Interesting thing on the way back from the used car lot.

While looking for a replacement appliance for my Wife we stopped by a local used car lot to kick some tires and BS with a salesman. The cars we looked at included a 2000 TL, a 2001 Camry, a 2005 Buick and a 2005 Accord. My Wife liked the Buick and the TL. She thought the TL was really nice despite the black leather interior. (Like me thinks leather would be too hot in summer and too cold in winter..) So we looked closer at the Accord. Nice car but it also had a leather interior. So no go. We took another look at the Buick. It was a LaCrosse. It looked like a really nice car. So we kicked the tires a few more times and BSed with the salesman a bit more before we left. While driving down the road my Wife and I discussed the 3 cars we looked at. (Stay with me here..) After discussing the 3 cars I realized we looked at 4. The 4th car was a Camry. My Wife reply's to me that we didn't look at a Toyota. I told her we did. It was beige with beige interior. Then my Wife realizes we did look at a Toyota. Which brings me to the point of all this. Are Camrys such appliances that you can barely remember them 20 minutes after looking at them? Let me know while I try to remember what else I forgot today...

Wow. Somewhere a Toyota exec should be using this as a weapon.

In reply to noddaz:

Dam that is funny. The Buick is more memorable than the Toyota.

the ultimate stealth car.. you don't even notice it when you drive one

noddaz wrote: Are Camrys such appliances that you can barely remember them 20 minutes after looking at them?

Signs point to "YES!"

Man, a beige Camry with a beige interior. That's the automotive equivalent to waterboarding.

Yep, boring appliances the operator (not driver) has to think about. That's Toyota's demographic and they hit it dead center. It's why they sell so many cars; they go after the 99% who want it 'grounded to the ground' (damn I hate that ad) and filled with Bluetooth gimcracks and whimmydiddles.

I was trying to think if I have ever driven a Camry and I can't remember either. Really.

I've driven one. Silver with a beige interior. It didn't beg me to beat it, but I don't remember hating it.

Men in Black actually drive silver Camrys.

ultraclyde wrote: Wow. Somewhere a bank robber should be using this as a getaway vehicle.

Fixed.

My ex-wife had a Camry when I met her. It was a '90 or '91, and interestingly it was a five-speed car with no a/c from the factory.

"Heck", I thought to myself, "that's my kinda cheap gal!".

Oh no. Even with a five-speed and that twin-cam 4, that car sucked the life out of driving.

Dad has an '07 LaCrosse, when I first saw it I was like 'aw great, another Buick, wtf'

But I tell ya what, after a 5 plus hour driving stint in it I felt like I only drove to the corner store. I'm into comfort these days in a DD, might hafta get me one.

A plus for the 3800 too.

My first car was a 92 Camry($free), I try not to remember it. It helped me out by blowing an engine a few months later.

if the Lacrosse was a 3800, it's the one to buy of the group. Not exciting, but comfy and will be the cheapest to maintain.

Appleseed wrote:

ultraclyde wrote: Wow. Somewhere a bank robber should be using this as a getaway vehicle.

Fixed.

lol. I used to say the perfect vehicle to commit a crime in was a dark green Explorer, because they were so common they were invisible. Looks like that's now the Camry.

Curmudge, if my next vehicle doesn't have some sort of Whimmydiddles, I'm not buying. That's what I'm going to ask the sales guys from now on, "sure, it does 0-60 in 3 sec, but does it come with Whimmydiddles? I have to have the Whimmydiddles."

All Im taking from this thread is that cars need less whimmydiddles

I've owned a 2002 Camry for over a year now and still forget about it. At no point during my ownership have I thought "wow, that is a sharp looking car." It isn't beige, but the silver isn't much better. My only excuse is that I own six other cars and this one was specifically purchased to be a transportation appliance. It does one job and it does it well.

Back in the early '70s day, my father's boss (not a car guy) asked him for car-buying advice. Dad steered him towards a new slant-six Dart because he knew it would do the job forever without maintenance.

The boss went on a lot of business trips and would routinely call my father from the airport on the way home to be reminded what kind of car he drove so he could locate it in the parking lot.

Then again, I know a guy who still drives his stock, $500 mid-'90s V6/ATX Camry at track days. He bolts on some old race rubber takeoffs and embarrasses much more expensive and sporting machinery.

mad_machine wrote: the ultimate stealth car.. you don't even notice it when you drive one

Never get pulled over again....

That's the Camry Effect.

What is it with Camrys (Camries?) My '93 Toyota Corolla is actually fun to drive, in a can-barely-get-out-of-its-own-way sort of way.

Sky_Render wrote: What is it with Camrys (Camries?) My '93 Toyota Corolla is actually fun to drive, in a can-barely-get-out-of-its-own-way sort of way.

They are the epitome of affordable appliance. Nothing feels quite right, nothing works perfectly, the performance is meh at best, it just kinda does.

Take my 92 for example, had no ABS and a huge booster with 195 profile tires(thanks to this, I can threshold brake like a boss). The engine didnt have the balls to do more than chirp the cheap kumhos on wet pavement. The trans could not be locked into second gear, so in snow you just revved it, got the tires spinning 15 mph, let off and it would drop into second and walk away. The ride was meh, it drove like a piece of jello. The steering was made of Novocaine. Despite being a mid sized car, it did not fit my 6' frame, my head was in the headliner, or I slumped down and had my knees in the dash. Etc. Its a giant compromise on wheels, a one size sorta fits all car.

DrBoost wrote: Man, a beige Camry with a beige interior. That's the automotive equivalent to waterboarding.

My mother in-law drives one.

Oddly enough, she's an otherwise stylish woman.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gee-haw_whammy_diddle