Car Corner

Formally a compact car, the Toyota Camry is one of the most recognizable mid-sized vehicles in Toyota’s impressive lineup. Toyota Camry parts are known for their long lasting reliability and the vehicle has long been seen as the perfect car for anyone looking for a safe, reliable mid-sized vehicle at an affordable price.
In the United States the Camry has been the bestselling car for most of the past decade with almost 450,000 cars sold in 2008 alone. Interestingly, the car which has been a smash hit in the United States and internationally has not been successful in the European market.
The Camry model was first introduced in 1980 as the Toyota Celica Camry and was not actually made its own independent line until 1982 when the first generation Toyota Camry was released. Today, the Camry is in its 7th generation which was released at the 2006 North American International Auto Show. The 7th generation was the first to have available hybrid technology.
What most people do not know about the Camry is the interesting history of its name. Camry was actually created from a phonetic pronunciation of the Japanese word kanmuri. It’s fitting that the crown jewel of Toyota vehicles should have this name as it actually stands for crown in Japanese.
Interestingly, this was not the first Toyota to acquire its name from a crown. In 1955, the Toyota Crown was released as a taxi in Japan. It gained a strong following among the Japanese people and remains in Japan today as a full-sized luxury car today. Its introduction to the United States in 1957 proved to be less successful then hoped. However it remained for sale in the United States until 1971.
The Toyota Corona is another vehicle that continues the crown tradition. The Latin word for crown is corona, so the name seemed like a good fit for the company. First released in 1957, the Corona was a popular exported car for Toyota until it was discontinued in 2002.
Like the Toyota Corona, the Toyota Corolla also comes from a Latin word. Meaning “small crown” the Corolla is the last of the three Toyota models to be named after a crown. First released in 1966, the Toyota Corolla is the bestselling vehicle ever with over 35 million models sold as of 2007. The subcompact/compact car is popular all over the world; however, it is scheduled to end production in the United States in March 2010. The car is so successful, in part, because of its excellent Toyota Corolla parts.
One other interesting part of the Toyota Camry name is the anagram you get when you rearrange the letters, “my car.” Many people believe that Toyota intentionally did this as a way to make buyers feel that this was the right car for them.
Whether the Toyota Camry was truly meant to be “my car” or not, millions of Camry owners are certainly happy it’s their car. With any luck, the Camry will hold the Toyota crown for years to come.