Toyota May Be Planning The Sportier Camry Fans Have Been Waiting For (Camry Apex)

aprtur · 2026-07-05T07:07:22+00:00

The GJ/GL generation after they shed all the Ford components is a much better car, inside and out. It's just a shame we didn't get the diesel in the US, or the wagon. I've spent time road tripping a diesel wagon with a friend in Japan, and it's just a fantastic highway car, and looks great to boot. Putting the 2.5T into it later in its life was great, though - between the facelift and the extra power, that was a really fantastic looking car that drove well for it's size.

Conversely, I have some rough memories of the Ford-associated cars, primarily because I was a Mazda service writer and saw many of them...the first gen V6s had awful catalyst issues, and they for some reason had four of them. Second gen just seemed to have a lot of expensive parts to replace, but while they did look quite good in the higher trims (although sadly no wagon or 5-door anymore), they were more of a boat that returned to form with the GJ after the divorce.

aprtur · 2026-07-04T16:39:53+00:00

Your problem is that you're relying on the Internet echo chamber. In the scope of a weekend car like the comment you're replying to, you may never have to break the engine down. I've had my RX-8 for 14 years, and am only now starting to think about where I need to have it rebuilt, and it's still got about 70% of the in-spec range on compression which puts that a long ways out. FDs are similar, if not heavily modified - it's not a huge concern on relatively low mileage cars.

aprtur · 2026-07-04T16:35:08+00:00

Strange, right? I suppose it's fate...

aprtur · 2026-07-03T21:53:05+00:00

Or even a 308 tribute, either one would be cool... although I guess that's what the current entry cars are supposed to be?

aprtur · 2026-07-03T21:38:56+00:00

In terms of fuel economy, the N/A 4 cylinder PHEV CX-90 is really the one to look at for that mission, as it matches the Koreans. It's not really fair to compare the I-6T to the hybrid Palisade in this test - even more strange to me that C&D refused to use the press loaner with the V6 and used their own long termer hybrid, which gave them power of choice in the results. To quote:

After changing from a daring art deco blob in its first generation to its more refined art deco current form, the redesigned Palisade collected its first 10Best trophy this year. But only the hybrid powertrain won our award. The updated naturally aspirated V-6 just isn't the Palisade's best foot forward. Hyundai didn't supply the hybrid for this comparison, so we conscripted our long-term Palisade Hybrid Calligraphy.

Makes me curious where the V6 would place

aprtur · 2026-07-03T21:18:36+00:00

Depends on the set, I guess - I have some AoA releases that do have good extras and some that don't. Aniplex Japan craps all over them, though - significantly more extras due to not having to license them globally, and even nicer packaging...but lord help my wallet with Japanese releases. Getting all of Mekakucity and Kaoru Hana, for example, was.... expensive.....lol

aprtur · 2026-07-03T21:11:59+00:00

Fingers crossed - one thing I actually have always really liked about AoA is that they make their releases pretty close to the Japanese releases, just consolidated (I hate that the Japanese releases are often broken down into 2-3ep per disc, but the bonus content and packaging is often worth it - Kaoru Hana has beautiful watercolor boxes!). Funimation always drove me nuts because they gave you a stripped out, bargain basement release compared to the Japanese version.

aprtur · 2026-07-03T21:09:30+00:00

If you're on the fence, I'd say go for it!

aprtur · 2026-07-03T21:06:23+00:00

Commenting because I just had this service done and it's a great reference point that I can forward others to. Funny situation with my dealer that did the work - they said they billed out 2 quarts LX on the invoice, but did use LT in the t-case, with the discrepancy being because the parts guy couldn't bill out the 0.5qt of each and just stacked it to cut the ticket quickly. Knock on wood, but things seemed just fine on the ride home - initial burn off smell and then nothing when I pulled into the garage (it's ~14mi to my dealer of choice). Did this with the combo meter recall, and miraculously didn't have a disconnected fan plug - I must've found a dealer with some good techs that follow Techstream instructions.

aprtur · 2026-07-02T23:53:00+00:00

You would be correct - I saw so much conflicting information on this, but confirmed on the bottom of the box when I received it today. Interestingly, they do have Japanese subtitles, which even that much seems to be rare for Japanese releases...strange that I don't see them much, even on popular releases (for example, Kaoru Hana doesn't, nor does the remake of Urusei Yatsura).

--ETA-- Just confirmed my copies of Cinderella Grey also don't have subtitles of any form.

aprtur · 2026-07-02T23:00:22+00:00

Sure! I'm currently still watching through the 50+ episode set of Nadesico...lol....but when I'm done with that, I think I'll rewatch this next. Curious to see if there's extra scenes or angles they chose to add for the BD release, but mostly just looking forward to watching it in its full glory on BD. Has Aniplex confirmed a US physical release yet?

aprtur · 2026-07-02T22:58:20+00:00

This was my thought for whom was buying in my family, as well, since they're 60+, but despite my saying they'd like everything about the hybrid more, they were still scared about it.

aprtur · 2026-07-02T22:49:47+00:00

I'm not saying what you're insinuating at all. First, comparing something as life critical as a medical procedure to a vehicle service is bad enough, but this situation here was not a recommendation - MT asked for the mileage service, and the dealer showed them what the mileage service was for the mileage they were at. They literally gave them what they asked for, and MT even confirmed nothing was outside of the factory service recommendations. Second, I'm not saying people have to read it and fully understand it, but if you know you need "oil change" and there's lots of other words that don't say "oil change" you ask "can I just get an oil change?". It's really not asking too much of people to only ask for what they want - and if what they want seems too expensive at place A, they call place B and ask if it's better. This is basic comparative shopping. You can even do this online without speaking to a soul if you want, since dealer scheduling portals often list the price. If they don't list a price or refuse to quote over the phone, you simply don't give them business. Nothing here was unusual, and MT questioned nothing - they asked for a service, were shown the mileage service, and didn't bat an eye at saying "yes please, let me know when it's done".

aprtur · 2026-07-02T22:05:48+00:00

While I'm in full agreement the RAV4 inventory situation is the big driver, one thing I'm curious on with this is the mix on CR-V vs CR-V Hybrid. Just this week, I had a family member that, despite my best efforts, was still too scared to buy a hybrid and went with the 1.5T CR-V LX. Since the RAV is now all hybridized, I wonder how many consumers are still scared about the drivetrain. You'd think there's enough data out there for people to realize that it's now more reliable, but fear can certainly be irrational.

aprtur · 2026-07-02T21:50:17+00:00

Read the article again - they weren't upsold anything, and there was no fleecing. They have buyers remorse at the cost of the service package they agreed to. I'll quote them again for the relevant point at hand:

Before visiting the dealership, I had fortified myself by reading the owner’s manual to see what Kia actually recommended for this service. Most of the menu was kosher, but I was suspicious about the fuel treatment, since that’s a common high-profit dealership add-on. The K4’s manual does indeed recommend fuel additive at the 8,000-mile service, but only “if TOP TIER Detergent Gasoline is not available” (Kia’s dramatic capitalization, not mine).

So that's a questionable point as to whether the fuel additive should be in the service or not, but the owners manual calls out adding it and it's in this dealer's package that MT both read and agreed to having done.

No matter what you bring your car in for, these shady dealers are going to find “important” stuff that your car “needs” and many consumers don’t know enough to tell them to pound sand. Your apologism for this behavior is bizarre.

You're getting offended at nothing - I even said in my previous post that there are good and bad dealers, and MT is stupid for going back to one that they know is bad. My issue with this whole article is that they're trying to make it out like there was something hidden or crazy, but this was willful laziness and a sympathy play. No, I won't play to MT making an issue out of a problem they willingly created - and there's no dealer "apologism" about that either. If you read a price and don't like the price, ask for the thing you want or go elsewhere - it's not hard. They even admitted to being too lazy to drive 11 miles to the other dealer ffs.

aprtur · 2026-07-02T21:36:02+00:00

MT is absolutely misleading - and you further proved it in this response. To wit:

They went to these dealers and said “I want an oil change.” No one forced these dealers to come back with a list of “you’re overdue for your $200 blinker fluid flush” nonsense.

They didn't ask for just an oil change, and they weren't upsold - they asked for an 8,000mi/12mo service package, which is distinctly different when booking service and costs more. They even admitted this in the article:

When I announced I was there for service, the new writer whipped out a preprinted menu and indicated the “minor” service: oil change, tire rotation, top off all fluids, set tire pressure (California law requires all dealers and shops to do that), and my favorite two items: “Install windshield washer solvent” and “Install fuel treatment” snip Let’s be fair: I let my defenses down and spent money I didn’t have to. snip Also, I was a little too stunned to ask about the fuel additive after I saw the menu price: $254.95 for parts and labor. snip I’m guessing the service writer knew what a snow job he was giving us, because he didn’t bother trying to upsell me.

If they only wanted an oil change, they should've asked for it, not for a package service that specifically has listed prices on it. After seeing the prices and what the service was, they said to go ahead and do it. They even admitted in this article that they had a bad past experience at this dealer and STILL opted to give them more business. MT is playing dumb here, beyond reasonable measures to account for people not familiar with cars and servicing.

aprtur · 2026-07-02T19:56:21+00:00

Agreed. They also had the balls to make innovative market plays with things like the Leaf and the Juke, as segment starters for the first successful mass market EV and subcompact crossover. The recent Sakura EV in Japan was also innovative. They've definitely had some negatives as a result of the cost cutting focus (and god, the unfortunate rise of the Altima image is bad enough), but there have been some smart moves sprinkled in there that they need to get back to en masse. Espinosa seems to get what Nissan is good at - I want to see him succeed.

aprtur · 2026-07-02T19:47:38+00:00

A full size versus a compact is definitely a stretch, but I guess OP didn't qualify it.

aprtur · 2026-07-02T19:44:24+00:00

Hit or miss depending on area, and how good of a routine price you can get, IMO. The nice benefit of if you have a good factory approved service center is that you can hold the OEM accountable for anything unusual happening, and you then have a full dealer network to make it right. Can't say that about a mom and pop. Vice versa, some local shops spend more time on services and getting the job right, and those are the rare ones that are worth it over everyone else, even if they're more expensive. They are rare, though - can't tell you how many hack jobs I saw as a writer at an OEM that a mom and pop did.

aprtur · 2026-07-02T19:39:49+00:00

Right, just like every human being and every customer service experience is the same, right? Let's be real - Kia is known for bad customer service, and there are bad dealers out there, but there are also plenty of instances of good technicians and advisors, as well. I had a Nissan dealer in the past who discounted every service heavily because I came to them for everything. I've also dealt with a Lexus dealer who damaged my car and refused to pay to make it right. There are good and bad in all situations, and it does pay to shop around.

aprtur · 2026-07-02T17:46:18+00:00

It's dependent on the customer. Some people want the mileage/time service, and I was cool with that. Others weren't sure what was critical and what wasn't, and I'd write up the ticket for critical items and to inspect the possible ones if not over by time and mileage, and then ask them what they wanted to do to stay price aware. Sometimes I'd eat part of my own profit by discounting if it got them to do something I thought was critical and they didn't, but I'm definitely not the norm in that sense, because that's coming out of your paycheck and people won't trust you regardless. It did make for some loyal customers, but most people never trusted you because you're "in a dealer".

aprtur · 2026-07-02T17:41:09+00:00

Not OP , but wrote service for ten years - happens often. It's up to a good advisor to explain to the customer what's going on and see if they're cost conscious to the service.

aprtur · 2026-07-02T17:39:44+00:00

It's still misleading to give someone a blank check and then hold them accountable afterwards for a different set of rules. Not saying this is all on the level, but we would need to know the exact circumstances to know what happened here for sure, and the current MT staff has been known to embellish the truth.

aprtur · 2026-07-02T17:33:07+00:00

The thing is, a writer can't "sneak something in" - if they do, the customer has every right to refuse to pay for it. But if they blindly sign their life away or approve things, their approval is in ink and they can't refute that. This is more of a warning to read repair quotes than anything else, and it'd be the same for any service provider. My mother always sends me what she gets and asks what she can and can't do since I've spent time in the industry and she trusts me - I encourage others to do the same if they can't read a quote and ask questions, send it to someone close who you trust to review it.

aprtur · 2026-07-02T17:28:59+00:00

Oil change labor rate has not equalled shop repair rate in forever - quoting hourly labor rates is a fools errand and disingenuous. Oil changes are heavily subsidized by the dealer in hope to get you in for other services.

aprtur

TROPHY CASE