2012 Toyota Camry more images revealed

Following from the leaked brochure images we brought you last month, Toyota has revealed an official image -- of a tail light.

You can bet there will be a trickle-feed of images coming over the next few weeks as the brand tries to stir up some hype around the car.

The brochure images show the seventh-generation ‘premium Camry’ that will go on sale in Japan, but also reveal what we will see here when the Aurion launches early next year.

It will be distinguished from the Australian-built Camry largely by a more stylish nose with sharper-angled headlights.

The leaked images – traced back to Japan’s Holiday Auto magazine – show a hybrid car with the blue-enamelled logo Toyota is using on its petrol-electric vehicles. The Aurion will have the standard chrome logo.

The Aurion will continue to carry a 3.5-litre V6 petrol engine, with the outputs unlike to move far from the current 200kW/336Nm.

Toyta has used the Tweetsphere to drop a teaser picture of the left-rear corner of the new car, revealing only the tail lamp design with a Camry badge as a reminder of what's happening.

The Camry tease comes as Subaru also hints at the look of its all-new VX baby SUV and Hyundai hints on the next i30, both cars that will go public at the Frankfurt Motor Show in the first week of September.

But the Camry will be out first, with a press preview in Melbourne on August 24 - the same day Carsguide will have the first drive impression from time with the car in the USA - leading up to the start of local production and sales in the final quarter of this year.

CAMRY

WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

Camry: From the Japanese Kan-Muri, meaning "crown".

WHERE IS IT BUILT?

Camry and its four-cylinder engine are built at Toyota's Altona manufacturing plant in Melbourne, Victoria. Toyota directly employs 3,200 people in Victoria and more than 4,400 nationally.

HOW MANY?

Approximately 100,000 four-cylinder Camry sedans are produced at Altona each year. Approximately 70 per cent are exported, mainly to the Middle East. Camry has been produced in Australia since 1987.

HOW SUCCESSFUL?

Camry is now in its 18th year as Australia's best-selling mid-size car. It is also Australia's biggest automotive export earner, being shipped to more than 20 destinations.

BACKGROUND

Launched in the wake of the oil shocks of the late ’70s, Camry has established itself as a true world car.

Planning for the Camry began in 1977, at a time when manufacturers globally were turning to smaller front-wheel-drive vehicles to overcome soaring fuel costs and stricter fuel efficiency regulations.

The emphasis of the program was on aerodynamics and lightweight materials.

Engine development focused on fuel efficiency, with engines built specially to drive the front wheels.

Around the world, Camry production has now passed 15 million units.

1983 – first generation (imported)

The Camry was introduced to Australia as an import in liftback guise in 1983.

It won several "best car" awards, including Modern Motor magazine’s Car of the Year.

The car featured a new five-speed manual and ECT-equipped four-speed automatic transmissions with wide gear ratios.

The front-wheel-drive layout, without a transmission tunnel, allowed for a spacious interior.

Innovations in the first Camry included equal-length driveshaft arms, two-stage air conditioning and multi-adjustable seats.

That tradition of innovation continued throughout the life of the Camry and the brand is now synonymous with world-leading sophistication and quality.

1987 – second generation, but first locally produced Camry

It wasn’t until the second-generation Camry that the car was built locally.

AMI-Toyota was the first Toyota subsidiary in the world to build the Camry and the local version incorporated extensive design changes – including three locally designed wagon variants.

The Australian-made Camry made its showroom debut in April 1987, replacing the locally built Corona.

With this generation, Toyota introduced a locally built twin-cam 2.0-litre 16-valve four-cylinder engine, followed in May 1988 by a new 2.5-litre quad-cam 24-valve V6. The engine was the world’s first quad-cam V6 engine to feature in a mass production sedan.

This generation also saw the release of a station wagon to replace the hatchback.

Camry allowed Toyota to compete on equal footing with the other leading medium cars of the day – Mitsubishi’s Magna, Holden’s Camira and Nissan’s Pintara.

The Australian-built car featured independent front and rear Macpherson-strut suspension, engine-speed-sensitive power steering and disc brakes front and rear. It brought a new level of sophistication and technology to the local market.

A revised Camry appeared in August 1989, incorporating local steering modifications that were to gain international acceptance within Toyota. An Australian team revised the steering valve and geometry to improve driver feel and response. The changes were later adopted for worldwide Camry production.

Toyota continued to push for quality improvements. It was determined that investment in a new plant was necessary to achieve further gains.

The proposal to build a new Camry plant at Altona was presented to Toyota Motor Corporation, which approved the plan to build a $420 million assembly plant at Altona.

1993 – third generation

In February 1993, the new wide-bodied Camry was launched publicly by Prime Minister Paul Keating, who described the car as “another quantum leap in the history of the Australian automotive industry”.

Wheels magazine agreed and Camry came out on top in a comparison with Magna, Mazda 626 and Liberty. Camry was also the top-ranked local car in Wheels’ annual quality survey and won the NRMA’s gong for best medium car.

Camry grew up for this generation. It was larger in every dimension than the previous model, and became classified as "mid-size". The car was wider and longer than Cressida, with better performance, improved fuel economy, ABS and reduced NVH. It also had more local input into design and development. Built at a cost of $140 million, the range also featured a new brand name – the Vienta – for its V6 models.

Engines were now 2.2-litre four-cylinder units (producing almost as much power as the previous V6, but with four-cylinder economy), and 3.0-litre V6s.

That same year, Toyota began exporting the Camry to Thailand. By 1994, Altona exports were worth $160 million and the company announced that, by the year 2000, it aimed to export 30 per cent of its Altona Camry production. The year also saw Camry take over the mantle of Australia’s best-selling medium car.

The last Camry to be built at Port Melbourne rolled off the production line in December 1994. Two weeks later, the Camry was being built at Altona. There was little difference between the Port Melbourne and Altona vehicles, except for a new water-borne, environmentally friendly paint process at Altona.

In 1996, Victorian Premier Jeff Kennett was on hand to send off the first shipment of Camrys to the Middle East.

1997 – fourth generation

A new range was launched in August 1997.

It was quieter, lighter and more powerful with better ride quality and improved handling.

With an additional 5cm in wheelbase, a lowered beltline and swept-back windscreen, the 1997 Camry’s cabin was more spacious and inviting.

By this time, 40 per cent of Camry production was being shipped overseas to 24 destinations.

The line-up of four-cylinder Camry models consisted of the CSI, Conquest and CSX models, available as sedans or wagons. Camry V6 models consisted of CSI and Conquest.

Both of Camry’s engines received power and torque increases.

In October 2000, a revised Camry range was launched with improved handling, higher feature levels, improved headlamps and reduced noise, vibration and harshness.

Two models were added to the Camry line-up - Touring Series wagon and top-of-the-range sports-luxury Azura sedan.

The Vienta V6 range was discontinued due to the launch of the Avalon sedan.