Today I learned that 50 American families come home with a new Toyota Camry every hour. As such, my last act before I officially defect to North Korea will be to tell you about the heavily refreshed 2015 Toyota Camry. It's all about "attitude" now, Toyota says.
Even though Americans are as addicted to buying Camrys as we are to abusing prescription pain medication, Toyota has decided just three years into the life cycle of the new Camry to revise it nearly completely. The exterior has been almost totally redone; the only body panel the new car shares with the old one is its roof.
Toyota wants the new Camry to be more "emotional," more "fun to drive," and more "waku doki," a Japanese term that means "heart-racing excitement." For them, that includes products like the new Avalon, Highlander and RAV4. So, yeah.
Honestly, it's not unattractive from most angles, and in the visual department it's probably one of the least-boring Camrys ever made. I can't decide how I feel about the new grille. It's kind of Lexus spindle-y, but not.
As part of the 2015 Camry's sporting mission, it will have a twin-turbo V8 engine and rear-wheel drive a new trim level called XSE with 18 inch alloy wheels and an enhanced suspension. It boasts more responsive handling than the old Camry, so if you see someone in an XSE, note that they haven't given up entirely just yet, but they are close.
In addition, the Camry Hybrid now gets an SE trim, because as Toyota's Bill Fay said at the press conference, "You can still have a little fun while being environmentally conscious."
In other news, there is no news on the next Supra.