Toyota Camry Still King of the Showroom, Challengers Closing In

TTAC Staff
by TTAC Staff

For the 12 year in a row, the Toyota Camry is the No. 1 best-selling car in the United States, but how long its reign continues will depend on how well its competitors can do in their attempt to dethrone the king of the showroom.

The current total sold for 2013 is 378,520 units, with its closest competitor — the Honda Accord — trailing by just over 44,000. Toyota has stated that they intend to keep the crown for as long as possible, and have acted accordingly by aggressively ramping up incentives beginning last month.

The result? A quarter of its overall sales occurred during the Black Thanksgiving weekend, with similar results expected around Christmas time when the automaker holds their annual Toyotathon. Earlier this year, Toyota said it was prepared to defend the Camry’s crown with “ whatever it takes“.

TTAC Staff
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  • Nexusscars Nexusscars on Dec 05, 2013

    However Toyota has significantly improved its designs, but other Japanese models like Honda, Nissan & Mazda are far better in designs. I feel when new Toyota looks OK, but after a year or two, others beat it, and it starts looking old-age.

  • Gtem Gtem on Dec 05, 2013

    84Cressida, give it a rest man. Yes a lot of car "enthusiasts" love to mock the Camry, I personally do not agree with them. Having said that, there has been a shift in the Camry's position in the marketplace from the absolutely perfectly crafted and impeccably reliable zenith of midsize cars that commanded a premium(3rd gen camry). To volume leader by merit of its combination of excellent reliability and affordable price. This is nothing new, the Camry only became best seller in the 4th generation, when Toyota first started cutting costs and passing the savings on to consumers. They've played this strategy out to the current generation. It's a strategy that has worked well for them, and we'll see how they proceed with the 2015 cars. I think they need to reverse course on the decontenting, even at the expense of some profits, just to re-inject some of the "fat Camry" magic back into the nameplate. Then again I'm sure the Toyota product planners know better than I do what's best for the company. To defend the current car's flapping bumper and cheesy interior trim with excuses reeks of fanboi-ism.

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    • Dweller on the Threshold Dweller on the Threshold on Dec 05, 2013

      @Corey Lewis In what way is this true? The current Accord is the epitome of the Costco-ization of the American family sedan. The 90's Camry was just the epitome of the American family sedan. Accord: everything tossed into the mix, but everything to a precisely tailored price point, and never mind whether it was something you really wanted or just decided at the point of sale that it looked like a cool extra benny. The Accord is what it is because consumer preferences have changed. The push-pull of taste and the need to differentiate product operate on entirely different rules today. Old Slab Sides was mainly Toyota's attempt to make a big car. Period. Hard to believe now, but that was the key design goal. American - big. The Taurus was the bogey.

  • 95_SC 95_SC on Dec 05, 2013

    Man, I guess I am the only guy who thinks this is a pretty decent looking car. My wife wants a Sedan to replace the Tucson when it is done and this is on the list though but our main criteria is that it not leave her stranded when I am off in a worldly craphole for several months versus driving excitement. I have driven these and frankly, I don't see what the fuss is. They aren't as good relative to the competition anymore, but I think that has more to do with the fact that the Competition, especially the US makes have gotten better rather than the Camry getting worse. It does have decent headroom in the back seat, mores than any of the other midsize sedans (save maybe the Accord) with those sexy sloping rooflines everyone loves. That is important to folks who actually buy family sedans to drive their family around in versus those who race them by the spec sheet on the interwebs.

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    • Dan Dan on Dec 05, 2013

      You and me both. How many cars let alone family boats have angles any more? In a world of cars left in the oven for far too long the Camry is only slightly overcooked.

  • 50merc 50merc on Dec 05, 2013

    I quit shopping Toyotas years ago because in my part of the country they all arrived at the dealership with a second window sticker showing a huge (about $1500) but almost worthless "options" pack added by the distributor. Now I hear Toyota is touting rebates and such. Did they also get rid of the distributor's swag?

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