Five months ago to the day, on August 23, 2011, the newly redesigned 2012 Toyota Camry was revealed to the world by way of a special event held at Paramount Studios in Hollywood, California designed to capture the hearts and minds of today’s proletariat in a way no other event held in any other venue could. Well, five months later, Camry continues the success by building on that winning formula and simply giving consumers more of it for less money – adding real value to an already award-winning mix of dependability, safety, comfort, and practicality.
Having said that, there are still an overwhelming number of people who have never experienced being behind the wheel of a Camry before – let alone a Toyota. For 2012, Toyota hopes to change some perceptions that the Camry is “vanilla” or “floaty” in any way, because the newest generation is anything but with the personality transplant it just received. The first thing you’ll notice about the new Camry is how aggressively styled it is – the exterior lines are much more angular and masculine than in previous years, giving Toyota’s bread ‘n butter sedan a more muscular stance. Although the Camry looks like it means business, Toyota didn’t install a race suspension. While the ride quality and handling characteristics have improved tremendously, the Camry’s trademark smooth ride hasn’t been compromised in any way.
While the Camry’s exterior styling has been tremendously improved, the real treasure might just be found inside, where you will find a revised, much more luxurious interior than you’d expect this side of a Lexus ES. The controls are still conveniently placed within reach, and this year, Toyota has revised the steering wheel controls to be more like what you’d find on a video game controller’s “D-pad” (we had to insert the obligatory “gen-Y” reference in here somewhere), making operation simple and functionality easily memorable. On SE models, drivers will be treated to steering wheel mounted paddle shifters to operate the new six-speed automatic transmission as well as Alcantara-like cloth inserts available with the Leather Package.
Above all, those looking for an American car need not look any further, as the Camry is the most American-made car, having been manufactured in Georgetown, Kentucky for the past 25 years with over 80% of its parts content being manufactured here in the United States by Toyota and numerous American suppliers – something that cannot be said for the competition. Whether you’re a current Camry driver or if you’ve never considered a Toyota before, you owe yourself the experience of taking a test drive today at Alton Toyota-Scion. Until then, check out our high-resolution photo gallery to hold yourself over until you can get your hands on the real deal.
IMAGE CREDIT – Toyota Newsroom