Goodbye non-hybrid Camry imports

thejazzpianoma, May 17, 9:00pm
Just noticed something today. Apparently the only JDM Camry's are Hybrids now, so thats all we will get used from Japan.

Aside from the Hybrids the regular Camry (as in NZ New non-Hybrid) is finally cracking open the door to the 21st century. Electric power steering, 6 speed transmission etc.

Still a good 7 - 14 years behind the game though. (No direct injection, dual clutch transmission, modern induction etc)

phillip.weston, May 17, 9:31pm
even if it did have all that it would still look like a turd - in their efforts to try make a sporty looking camry they've made it look so weird, I think I actually prefer the earlier shape camry over it!

why are we even discussing camrys! it's like discussing the merits of the different taste of lettuce.

thejazzpianoma, May 17, 9:55pm
LOL, and couldn't agree more. Its a slow day at the office.

laneyjan, May 17, 10:23pm
I only like iceberg lettuce ,not that sour tasting crinkly leaved stuff people put one leaf on your plate and call it a salad.

skiff1, May 17, 10:53pm
We have a hybrid Camry as a work car. It's ok but it uses more gas than our last car, a diesel rav4. So on that basis I don't think it will save the world.

a.woodrow, May 18, 12:10am
I can't believe the diesel corolla didn't take off. what a great drivers car that was.

richardmayes, May 18, 12:20am
There are a heap of Hybrid Camrys running around Wellington as taxis. It's almost the car you HAVE to have, if you want to drive for Combined. They do look quite a bit flasher than a "regular" NZ new Camry.

Good to see, it's the car the Prius should have been right from the beginning IMO.

I'm struggling hard to think which I would want to avoid MORE in a used car with a few km on the clock though - a Toyota Hybrid setup with not many hours left in the battery, or a tricky servo controlled double clutch gearbox on its last legs. Neither really sounds like the kind of grenade I would want to be holding onto when the timer runs out.

Surely both types cars will depreciate down to next to nothing even quicker than the previous generation, you just wouldn't buy either sort of car used unless it was at a price where you could happily just throw it away the day it decides it's not to go any more.

a.woodrow, May 18, 12:32am
Yep, they do offer a 10 year warranty on the hybrid battery though

savanna71, May 18, 12:40am
Bla bla bla, f**k you go on and on about it yet are the first to cry "TROLLS" when some one offers an opinion on a VW etc. Get over it, its not a compeition or a race. What are you like 13! All we ever here from you is "but VW do it better then toyota because of this" or yeah but toyotas also do this"

Enough is enough let it die, no one cares. Please!

thejazzpianoma, May 18, 1:19am
Actually, I would MUCH prefer an old DSG to an old standard auto. A regular auto is actually very "tricky" wheras a DSG is really just a manual box with some servo's to drive it.

They also stand up to a lack of servicing much better than a regular auto (especially the dry clutch ones), which is always a bonus with secondhand.

Another clue is the old selespeed, these are pretty old now and while they are not a great unit they really havn't got a lot worse with time.

a.woodrow, May 18, 1:44am
Toyota are scared silly by VW, they view them as their biggest threat this decade

savanna71, May 18, 2:47am
I think you will find Hyundai is the big mover as far as market share goes. Nothing to fear from a large manufacturing group whos market share moves consistantly and in line with market averages. Its the big movers that one needs to watch.

r15, May 18, 2:51am
its only been in recent years the full size camry has come from japan in any great numbers anyway- previously there was the odd scepter or gradia, but not particularly common compared to the 'nz new' australian assembled ones floating around

chris_051, May 18, 3:07am
JDM, another way of saying shit that the rest of the world doesn't want. This can't be a bad thing, has anyone else noticed the amount of retards behind the wheel of these cheap imports with awful names, tacky chrome highlights, 4" wide tyres and $2 hubcaps. Usually seen in econo cars but the small SUVs and medium size cars has their fair share of incompetant drivers as well. Myself I've done hundreds of thousands of km all over NZ by motorbike, car, B train and truck & trailer and I can't recall one moment where a driver of these imports has shown one ounce of commonsense. Funnily enough the NZ new models don't seem as bad.

And you're dead right Jazz the Camry is just another bland jappa that is a good 10 + years behind the innovative Euros, compare one to a Passat, Mondeo, Alfa 159 or Peugeot 508 for a good laugh.

mugenb20b, May 18, 3:07am
Hang on.tell the whole story now.the Corolla starts off at the bottom of the heap with its poverty pack trim and a noisy diesel engine (which I'd love to have btw) working their way up to its supercharged 20 valve engine and a 6 speed gearbox. Now those are fun to drive. The new Corolla also has its Blade edition with a V6 engine. Take that beast for a spin.

ema1, May 18, 3:57am
Mmmmm those Blade Corolla's would be interesting to have a go in for sure .A real Wolf in Sheep's clothing me thinks.
I wouldn't say no to one actually.

oaic1, May 18, 7:34am
chris_051 wrote:
JDM, another way of saying shit that the rest of the world doesn't want.

Yeah, thats right.those Russian's that I see at the car auctions in Japan were only there for the sushi and didn't really want to buy those 99,325 cars they sent back to Russia last year. Same for the 62,420 JDM cars that were exported to Chile in 2011. And those 53,816 units that went to South Africa.well obviously those were also shit that no one wants too. And all those car dealers from Dubai, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Kenya, UK,and Australia were just in Japan to check out the Buddhist temples and Zen gardens because nobody in those countries could possibly want to buy those 483,285 JDM cars. The next time I go to Japan I'm going to tell my agent that he should be paying me to take these shit cars away because chris_051 says no one else in the world will buy them. I wonder what he'll say to that idea.

trdbzr, May 18, 7:54am
lol the post by chris_051 was probably a wind up, no one can be that thick

jason18, May 18, 3:35pm
Hell yes!
Altho a Camry Would look pretty swich matt black on modgies

pauloc, May 18, 6:31pm
Well putI'll tell my agent the same

a.woodrow, May 18, 6:41pm
Yep I have and it's awesome! Also the supercharged aurion.
The 2.0L diesel corolla hatch was great fun, very torquey and quicker off the line than a petrol version. also passing in 6th gear is great