The redesigned Toyota Camry is the hottest-selling car in America, and it's also the "
Motor Trend Magazine" car of the year.
The award was announced Wednesday and went to all Camry variations, including the hybrid.
Editor Angus MacKenzie said the car is innovative but also has a broad appeal.
The Camry beat 26 other models that were totally new or redesigned this year.
"Creating an innovative, engaging automobile with broad mainstream appeal is one of the toughest tasks facing any automaker," said MacKenzie. "The Camry is the one car rival automakers all wish they could build. It offers something for nearly everyone -- performance, efficiency, and roominess -- at a price point most Americans can afford."
MacKenzie also said Toyota offers the Camry with a regular four cylinder engine, or a sporty V-6 that enables it to hit 60 mph in six seconds.
"That's about as fast as a V-8 muscle car from the '60s and '70s. Buyers looking for ultimate fuel economy can choose the Camry Hybrid, which uses the same innovative hybrid powertrain technology as Toyota's Prius to save gas," MacKenzie said.
The Toyota Camry bested a field of 27 competitors, comprising six models from the United States, 10 from Japan, five from Korea, four from Germany, one from the United Kingdom, and one from Sweden.
MacKenzie said the Camry won in a very strong field.
"There have never been more choices available to American car buyers. That is a fact of life in the 21st century," he said.
To be eligible for Car of the Year, Motor Trend said a vehicle must be totally new or redesigned, and released in the 12 months prior to Jan. 1, 2007. Cars with modifications such as new engines or that are variants of existing models are not eligible for the award.
This year's field of contenders for Car of the Year included:
Chevrolet Aveo, Chrysler Sebring, Dodge Caliber, Honda Fit, Hyundai Elantra, Hyundai Entourage, Infiniti G35, Jaguar XK, Jeep Compass, Kia Optima, Kia Rondo, Kia Sedona, Lexus ES 350, Lexus LS 460, Mercedes Benz S-Class, Nissan Altima, Nissan Sentra, Nissan Versa, Porsche Cayman, Saturn Aura, Saturn Sky Redline, Suzuki SX4, Toyota Camry, Toyota Yaris, Volvo C70 T5, Volkswagen EOS, and Volkswagen Rabbit
Motor Trend reported that MacKenzie also said that Toyota, which is celebrating its second Car of the Year award in four years (it won 2004 COTY for the Prius), has achieved something remarkable at a time when the competition has never been so fierce and the marketplace so diversified.
"It is difficult to do a mainstream car well, but Toyota has succeeded beyond anyone's expectations in creating the 21st century American family sedan," MacKenzie said. "The Camry is a car designed for, and made in, America, with American tastes in mind, and it is now on track to become the first car in nearly three decades to sell 450,000 units in a single year in the United States. The 2007 Camry is the exemplar of not only building the right car, but building it the right way."
The publication also gave high marks for the Camry hybrid.
"One of the biggest pieces of news about the 2007 edition of the Camry is that comes in a hybrid version," Motor Trend reported. "Featuring Toyota's latest version of its Hybrid Synergy Drive technology, the new Camry's gas-electric engine delivers 187 horsepower." It said the Camry Hybrid excelled in fuel economy.
"One of the criticisms leveled against hybrids is that they don't live up to their claims of fuel economy," said MacKenzie. "That's certainly not the case here. We found that the Camry Hybrid lived up to its stated city/highway fuel economy of 40/38 miles per gallon. In fact, the Camry Hybrid in our long-term test fleet regularly beat the 38 mpg highway rating during commutes -- and that was in Los Angeles."
Through October, Toyota sold 350,481 Camrys this year to lead all cars in U.S. sales. The No. 2 car in sales is Toyota's Corolla at 330,995, according to Autodata Corp.
To award the "Car of the Year," Motor Trend said it's editorial staff evaluated eligible vehicles based on three key categories: Significance, Superiority, and Value.
Last year's winner was the Honda Civic.
Last month, the magazine named the Mercedes-Benz GL-450 its sport utility vehicle of the year.
The complete report on Motor Trend's 2007 Car of the Year will be published in the January issue, available on newsstands Dec. 5.
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