New Car Round-Robin: 2012 Toyota Camry LE

Back in 1994, I bought a brand new Toyota Camry. It drove like an underpowered Mercedes with an advanced sixteen valve, four-cylinder engine. Unbelievably quiet, refined, and durable beyond compare. The Camry offered a level of quality back then that most other automakers couldn’t match at even twice the price.

This good news spread throughout the land. Within eight years, everyone in my family along with millions of other new car buyers had a Camry or a Lexus ES300 in their garage. By 2002, Toyota had made the Toyota Camry a gold standard in the American marketplace and annually decimated the rest of best selling car rankings. The Camry was dominant, price aggressive, ubiquitous, and even hated.

Read more
  • Scott I'm afraid of Clickbait, as it's so annoying..(And don't ask me about autonomous car clickbait)
  • ToolGuy Nice writeup. Good photography.
  • Detlump I almost bought a dark red one of these when I was cross-shopping Volvo wagons. I didn't like the frameless glass of the doors but it was a close call. I wanted a wagon for my hockey gear and also carrying parts as I was an engineer at the time. SUVs weren't a thing at that point and I wanted an enclosed, secure cargo area.I ended up going with a 95 850 wagon and it has served me well. The only time it left me stranded (temporarily) was when the coil wire popped off. I also got a flat tire, but I can't blame the Volvo for that. BTW, I still have the 950 with 263,000 miles - just changed the timing belt too - I have that process down to about an hour by now!
  • Wjtinfwb 18 year old Euro with admitted "issues". RUN from this money pit. My experience with European cars is time is more of an enemy than Mileage. I'd rather a 5 year old BMW with 120k miles than a 15 year old one with 50k. Electronics, wiring, plastics, exterior trim etc. just crumble with time, particularly if the car has lived in a harsh climate outside. I have folders of receipts from BMW, VW and Audi shops if you'd like to see the evidence of my thesis.
  • Wjtinfwb We too have a Subaru, a '16 Crosstrek. Aside from it's appetite for batteries (or crappy Subaru batteries), so far it's been a reliable ride, but from day one I've always thought it felt flimsy. I'm sure we'll get good service out of it and have no plans to replace it, but won't be surprised if it starts nickel and diming up as all those plastics and the electronics start to age.