Camry redesigned in record time

Charged with dramatically upgrading the Camry while drastically reducing development costs, Toyota engineers prove they're up to the challenge.

“There is a saying that ‘the more things change, the more things stay the same,’” said Kosaku Yamada, Camry Chief Engineer, Toyota Motor Corp., when explaining how his team approached the design and development of the fifth-generation 2002 Camry. Yamada feels that saying captures the essence of a brand that has been strong, but could have been stronger “were it not for a deficiency in one very important area: emotion.”

Built on a platform completely different from that of the previous Camry, the new version was designed to perform better while being gentler on the environment, according to Toyota. The goals targeted by the design team included a move toward “sensual” designing that would emotively appeal to more buyers, a larger interior, improved NVH, better handling, and upgraded safety enhancements-all at reduced developmental costs.