A TRD version of the Camry? Is nothing sacred?
But something to ponder: At $31,170, it’s among the less expensive ways to get a Camry with a V6. And that’s a 301-horsepower V6 backed by an eight-speed automatic. Sorry, but the days of blasting Camrys for being too beige might be over.
First, why a TRD Camry in the first …
I'll be honest, even the normal upper-trim Camrys look pretty good compared to most of the bleh stuff in their class these days.
That tail is horrible though, looks like a pep boys add-on. Otherwise, looks pretty cool. Nice to see they actually add some real performance stuff to justify the badge (though the general thought of a "TRD" Camry still seems kind of funny). Too bad they didn't add an LSD and a manual transmission availability, which would have definitely gotten them some buy-in from the younger "performance driving" crowd.. The thought of a 300hp Camry at the track passing actual sportscars does amuse me somewhat :)
The production engineers know what's what. OLOA Camry
Every time I see TRD on a car or truck my brain automatically shouts TURD.
(no offense to Toyota fans, it's just something I can't unsee)
irish44j (Forum Supporter) said:I'll be honest, even the normal upper-trim Camrys look pretty good compared to most of the bleh stuff in their class these days.
That tail is horrible though, looks like a pep boys add-on. Otherwise, looks pretty cool. Nice to see they actually add some real performance stuff to justify the badge (though the general thought of a "TRD" Camry still seems kind of funny). Too bad they didn't add an LSD and a manual transmission availability, which would have definitely gotten them some buy-in from the younger "performance driving" crowd.. The thought of a 300hp Camry at the track passing actual sportscars does amuse me somewhat :)
You really think any "young performance driver" is going to drop $30k+ on a TRD Camry?
I suspect the few buyers this does get are going to be the "I have a wife and kids and can't afford a BMW" types.
these are the same camry's that dont run if you try to pull the abs fuses to disable the traction control.
z31maniac said:irish44j (Forum Supporter) said:I'll be honest, even the normal upper-trim Camrys look pretty good compared to most of the bleh stuff in their class these days.
That tail is horrible though, looks like a pep boys add-on. Otherwise, looks pretty cool. Nice to see they actually add some real performance stuff to justify the badge (though the general thought of a "TRD" Camry still seems kind of funny). Too bad they didn't add an LSD and a manual transmission availability, which would have definitely gotten them some buy-in from the younger "performance driving" crowd.. The thought of a 300hp Camry at the track passing actual sportscars does amuse me somewhat :)
You really think any "young performance driver" is going to drop $30k+ on a TRD Camry?
I suspect the few buyers this does get are going to be the "I have a wife and kids and can't afford a BMW" types.
Or the "I don't want to buy a car that will depreciate to nothing and be riddled with dealership trips in the first four years of its life" crowd.
Not a NASCAR fan at all, so I'm curious how much Toyota's participation has driven sales for them. Having watched a few races over the years there was never a point where I looked at one of the Ford or Chevy cars and thought its performance related in any way to a car I might be able to buy from that manufacturer.
So all the heavy breathing in the Toyota press release seems a bit misplaced. I'm impressed that Toyota is continuing to offer sportier options but the Camry isn't the one I'd go for. Release a TRD Supra or Corolla and then I'll pay attention.
My question is does it suck to drive or not? I have a thing about companies tarting up cars to make them look race but doing nothing about the way they drive.
In reply to Tom1200 :
Short lived Nissan Sentra Nismo was one.
z31maniac said:irish44j (Forum Supporter) said:I'll be honest, even the normal upper-trim Camrys look pretty good compared to most of the bleh stuff in their class these days.
That tail is horrible though, looks like a pep boys add-on. Otherwise, looks pretty cool. Nice to see they actually add some real performance stuff to justify the badge (though the general thought of a "TRD" Camry still seems kind of funny). Too bad they didn't add an LSD and a manual transmission availability, which would have definitely gotten them some buy-in from the younger "performance driving" crowd.. The thought of a 300hp Camry at the track passing actual sportscars does amuse me somewhat :)
You really think any "young performance driver" is going to drop $30k+ on a TRD Camry?
I suspect the few buyers this does get are going to be the "I have a wife and kids and can't afford a BMW" types.
I mean, is there another $30k sedan out there with 300hp and an LSD? (and...Toyota reliability)?....
When I was in my 20s, I drove a Maxima, as did a ton of people my age. Why? Because it had the power, it had the LSD, it had the style that the Camry/Accord didn't have then. No reason Toyota couldn't flip the script on that, since the Maxima is an old-people's car with CVT now and the Accord is very nice and a favorite of 60-something suburbanites, but totally unremarkable style-wise.
BMW buyers are predominently about the image, because there is absolutely nothing special about the driving dynamics, reliability, or interiors of most of the "affordable" BMWs...IMO. And let's be real. Most of the people buying in that category woud'nt know FWD from RWD if it bit them in the ass, and don't care. None of them will buy a Camry. They'll buy a used BMW if they can't afford a new one, because they want to say they have a BMW. They don't actually care about the car itself that much. I actually race BMWs, and woudn't even give a passing thought to actually buying a new one. But I certainly WOULD give a passing thought to buying a 6MT, LSD-equipped 300hp Camry. And yeah, I'm in my low 40s, which is the demographic car-makers car about (by "young" i meant "younger demographic, not old people" - though maybe that's wishful thinking on my part lol. And I actually buy brand-new cars, which is the demographic that matters most to manufacturers .
So yes, I'd consider a $30k Camry 100 times more than I'd consider whatever garbage BMW is putting out in the gutter of their price range.
I see all Camrys in beige no matter the year or trim level.
octavious said:I see all Camrys in beige no matter the year or trim level.
Obviously the key would be to get JDM badging so you can tell your friends you have a "Toyota (er...Daihatsu) Altus"
Who wants a 300 hp, lsd, fwd automatic?
In reply to Justjim75 :
The answer to that is "lots of people" which is why Toyota sold 337k Camrys last year. Granted not all of those are 300hp but that's a hell of a lot of Camrys which makes me think that buyers think they suck a lot less than forum members do.
I often joke how my 22 year old performance car is slower than a new Camry. Now it's considerably slower!
Its been 5 hours and no "grounded to the ground" comments? I'm ashamed of you guys.
Edit: 4hrs. GRM time is 1 hr behind for me.
In reply to ProDarwin :
I was still giggling about the fact that Toyota is literally calling their cars TuRDs :)
Justjim75 said:Who wants a 300 hp, lsd, fwd automatic?
I'll take a well-sorted modern auto with manual shifter buttons over an old stick. Anyday.
if I didn't have kids, I'd probably have an NC with an automatic. Would make for a great weekend car and commuter. The 6-speed auto is very responsive and blips the throttle downshifts. You can use the buttons to shift up or down faster than you can with a manual. So you have more cycles to devote to actually driving.
I saw one in the showroom when I was buying my truck, and I was absolutely shocked at how bad the transition is between the black paint on the roof and the main color of the body. There is absolutely zero smooth transition. It's as if Toyota shot the whole car in the lower color and then just laid down some blue masking tape and newspaper, then followed with a dozen coats of black on the roof and then a couple of coats of clear.
It's all I can think of whenever I see one of these things.
In reply to tremm :
berkeley you too.
Why dont YOU fetch the number of forum members that dont own a RWD, Manual Trans or both?
I made light hearted statement to be humorous and you want to be a complete douchebag?
About a month ago, when I was picking up a replacement for a 17 year old piece of rubber window trim for my 4Runner, I saw a TRD Avalon. I posted it in the TIL thread, since I learned that Toyota was making a TRD Avalon that day.
It seems like at leastof the TRD trim items (wheels, 12.9 brakes, maybe dampers?) are shared between the Camry and Avalon.
I'm wondering who is going to buy a TRD Avalon more than I'm wondering who is going to buy a TRD Camry.
I suspect the black cars are going to be more in demand than the others.
And yes, I knew the car wasn't centered in the fame when I took the picture. It was a quick snap walking out of the dealer.
I think the market for these is people who were going to buy a Camry anyway, and get upsold to the sportier version. Same as all the other TRD stuff. I don't think people are seriously cross shopping TRD 4Runners against Rubicons very often.
This TRD Camry may not have much potential for serious motorsports, but it sure looks like a nice package for a fun, practical car. Then again, I was on the track this week with a guy who was driving a Jetta with Hoosiers, and was slaying it. I would buy one of these way before I bought a late model 5 series. Kudos to Toyota.
buzzboy said:I often joke how my 22 year old performance car is slower than a new Camry. Now it's considerably slower!
I constantly joke that my red Porsche can literally get beaten by a new Corolla off the line. Or by my tow rig.
I'm just going to say that I like the current Toyota trend that seems to be shared by the Camry and Corolla of larger glass/greenhouse. The TRD styling is a bit over the top, but I can't really say I hate it. Without the rear spoiler I think I'd kinda dig it. If Toyota can take a ho-hum family car that is still super quiet and safe and add a bit of style and make on/off ramps more fun why is that a bad thing? And I'm no Toyota fan boy. Savagegeese on YooToob has a really good review on this car.
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