By accessing this website, you acknowledge that Edmunds and its third party business partners may use cookies, pixels, and similar technologies to collect information about you and your interactions with the website as described in our
Privacy Statement, and you agree that your use of the website is subject to our
Visitor Agreement.
Comments
But there is no way that a V6 SE Camry will come in under $24 grand, regardless of how little options it has.
But again, as mentioned by others in previous posts, the Camry is likely to be more refined, have higher quality materials (IMO), and have lower NVH (Noise, Vibration, and Harshness) than the Nissan. Probably not enough to sway from the Altimas power.
I think the 2002 Altima will be a strong seller, but probably not as well as Camry.
-RAVvie4me
Well, Nissan only expects to sell 180,000 Altys compared to the Camry's 10,000,000,000 lol.
Canc: What do you expect him to say, he works for Toyota and developed the car. Of course he's gonna defend the engine and say any negative comment he can about producing more power because the Camry lacks it. And even if there is a noticeable gain in NVH, it's not something some extra insulation couldn't fix. It's as though you expect the Altima's engine to buzz like a Chrysler or something. Why would it be that our 3.0L 222 bhp V6 Maxima is quieter and smoother than my friend's 2.2L 136 bhp Camry?
Well I seriously doubt the Maxima has more noise insulation than the Camry. In any case, I think what one perceives as being "smoother" is very subjective. I, for example, found the Sentra's engine to run rather rough at idle, but think that the Corolla and the Civic both run extremely smooth at idle (the Civic even a bit more than the Corolla, perhaps). Either that or your Maxima's engine blew out and the mechanic secretly replaced it with much better, more reliable and fuel-efficient Toyota V-6?
Seriously though, you're not being fair here again by comparing a 4-cylinder engine with a large V-6. Instead, compare the Toyota V-6, which runs very, very smoothly, against your Maxima engine. Then tell me what you think.
I also think cars are rubber tires, combustion engine, trans, steel and plastic. Today we part with 30K for mini vans and 40K for SUV's, can we get real? I think the "average" life expectancy of a car is 12 years. Like everyone else I like new cars and want all the extra's, but car makers have us believing that v6 power is something reserved for people who are willing to spend extra to have this "Luxury". Yeah I will most likely drop 25k on a new car soon, but gee wiz if I cant get everything a Camry has to offer with out spending another 5k that's not value to me.
: )
Mackabee
By the way, that second generation Camry (87-91) used an optional 2.5 DOHC V6 with 156hp, in other words less than the new 2.4 4cylinder.
If you are willing to pay 25K for a Camry, you can get a perfectly nice LE V6 with a few (non-major) options. Page back to the November 1995 issue, of Car and Driver and you'll see thats very similar (especially when inflation is considered, along with advancements in technology) to what the MSRP was for an LE V6 back then, 7 years ago. Good job.
alpha01, I also said previously that the 92-96 Camry was the best car for the money and Toyota knew it so they gave us less for more money.
Same way food manufactures will lower the amount of product in the larger package and say this is what consumer's want. More convient. packaging less weight. OK, thats a good value!
I paid 24K plus tax for a 2000 Maxima SE in 1999. Everything except leather (extra grand), now thats a car worth 24K.
: )
Mackabee
An SE V6 automatic with "GH" package, meaning a car with spoiler, sport gauges and SE interior, power seat, 16" wheels/tires, keyless remote entry, mats etc has an MSRP of $22359. The V6 version of that same car, with ABS as standard, as well as power seat + keyless remotes as standard, is only MSRP'ing at around $25,000. Many of us are able to do special built-to-order cars too. There are those who cater to the lot lizard mentality of making you buy a car that is there just because it is there. There are other, better salespeople/managers out there who are willing to hear what you want versus shoving you in a car with the wrong stuff on it.
Vivian, the XLE has the sunroof because it's in a "package" to make the cost of all the items more palatable. Perhaps a scan of the items separately without the sunroof might help you to see that the XLE with no sunroof is actually, when you add the items outside the packages, is actually more costly to have it all piecemeal.
~alpha
fredvh: nice photos you posted... The more and more I look at the Camry's interior though, I can't help by see nothing but Toyota's own Sequoia and Tundra. I also think Toyota out did itself with that flip down navigation screen -- maybe keeping the stereo system in tact and moving the screen on top of the dash to pop up when in use (a la Infiniti I30 and Volvo S80). Folks will need extra care not to break it while loading a CD or cassette.
: 0
Mackabee
~alpha01
The Camry came out much better in the front though.
I think Toyota is really going have to revamp the ugly front-end styling of the Avalon as wells as the interior when they do the update for the 2003 year, plus add everything the 2002 Camry XLE has and a few features the Camry doesn't have available to become competitive again. A power rear sunshade in the 2003 Avalon instead of the manual sunshade in the Camry would be nice. Maybe they should also drop the XL model and make the 2003 and 2004 Avalons XLS-only.
I finally saw an XLE 6cyl.....Then I looked at the Sticker............Talk about " Sticker Shock"
I almost passed out. $31,970 USD.
I was hoping they meant LIRA.
Yes it was $31,970 USD orig sticker. No dealer added profit. I guess they figured they had enough profit on that one.
A $32,000 Camry.....I think not!
I guess a $25,000 Corolla is just around the corner.
No thanks Toyota, I think the new Altima will be a better bank for the buck!
you can easily get a LE V6 decently equpipped for 25K.
good job.
~alpha
Well, I really think the new design is much better. The dashboard looks better, a better layout of everything.
-Rob
Most of the new Camry's I saw on the lot stickered from 28-30k. A lot of money....too much for a mid size bread and butter sedan I don't care if it has leather or whatever.
Nissan is in position to really exploit this if they are smart. On one end is the cheaper Altima which may actually outperform the Camry and also the existing Maxima will be priced to move and has a killer new powertrain as well.
Keep in mind also the cheaper Accords and nicer Acura TL's for about the same as a loaded Cam.
And hey folks you can get a fully loaded Diamante for 24k (which looks classier) and you can probably score a 300M, LHS or Aurora for less money than the new Camry.
I'm sure the Camry is a well built appliance but no Camry should sell for more than 24-25k.
http://www.familycar.com/RoadTests/ToyotaCamry/Photos.htm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Very clever.
I think that the Camry DOES fall short of the TL, Maxima, and even the Altima and when Toyota notices this soon enough, it might give some good deals.
Realize that when they redesigned the last Camry '97-'00, Toyota had to minimize cost to keep it in line with the previous generation Camry '92-'96 prices. They did it by decontenting the car. Door lock and window switches became narrower; the odometer became LCD; seat head rests were less complicated, the dash plastic became harder; the grill became integrated with the front bumper; no more lighted ignition keyhole; the tail lamp failure dash indicator was gone...I could go on. Basically, less parts, less cost, almost the same price.
To expect Toyota to continue maintaining the same price range for the Camry would be a major mistake. They already cut cost so much in the previous generation Camry it would've made the car really, really CHEAP. I was out of town driving an AVIS Rental Ford Taurus this past week and looking at the dash it looks as if it is painted. Instead of having separate plastic panels, you can see paint overspray in the gap line under the front passenger airag. Now that's CHEAP.
So folks, $30K is a lot for a 2002 Camry, but looking at the quality car Toyota has managed to produce, it is very reasonable.