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Toyota’s highly anticipated new-generation Camry made its worldwide public debut
this morning at the Detroit Motor Show.
The Camry has been the best-selling car in the United States for seven of the
last eight years and the best-selling medium car in Australia since 1994. The
stylish and contemporary new model will be available in Australia from the third
quarter of this year.
The 2006 Camry redefines global standards for comfort, safety and intelligent
design.
It will be built at Toyota’s Altona Plant in Victoria and exported to 26
countries.
Toyota Australia’s executive director of sales and marketing, David Buttner,
said the new Camry was a world-class family sedan.
“Camry is a global success story – it has been the quality benchmark in the
US market for some time and this new model takes refinement and innovation to a
new level,” Mr Buttner said.
“The Camry is a great example of a successful ‘world car’.
“We expect this model to consolidate Camry’s position as a dominant market
leader in the Australian medium car segment.”
Specific details of Australian model line-ups and equipment levels will not
be released until later in the year, but all models will share the global car’s
intrinsic technological advances in chassis, engine and safety design.
The new Camry has adopted an exciting, contemporary exterior design.
“The new car has a very purposeful, athletic stance. The wheels have been
pushed to the corners of the vehicle to give it a very solid, prestige look,” Mr
Buttner said.
Toyota has made structural enhancements to its acclaimed safety shell, with
particular attention paid to pedestrian safety and chassis stiffness.
The new Camry’s design also incorporates underbody aerodynamic improvements,
borrowing technology and rationale from Toyota’s Formula One research to deliver
excellent high-speed stability and low drag.
New-generation Camry also has revised suspension geometry, standard 16-inch
wheels and bigger, more powerful brakes, a combination that delivers significant
enhancements in ride and handling.
After tuning in the lab, the new suspension design was driven more than
100,000km in more than a dozen countries, including Australia.
Suspension and steering calibrations differ from market to market and the
Australian suspension will be specially tuned to suit local tastes.
Camry’s 2.4-litre four-cylinder engine has been upgraded.
The result is an improvement in power and exceptional fuel economy.
The engine is mated to either a five-speed manual or an intelligent new
five-speed gated automatic transmission. Toyota has extensively redesigned the
new Camry’s interior to create a roomy, upmarket and relaxing driving
environment.
The front windshield has been pushed forward to create a sense of openness,
while legroom in the front and rear has been increased.
Interior equipment features will include flow-down technology from Lexus.
Mr Buttner said the stylish new Camry had the looks to attract a new
generation of buyers to Toyota.
“We believe it will invigorate the medium car segment,” he said.
“Toyota is the only car company to manufacture a four-cylinder medium car in
Australia and we believe that is a significant advantage in the current climate
of high fuel prices.”
Production of the six-cylinder Camry will stop in the third quarter of this
year to clear the way for the launch of the Avalon replacement towards the end
of the year.
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