|
Toyota
Camry Hybrid
|
|
The Toyota Camry hybrid
rolled out in May 2006 (2007 model year), and has been
a hit ever since.
Toyota Motor Manufacturing
North America (TMMNA) announced that's its new Camry hybrid
car is being manufactured at its plant in Georgetown,
Kentucky.
The Toyota Camry hybrid
will be the first hybrid automobile that Toyota will manufacture
inside the U. S.
|
The Toyota Camry Hybrid has a retail base price
of approximately $26,200, up $300 from when it rolled out in
May, 2006, which is about $5,000 cheaper than its rival Honda
Accord Hybrid. The Camry Hybrid sports a 2.4-liter, 4-cylinder
gasoline engine (147 hp) with a high-torque 40 hp electric motor.
The three current
Toyota hybrids (Prius,
Highlander SUV,
Lexus RX 400h) are
being manufactured in Japan. The Georgetown plant employees
7,000 team members and has the capacity to build approximately
50,000 Camry hybrids per year.
According to Gary Convis, president of the Kentucky plant
"Once the decision was reached to make a hybrid version
of our best-selling vehicle - the Camry - the Georgetown
plant was the natural choice for Toyota's first North American
hybrid production. Our team members' hard work and dedication
over the last 20 years will ensure that the production of
these cutting-edge vehicles in Kentucky will also be hugely
successful."
Not all parts for the Camry hybrid will be built in Georgetown,
though. According to Edmunds, "The conventional components
of the Camry hybrid's engine will be built at Georgetown,
although Toyota will be initially importing the battery
and inverter for the 2007 Camry HV from Japan." Edmunds
goes onto say, "The design of the new Camry is much
more dynamic than the current model, with several cues looking
like they were pulled straight off a Lexus. Already one
of the bigger sedans in the segment, the Camry probably
won't gain much in size, but power will probably be up slightly
in both the six- and four-cylinder models. Look for a possible
debut at the Tokyo Motor Show in October."
|
|
2007 Toyota Camry Hybrid |
|
The Toyota Camry hybrid car is just one of 10 new hybrids that
Toyota is developing.. Because of the huge success of the Prius,
with over 50,000 cars sold last year and a 6-month waiting period
in some areas due to lack of availability, Toyota has decided
to go full-throttle with an ever-increasing hybrid line-up.
Within the next 5 years, Toyota expects to sell over 1 million
hybrids globally, half of which will be sold within the U. S.
market. Besides the Camry hybrid, Toyota is also slating the
Lexus GS 450h hybrid luxury sedan to also roll out as a 2007
vehicle as well.
Because the standard gasoline engine Camry is Toyota's best-selling
car of all-time, it only makes sense to combine the ecological
popularity of the Prius with the design popularity of the Camry
in order to try to become the world's largest automaker, eventually
edging out General Motors. With the price of crude oil ever
on the rise, the Toyota Camry hybrid car will most assuredly
be a smashing success. In fact, in the second quarter of 2006,
Toyota U. S. sales surpassed Ford Motor Company for the first
time ever, mainly due to the popularity of Toyota's lineup of
hybrid vehicles.
At the 2006 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS)
in Detroit, Michigan, Toyota once again gave viewers a peak
at their new 2007 Camry Hybrid, which rolled out in the fall
of 2006. The 2007 Toyota Camry Hybrid has fuel economy ratings
of 43 mpg city and 37 mpg highway (the non-hybrid Camry is 24
mpg city, 34 mpg highway) and delivers horsepower of 192 bhp.
The Camry Hybrid's 105 kw electric motor delivers 199 ft-lb
of torque and runs off a 150-lb. NiMH battery pack.
|
