A Brief History of the Camry

The Camry has been with us for 40 years. It has been the best-selling sedan for 18 years in a row and was the best-selling car in the U.S. for several years. Camry’s history includes wagons, coupes, convertibles, hybrids, a short-lived turbo-diesel, and now you can see it competing and winning in NASCAR. Ubiquitous, thy name is Camry. Let Valley Hi Toyota take you through a brief history of this legendary model.

1983–1986: The First Camry

In 1983 the Camry had its debut as a front-wheel drive replacement for the rear-drive Corona model that effectively introduced Toyota to the United States in 1964. The name Camry comes from the Japanese word for crown, “kanmuri”. “Corona” also means “crown”. And now, Toyota’s top sedan is called “Crown”. Toyota likes Crowns.

The first Camry was 16.5 inches shorter than today’s model. It was powered by a 2.0-liter fuel-injected SOHC 4-cylinder that produced 92 horsepower. It competed with other compact sedans of the day like the Chevrolet Citation, Ford Tempo, Chrysler’s Dodge and Plymouth K-cars, and of course, the Honda Accord sedan, which had its debut 5 years earlier. For the last three years, the Camry was also available with a 1.8-liter turbo diesel engine, though the U.S. wasn’t quite ready for that, and sales were low.

Car and Driver called the first Camry “a nice, well-behaved four-wheeled valet that will get you where you’re going with no muss, no fuss, and no bother.”; a description that may have lurked in many Camry buyer’s subconscious in the decades to follow.

1987–1991 2nd Generation: Expanding on a Theme and a Kentucky Birthplace

The Camry’s 2nd-generation was a very important one. To start, it was a little longer and wider and had more power, starting a tradition of size increases that would continue with almost every subsequent generation. The following year, Toyota opened a new production facility in Georgetown, Kentucky to build Camrys for the North American market. A 2.5-liter V-6 engine became available, producing 153 horsepower compared to the base engine’s 112. A wagon version was introduced. An All-Trac AWD system was introduced and available for a while. And then in 1988, the Camry also sold 200,000 units in the US for the first time.

1992–1996 3rd Generation: Bring in the Curves

For the 1992 – 1996 3rd generation, the car became significantly curvier, half a foot longer and 2 inches wider. The V-6 increased in size to 3.0 liters, and a coupe body style was introduced in 1994. Ceding the long-roof market to SUVs, the end of this generation marked the end of the wagon body style.

1997–2001 4th Generation &
2002–2006 5th Generation: Becoming the Best-Seller

The 1997 – 2001 4th generation Camry grew again and, by the end of its first year, became the best-selling car in the U.S. In 2000 the Camry Solara convertible was introduced. The best-selling car status continued through the 2002 – 2006 5th generation, where the car increased in size again, and the coupe and convertible’s styling diverged more prominently from the sedan.

2007–2011 6th Generation: Becoming Green

The big news for the 2007 – 2011 6th generation Camry was the introduction of the Camry hybrid, marking the first time for a hybrid drivetrain in a mainstream model line. The system combined a 2.4-liter Inline-4 with the second-generation Hybrid Synergy Drive with a 30 kW motor for a combined 188 horsepower. It was rated to have 40 city mpg at the time though current EPA procedures would revise that down to 33. 

On the opposite end of the spectrum, 2007 marked the introduction of the Camry into NASCAR, though like all NASCAR vehicles, the tube-frame, rear-drive V-8 powered race car has little in common with a stock Camry. This generation also saw the end of the coupe and convertible body styles in 2009, returning the Camry to the single 4-door sedan body style from which it began.

2012-2017 7th Generation: An All-American

The Camry’s 4-cylinder, 6-cylinder, and hybrid drivetrains all carried over for the 2012-2017 7th generation through the availability of a manual transmission did not. This generation saw the introduction of the Entune infotainment system with smartphone connectivity. In another important milestone, in 2015 and 2016, the Camry was designated as the most American car you could buy, with over 75 percent domestic content.

2018–Present 8th Generation The Best It’s Ever Been

The current generation of the Camry was introduced at the January 2017 North American International Auto Show as a 2018 model. 2018 actually marked the first time the Camry and its rival Honda Accord were redesigned for the same model year. 

This latest Camry features the most aggressive styling yet, sharing no major components with the previous generation outside of the trunk lid and the front badge. It continues to offer three drivetrains, including the 2.5-liter I-4 with 203 horsepower or 208 when equipped with the dual exhaust. 208 is also the combined horsepower output of the 2.5-liter based hybrid drivetrain. Unlike almost all of its competitors, the Camry continues to offer a 6-cylinder engine. The 3.5-liter V-6 produces 301 horsepower and 267 lb-ft of torque. This is over 3.25 times the horsepower of the original Camry, and yet its EPA-estimated 22 city / 32 highway mpg is still better than the original’s 22 city / 30 highway.

Toyota’s RAV4 is now the best-selling non-pickup truck in the US, but the current Camry still has plenty to boast about:

• 2023 Jan-May: Best-selling sedan in the U.S., outselling the Accord by 48%
• 2023 Camry: IIHS Top Safety Pick+ rating, their highest rating for the 5th year in a row
• 2023 5-star overall rating from the NHTSA for the 5th year in a row
• 2019 Camry and Camry Hybrid: Car and Driver Editors’ Choice Award.
• The 2021 Toyota Camry Was Named Best Midsize Car for the Money by U.S. News & World Report
• The 2021 Camry Was Named Best Resale Value in Its Class by Kelley Blue Book’s KBB.com

So now you know that today’s Camry is the result of 40 years of continuous improvement in space, performance, comfort, and technical sophistication. It is a competitive market, so to be on the top, you have to constantly produce a product that impresses both immediately and over the long term. To see how Toyota does just that with the Toyota come visit Valley Hi Toyota and take a closer look at this little piece of automotive history.

Tags: Camry, History, Model History, Through the Years
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