Discussion Toyota just doesn't know how to make the Camry "cool"... but we can fix that!

[ultimatebob]

I noticed that Toyota has a new TRD package for the Toyota Camry. It's less boring than a regular Camry, but I think that it's going to take more than red brake calipers and a rear spoiler to make it "cool".

You know what would be cool? A turbocharged 700 HP V8 with a cool animal name. Dodge already figured this out... the new Charger is a pretty boring car, but the Charger Hellcat widebody? That's cool.

If Toyota gave us a performance package like that, I think that it could lose it's stigma as a boring commuter car. I'm not sure what the engine should be called, though... "Howler Monkey", perhaps? The Camry TRD Howler... I kinda like it!

I guess that they could also go the Electric route, and make an electric drivetrain with a 700 HP "Extreme unbridled insanity" mode. Call it the Camry TRD Insanity EV, perhaps? Sounds cooler than a Model 3, anyway.

 

[sdifox]

LoL the image they want is boring. They are not changing it for you.

 

[ultimatebob]

LoL the image they want is boring. They are not changing it for you.

If they want the Camry to be boring, why even have a TRD package? Doesn't make sense to me.

 

[manly]

LoL the image they want is boring. They are not changing it for you.

If they want the Camry to be boring, why even have a TRD package? Doesn't make sense to me.

I've never liked the Camry, mainly for stylistic reasons. But the current 8th gen is actually reasonably attractive, at least compared to all previous models (yes, the bar was extremely low). Even so, the TRD package makes little sense. If someone wants a sporty sedan, they're just never even considering a Camry.

It doesn't matter what they do to the Camry. IIRC the average age of a new Camry buyer is early 50s.

 

[BarkingGhostar]

The half-off false eyelash is hideous.

 

[NutBucket]

It's literally the same as the 90's when you could buy a Chevy Lumina Eurosport...just an appearance package. Only difference is the base vehicle isn't a pile of garbage.

 

[BudAshes]

How much HP does that spoiler add?

 

[Stiff Clamp]

More ground clearance and bigger tires? I saw a lifted Corolla the other day and it was cool - major novelty factor.

 

[AdamK47]

Toyota already attempted to make the latest generation Camry look cool with fake exhaust tips and fake air vents. Similar to what Honda is doing to the Civic. Pontiac was doing that with their boring cars in the 90s. The same people that hated on Pontiac at the time are now riding around in Hondas and Toyotas with fake performance bits tacked on to them.

 

[BarkingGhostar]

Remember the days when exhaust pipes/tips just came out from underneath the vehicle as a matter of need, not styling ques? Then someone trained a generation on bigger tips, chromed tips, non-circular shaped tips, etc., etc., etc. They should find a real world use for those exhaust cutouts when they are not needed. Its funny that no one wants to spend $$$ on a car and have a tailpipe that looks like it came off of a $ lawnmower.

 

[Commodus]

The day the Camry is a pure EV is the day electric cars have officially become mainstream. It'll still be boring, but it'll be much faster and efficient in its ennui!

 

[pauldun170]

I always found it interesting how everyone slams the Camry as boring....right before hopping into their SUV\CUV that has blander cookie cutter styling, worse handling and slower acceleration.

 

[Scarpozzi]

The day the Camry is a pure EV is the day electric cars have officially become mainstream. It'll still be boring, but it'll be much faster and efficient in its ennui!

Yeah....it's one step away from becoming Will Ferrell's Prius from "The Other Guys".

 

[mindless1]

It's literally the same as the 90's when you could buy a Chevy Lumina Eurosport...just an appearance package. Only difference is the base vehicle isn't a pile of garbage.

IIRC, The Lumina Z34 had a stiffer suspension, larger engine, and 5 speed manual tranny. It was still a pile of garbage but reasonably sporty for a midsized American sedan of that era.

I always found it interesting how everyone slams the Camry as boring....right before hopping into their SUV\CUV that has blander cookie cutter styling, worse handling and slower acceleration.

The 3.5L makes 300HP so may be enough for the market segment, more than sufficient to enthusiastically drive on public roads at least.

However the TRD differences aren't just "red" brakes, rather improved brakes, stiffer suspension from springs/struts/swaybar change, steering tweaked, body stiffening braces, lighter/wider wheels, about all it is practical to do to it.

It's just hard to accept given the conservative stigma Camry has generated in the past, but consider HP to weight ratios. Camry TRD is 3,575lbs with 301HP, a ratio of 11.9:1, not bad for a $34K full sized sedan.

My main issue with it is that the spoiler wing is too over the top for what it is.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Remember the days when exhaust pipes/tips just came out from underneath the vehicle as a matter of need, not styling ques? Then someone trained a generation on bigger tips, chromed tips, non-circular shaped tips, etc., etc., etc. They should find a real world use for those exhaust cutouts when they are not needed. Its funny that no one wants to spend $$$ on a car and have a tailpipe that looks like it came off of a $ lawnmower.

 

[pete6032]

I mean the TRD has a 301 HP v6 in it. Not like it's slow with that configuariton...