For 13 years I've been driving spanking new cars, most of them loaded with all the neat gadgetry their makers can pile on, just so I can tell you, faithful Deseret News readers, what they're like.
No, don't try to thank me, I'm happy to do it for you. I wouldn't dream of asking you to go out into the auto marketplace without my sage advice. Like the man said, it's a tough job but . . .Anyway, through all those years of evaluating sedans and minivans, convertibles and cop cars, there is one well-known marque that I have never tested: Toyota.
I'm not sure why this is. Could it be because Toyotas sell so fast that the company and its dealers have felt no need for Knudson's input? Naw. Must have been a mixup in their computers or something.
Whatever, I'm happy to report the Toyota drought is over. Thanks to Mark Miller, the longtime Salt Lake Pontiac and Subaru dealer who earlier this month cut the ribbon on Mark Miller Toyota Downtown, I recently spent three days behind the wheel of a 1992 Toyota Camry XLE, the top of the line for the car that Toyota is currently touting as the one "we couldn't leave well enough alone."
But it was a near thing. Little more than a half-hour after I had arrived home after picking up the car Friday night, I got a call from Miller: "Uh, Max, could we come pick up the car, please? We just sold it."
Sold it? Sight unseen? Doesn't he know there's a recession on? People don't buy cars that are currently out on the highway being put through its paces by a newspaper writer. Apparently, with Toyotas they do. When I told Mark that I reside precisely 100 blocks south and east of Mark Miller Toyota Downtown, he held a quick conference with the new owners and decided that maybe I could just return it Monday as scheduled.
That suited me just fine because it took me only about five minutes behind the wheel of the new Camry (which means "small crown" in Japanese) to know that this was one ride I wanted to hang onto as long as possible - like maybe 10 years or so.
The Camry is a bit pricey if you compare it to its competitors in the midsize family sedan niche, most of which can be had for a few thousand less than the XLE's $20,508-and-up sticker price (the "up" depending on whether you have to have leather seats, CD player and such.) But this car should be compared to those costing thousands, even tens of thousands more. In that league, it loses nothing of substance but becomes one of the great automotive bargains around.
Let's cut to the chase here: With the exception of its upscale sibling, the Lexus LS400 (I haven't driven the "baby" Lexus ES300 yet), the Camry is the quietest car I've ever driven. It's also among the best looking, best handling, most spirited (i.e., most likely to garner a speeding ticket), best handling, most ergonomically sound (meaning it's got a great interior), roomiest, most user friendly, most comfortable . . .
I know what you're thinking: "Tell us what you really think, Max." Hey, can I help it if this is such a great car? No wonder people buy the thing sight unseen. I would too. (I have at times been criticized for being too enthusiastic about the cars I test. Maybe so. I have also been accused of liking imports more than domestics. Well, the Camry is built in Georgetown, Ky. So there.)
OK, now that you know I'm not going to say anything bad about this car, you can turn to the comics or you can read on about the Camry's nuts and bolts.
The XLE V6 I tested is the top of the line model (there are also DX and LE models, bottom and middle of the line respectively.) The XLE comes with all of the reasonable options such as AC, sun/moon roof and power everything. The lowest-priced '92 Camry, powered by a 2.2-liter, four-cylinder engine, is $14,368, up from $12,888 for the lowest-priced '91 Camry (266,000 '91 Camrys were sold last year.)
The 3-liter, four-cam, 24-valve V6 is an absolute gem. (Toyota says nine of 10 buyers will opt for the V6 over the four banger.) It develops 185 hp at 5,200 rpm, up 19 percent from the old Camry's 2.5 liter V6. Gas mileage is down a bit with the larger engine, to a rated 18 mpg city and 24 highway. It's OK, though, you'll be having so much fun romping on the go pedal you won't mind paying a little more come fill-up time.
I mentioned that this car is quiet. Trust me on this. The car is so spooky quiet it's like there's a nuclear generator under the hood, instead of an internal combustion engine. Part of it is the new aerodynamic body, another part is improved sound insulation, and the rest is, well, magic.
Independent MacPherson struts and stabilizer bars are at the front and rear on this front wheel drive car. Optional at $1,130 are anti-lock brakes. Pass on the leather seats and take the ABS. They allow you to go from 60 mph to zero in about the time it takes a kid to dart out from behind a parked car.
The new Camry also is 15 percent roomier: an inch taller, 6 inches longer and 2 inches wider, which means more headroom throughout and more legroom in back. Also the back seat splits and folds down to let long things like skis extend into the car from the 14.9-cubic-foot trunk.
The seats, dash, pedals, knobs, buttons are all perfect, no other word fits. I instinctively knew where all the various controls were and which had to be pushed, pulled or flicked. Getting used to this car takes about a minute.
Incidentally, I'm not the only one who likes the Camry. In 1990 and '91 auto quality guru J.D. Power and Associates ranked it as the best quality car built in the United States.
In the pipeline is a sporty Camry, the SE V6 and a station wagon.