Wednesday, December 7, 2011

ROAD TEST.....2012 Toyota Camry


     The Toyota Camry has always been Toyota's no nonsense mid-sized sedan created for families that need something larger than the go forever smaller sized Corolla, yet aren't over the hill enough for the retirement home ready Avalon. Camry has a long lasting reputation for reliability & strong resale value. Having seen how Honda has butchered the design of it's Accord lately, the Camry looks pretty good too. For 2012, the Camry received a pretty significant makeover & although in my opinion it now looks a tad bit too Japanese in some areas, it's an improvement inside & out overall.
     If your commute to/from the daily grind is like mine you probably drive both city streets & the freeway to get there. In reviewing the EPA's estimated city/hwy MPG figures, I prefer to use a combined rating of the two. The Camry rates at a combined 25 MPG overall for models equipped with the V6, 28 MPG overall for the 4-cylinder models, & as high as 40 MPG overall for the Camry Hybrid! All in all, I suppose after driving the 2012 Camry & considering the MPG numbers, competitive pricing, & that the Camry nameplate has been around nearly 30 years I think it's worth checking out.


     Pricing runs from about $22,700 for the "L" trim level w/ no options, on up to about $34,400 for the "XLE V6" loaded to the gills. Those numbers are right in line with it's competition respectively.

+

  • Improved Design
  • Quiet & Roomy Interior
  • Reputation, Reliability & High Resale Value
  • Large Trunk
_
  • Just Adequate Performance
  • Poor Ergonomics
  • Poor Driver Seat Comfort


 TEST VEHICLE =     $24,300
2012 Toyota Camry SE

Super White
Black Cloth
180 hp 4-cylinder
6-speed Automatic
Front Wheel Drive
17” Wheels
Sport Grille & Rocker Panels
Front & Rear Spoilers
Fog Lamps
Touch Screen 6-speaker Audio
Bluetooth
Power Driver Seat

OTHER TRIMS:
L
LE
LE Hybrid
XLE
XLE Hybrid

Saturday, November 26, 2011

I DROVE A WHAT???

     I've owned quite a large variety of cars in my 25 + years of being a licensed terror on wheels, & if you've known me for any length of time you might remember some of these :

AMC 
1974 Ambassador Brougham
TOYOTA 
1979 Celica GT
 FORD 
1982 Thunderbird
 Volkswagen 
Rabbit Diesel
Rabbit GTI
 CHEVROLET 
1968 Impala Wagon
 TOYOTA 
1987 Corolla FX-16
CHEVROLET 
1984 Cavalier Type-10
 DODGE 
1982 Challenger
 CADILLAC 
1976 Coupe DeVille
 NISSAN 
1984 Maxima
 MAZDA 
1982 RX-7 GSL-SE
HONDA 
1982 Prelude
1985 Prelude
 MERCEDES-BENZ 
1980 300SD
 TOYOTA 
1994 Paseo
 INFINITI 
1992 M30 Convertible
 Volkswagen 
2000 Golf
 CADILLAC 
1979 Seville
 ISUZU 
1995 Rodeo
 TOYOTA 
2002 Solara SE V6

I'm sure there's more. In fact, if I've missed any gems feel free to post a comment


Thursday, November 24, 2011

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

WHAT'S IN A NAME ANYWAY

I've always wondered how car manufacturers come up with names for their car colors. Sometimes the name is not so bad but the color it represents.....YIKES! Some car colors aren't bad looking but they're given a name which most of the time makes no sense to us common folk. Below are a few choice selections of what I think are some ridiculous and/or downright unattractive colors/names.
Can you guess who each manufacturer is?

Verdant Green
Pale Brodgar
Ginger Ale
26.2 Yellow
Saharan Stone
Storm Front Gray
Umbria Twilight
 Lakeshore Slate
 Sizzling Crimson
 Noble Spinel
 Peridot
 Rhodium Silver
 Orkney Grey
 Bourneville
 High Class Gray
Ensign Red

A FEW GM FAVORITES

Riviera
 Electra 225 
 Estate Wagon
 

DeVille Park Avenue
 Eldorado
 Seville