Toyota unveiled its new 2012 model year line of Camrys on Tuesday morning, branded as the “reinvented” Camry to capture the spirit of the best-selling car in America the past nine years.
Besides its display in downtown Los Angeles, the live reveal on Toyota's website also showed engineers and workers at the manufacturer's Kentucky plant, where Toyota global president Akio Toyoda made a surprise appearance.
The standard Camry comes with a 2.5-liter, four-cylinder at 178 horsepower and 35mpg, with a 3.5-liter V6 model also available with 268 horsepower. Camry's SE model also has a special suspension and performance-tuned steering built in.
Changes to the visual aspect SE and XLE hybrid models include a more sophisticated exterior, with 100 percent of the sheet metal completely new.
The interior is quieter and roomier without the car needing to increase in size. New on some models, the Entune in-car multimedia system features a voice recognition, conversational aspect for hands-free use.
All models, the LE, SE, XLE, and LE and XLE hybrids, will come with a price reduction for 2012. MSRP rates start at $22,500 for the LE (-$500 from 2011), $23,000 for the SE (-$1,000), $24,725 for the XLE (-$2,000), $25,900 for the LE hybrid (-$1,150) and $27,400 for the XLE hybrid.
Toyota also revealed a Camry will pace the field for next year's Daytona 500 on Feb. 26. Joe Gibbs Racing's Denny Hamlin drove the newly liveried 2012 Camry out to the display area, saying he enjoys the new SE model as “It's the Camry with the attitude.”