Is Toyota Finally Breaking from its Chains?

There is speculation in the car market now regarding Toyota. The 2015 Camry was a step away from the usually bland, and rather plain styling of ilk past. For years, Toyota has focused on being reliable, fuel-efficient, inexpensive, and generally good cars (did I say reliable?). This has allowed the automotive giant to sell literally millions of cars. My family, of all people know this, my parents own a 2012 Highlander and 2007 Camry. While neither is groundbreaking nor fun nor fast, that is never what they were intended to be. However, the new generation sees Toyota as "slow" or "old" and it is time to inject a little enthusiasm into the brand...and quick. Lincoln waited to long, and now look what position they're in. Cadillac did a complete U-turn, and is finally a real competitor in the modern age (thanks, ATS). So, the 2015 Camry needed to be groundbreaking. Well, at least look groundbreaking. Unfortunately, the mechanical bits of the car are mostly carryover, with a few exceptions. At this point, Toyota is doing the best it can, in my opinion. How can they ride the line between satisfying their current (aging) customer base while reeling in youngsters to the brand? They could not mess with the success that the current Camry had, so they left it much alone. Instead, they made the styling more noticeable and attractive. Will this work? In short, I believe no. What really needs to happen--sit down for this one--is Toyota needs to get rid of that gnat that is Scion and merge the existing FR-S into the (already named and badged in other countries) Toyota GT-86. This car is popular among the young enthusiast crowd (however little there may be) and will attract attention to the brand. Leave the Camry and other models alone to their huge volumes, and make some sports cars, darn it!

The 2015 Toyota Camry (allcarseveryday)