotas are still unbearably ugly. The Camry looks as grotesque as those mites that live in a human’s eyebrows and yet somehow as relentlessly boring as a pile of sand simultaneously.
–
Your mileage may vary.
When my wife and I were starting our family we decided we needed a larger vehicle (we each drove a Honda Civic). Our choices came down (in Autumn 1991) to a Nissan Maxima SE of that year (I wanted a ’92 with the thirty more horses but it was 3k more than the leftover ’91’s we were looking at) or the new ’92 Camry.
The Camry blew me away with its silence and upscale feel – I thought at the time it was a Japanese Buick – but the Maxima SE with a five speed and that lovely shape and handling, won me over. I have no regrets and the Maxima was very dependable, but I traded it in 2001 because we needed more room. It occurs to me now that I could have gotten a Camry wagon that I might still be driving!
I’m strange. While the 3rd Gen may be peak quality I much prefer the looks of the 1st and 2nd Gen over the 3rd. The 3rd looks dull and boring to me.
The book by Mary Walton titled “Car” about the gestation of the ‘96 Taurus provides great insight into what one of Toyota’s competitors thought off the new Camry. Ford recognized the Camry set the standard for the mid-size sedan segment and also realized they couldn’t build a car that good.
That Camry platform became the basis for the first generation Avalon too – a really nice car as well.
I still have my 1993 V6 Camry which I bought new, it has a very comfortable ride and is very reliable. As long as I keep replacing parts as they wear out, it probably will go on for ever. Any part made from rubber should be replaced regularly as rubber deteriorates with age and wide temperature variations. Also some replacement sensors such as the knock sensors and coolant temperature sensor need to be OEM otherwise they won’t work.