



By N2H

The Evolution Of The Toyota Camry

When it comes to looking at the most popular cars made and sold today, few companies can compete with Toyota. This is especially true when speaking of economical cars. Toyota has long been known as one of the best economy car makers in the world. Of all the cars that Toyota manufactures, the most popular by far is the Toyota Camry. Through the years there have been a number of changes to the Toyota Camry. What started out as a pure economy car has evolved into one of the nicer affordable semi luxury cars on the market.

The evolution of the Toyota Camry

For a brief time, the car that would become the Toyota Camry would be known as the Celica Camry. This vehicle was launched in 1980 and was primarily made available only in Japan. The car was a combination of elements of the Toyota Celica as well as the Toyota Carina, and was a rear wheel drive automobile. It wasn’t until 1982 that the Camry emerged as its own independent line of automobile. The car was made available in four door and five door hatchback versions and kept with the box type design of the early 1980s. The Camry was available from the start with either a five speed manual transmission or a four speed automatic and both models were front wheel drive.

In 1986, the Camry was retooled and the second generation of the model was released. This time around the line included a station wagon as an option and the hatchback model had been dropped from availability. 1987 saw Toyota manufacture the first Camry outside of Japan when production began in Australia. By 1988 a fuel injected V-6 engine was added to the long list of options and the car still qualified as a compact. Production of the Camry began at the Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky plant in 1988, where including the base model, the DX, and the LE, three different versions were manufactured. 1989 would see the 1.8 litre engine dropped from the line to be replaced by a carburetted 2.0 litre engine. These late 1980s models manufactured in the United States remain popular to this day.

While Toyota had updated the Camry in Japan in 1990, the main design wasn’t changed on the United States models much until the release of the third generation models in 1992. These new models consisted mostly of body styling changes including larger grilles. For a short time, Toyota began producing two door coupe versions of the Camry as a direct way of competing with Honda’s Accord Coupe. These two door versions were phased out by 1997 only to be reintroduced as the Camry Solara in 1999.

The fourth generation Camry was again primarily a Japan-only release for Toyota, with most major changes to the model waiting until the fifth generation Toyota Camry saw the Japanese and export versions of the car come in line with each other in 1996. These 1997 model Toyota Camrys saw a huge bump in popularity with Camry going on to become the number one selling automobile in the United States for nine of the next ten years. The year 2000 would see the Camry get some major body retooling, but other than that it remained largely the same. 2001 would see the Camry receive an increase in power, eventually including an option for a 3.0 V-6 engine.

As popular as the Toyota Camry had become, there were no major upgrades until 2002 saw the release of the sixth generation of the car. The Camry’s body was completely redone this time around as a larger sedan, owing much of the look to the Solara model that had begun to separate from the Camry line just a few years before. It was at this time that Toyota dropped the Camry station wagon from production, replacing that model with both the Sienna minivan and the Highlander sport utility vehicle. The sixth generation Camry was noticeably taller and longer than its previous versions. The length was however deceptive though because the front of the car appeared to relatively shorter while the riding area of the vehicle was enlarged. 2004 and 2005 saw exterior upgrades like a new grille, new headlight and taillight design, and bumper redesign. Interior upgrades saw things like storage areas in the doors, new gauges, and steering wheel mounted stereo controls.

Toyota would once again redo the Camry when it released its seventh generation in 2007. The highlight of the 2007 Camry would be the availability of a true hybrid version alongside the standard engine models. The wheelbase was lengthened for this version of the Camry and the trunk space was decreased by a bit. Buyers now had a choice of ordering their Camry with either a four or six cylinder engine. The four cylinder engine was available with either a five speed manual or five speed automatic transmission, while the V-6 came with a six speed automatic transmission only. This seventh generation Camry also came straight out of the factory with full airbags, a tire pressure monitoring system, ABS, and Brake Assist. All of these additions significantly boosted the Camry’s ratings in crash testing experiments.

The continual upgrading that the Camry has undergone through the years has only enhanced the popularity of the vehicle. Though consistently changing the vehicle, Toyota has always kept its eye on the customer that the model is aimed at. The Camry has proven to be the ultimate economical and family car. The recent models carry with them a decent amount of luxury for the price they are offered with and customers who buy the Camry have apparently been appreciative of this based on how well the Camry has sold. There is nothing in the future that appears to be able to slow down the popularity, and model sales, of the Toyota Camry.

Tags: Car Reviews, Toyota

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Five Great Fuel Efficient Cars On The Market Today

With the price of fuel so high, along with everything else for that matter, many people who are in the market for buying a new car have decided to turn their attention to the most fuel efficient cars on the market today. When cutting back on the amount of driving isn’t possible, many people’s only recourse is to buy a vehicle that uses less gas to go the same distance. With technology continually improving, there are many versatile and full feature automobiles available today that do in fact offer good fuel efficiency.

Here are five great fuel efficient cars that are on the market today:

Ford Focus
Though most people associate foreign cars made by the likes of Volkswagen and Toyota with fuel efficiency, the Ford Focus is one of the more fuel efficient cars out there right now. The Ford Focus also has the distinct advantage of being a surprisingly economical car in terms of the cost to the car buyer. Most vehicles that feature great gas mileage tend to cost a bit more too.

Honda Civic
As one of the most economical non-hybrid cars to drive available from any manufacturer, the Honda Civic has proven popular with individuals and families alike. The Civic is particularly popular with those that have sizable commutes to and from work. For those that do want to take the step to better fuel efficiency as well as want to move into an alternatively powered vehicle, the Honda Civic is also available in a hybrid version.

MINI Cooper
Despite it being well known as one of the smaller appearing vehicles on the road today, the MINI Cooper comes packed with a very spacious interior. Even the turbocharged versions of the MINI Cooper are somewhat fuel efficient. There distinctive look combined with their great gas mileage has made them one of the more popular cars today.

Nissan Altima
The Nissan Altima provides things for the prospective owner that they would not expect to find in a fuel efficient vehicle, including a big 2.5 liter engine and a great deal of space. This is one fuel efficient vehicle that doesn’t get labeled as a small car. The Nissan Altima combines great use of space and fuel efficiency to make it a great family car.

Toyota Prius
The most famous of all hybrid vehicles, the Toyota Prius regularly gets gas mileage in the upper 40s and occasionally even into the 50s. The nice part about the fuel efficiency offered by the Toyota Prius is that to achieve it, the car doesn’t sacrifice anything else that the vehicle owner would want. There is plenty of space and luxury inside the Prius and car buyers have shown how great a car it is with their customer loyalty and word of mouth advertising.

Driving a more fuel efficient vehicle is a great way to combat the high cost of fuel, food, and everything else. When money is saved in one area of a person or family’s life, it can be put to better use in another area that is lacking. These five fuel efficient vehicles show that there are options out there for those interested in improving their gas mileage when they buy a new car. Fuel efficient cars are the wave of the future and there are already plenty of great examples available on the market.

Tags: Car Reviews, Ford, Gas, Honda, Hybrid Cars, Mini, Nissan, Toyota

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Toyota Scion - Cool Looking and Reliable

The Toyota Scion is one of the most hip cars available today and it now is also one of the most reliable on the road. For those car tuning enthusiasts that like plenty of space, a vehicle that is unique in its own right and finally a vehicle that is budget friendly, the Toyota Scion is definite buy. The Scion comes in three different levels: the xB, TC and xD.

Scion xB
The Scion xB is a boxy, but bold vehicle. It offers a 2.4l 158 horsepower DOHC engine. It also offers a standard transmission or automatic and front wheel drive. Inside, you get a whole bunch of options and features making this vehicle pretty comfy for cruising. It should also be noted that you can easily customize the Scion xB either with the help of Scion or aftermarket products. The Scion xB gets about 28 mpg on the highway.

Scion TC
While the xB offers boxy and bold styling, this vehicle is a nice looking coupe with a panoramic sunroof, 2.4 liter engine, 17 inch alloy wheels and a base price of about $18K. Instead of 158 hp of the xB, the TC offers 3 more horses making it 161 hp. It should also be noted that you also get decent gas mileage- not great, but decent at 21 mpg in the city and 29 on the highway.

Scion xD
The Scion xD is the budget version of the xB, but it offers very nice features to compensate for its low base price of about $15K. The xD has a smaller engine that the other two trims- 1.8 liter that delivers 128 horses, but fuel economy is good coming in at about 33 mpg on the highway. While this Scion does have a boxy shape to it, it still looks great and is quite similar to the xB.

Tags: Car Reviews, Toyota

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Toyota Supra Tuning

The Toyota Supra is one of the earlier sports cars manufactured by the Toyota Corporation. Its production started in 1993, and the latest in 1996. Since then, the production of Toyota Supra models has stopped. What hasn’t stopped, however, is the legendary appeal this model has impressed upon car enthusiasts. Until now, fans of Toyota Supra keep on popping out, asking questions of curiosity - the most eminent of which is how to tune their Toyota Supra.

Toyota Supra runs on twin turbo engines and has about 320-27 BHP, making it able to run as fast as 220 MPH. For a sports car, 220 MPH is a tolerable speed rate. However, if you expect to pit your Supra against other recent and faster sports cars in the race track, then you will really need to subject your car to some fine ‘ol Toyota Supra tuning.

There are a variety of ways by which you can tune your Toyota Supra. These include re-mapping your ECU, and to stretch the limit, submit your car to a full engine upgrade. You can also install turbo chargers and other efficient components. Replacing your tires is also an upgrade you might want to do, though some Supra owners don’t realize the importance of such at first.

Your least bet in Toyota Supra tuning is $200,000. This will go a far way, if you want to tune your car through the mentioned ways. The first, most important step before you tune your Supra all-out, though, is to change replace your tires with soft, compound tires. This way, the friction and force problem Toyota Supra models are often known for will be solved. Also, when re-mapping the ECU, make sure that you know precisely the know-how of doing such. If not, then Car Tuning Central will be most happy to help you.

Tags: Car Styling, Car Tuning, Toyota

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Toyota Yaris Tuning

Toyota Yaris is one of the latest feature cars of the Toyota. It has gone to be so successful that production of this latest Toyota flagship model is still in its momentum. Sporting a hip and compact look, the Toyota Yaris is, after all, an incarnation of what most Toyota fans have been asking for from Toyota. A stylish, compact and efficient car is what you asked for - and Toyota Yaris is what you get.

Toyota Yaris is ideally tailored as a family sedan that can accommodate four passengers. Comfort is perhaps one of its best features. With features like satellite navigation system, touch screen operation, Bluetooth, USB connection and full in-car sound system, you will, no doubt, feel the comfort of driving in your Toyota Yaris. And it can be bought for a $11,000 retail price, if you look hard enough. Performance-wise, however, Toyota Yaris does not have much to be proud of. At 50 to 150 BHP, the Toyota Yaris is not exactly your favorite runner. That’s why Toyota Yaris tuning may be exactly what you need.

Made of tensile steel, Toyota Yaris is rigid but lightweight - a feature you can take advantage of. Boosting your car engine’s with a supercharger may power up your engine’s efficiency and performance to as much as 30%. An ECU Tuning Chip may also do the trick. Be careful, though, because it’s no big secret that these procedures can be precarious.

Or you can use methods that will boost your Yaris’ performance, without handling its engine. The most popular choice is replacement of your tires with 15″ allow wheels. This will make your car a lot lighter, and therefore give less reason for your Yaris to run slow. There are also 18″ wheels, which you can use for traversing terrains. Tuning your Yaris by replacing the wheels can be a good option.

Tags: Car Styling, Car Tuning, Toyota

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