Toyota Camry has no sizzle

The Toyota Camry is dependable and reliable, not nearly as ugly as it used to be and the 2007 Motor Trend Car of the Year. The Camry is great for driving to work, driving to the bank and driving to the dry cleaner.

But is it the car you want to take screaming into the turn at 182 mph and go three-wide with Jimmie and Jeff or Tony and Dale Jr.?

The Camry is many things, but a race car is not among them. Yet it is the model in which Toyota will this season make its Nextel Cup debut.

If Camry were a football player, it would block. If Camry were an NBA player, it would set picks. If Camry were a baseball player, it would throw long relief and fail to get enough votes to join Cal Ripken and Tony Gwynn in the Hall of Fame.

According to Toyota, Americans buy an average of 1,200 Camrys a day. If you don't drive one, you know somebody who does. Every owner says this thing has 166,000 miles on it and still gets me where I want to go.

No owner says, "Until I bought this car I couldn't get a date." When a Camry pulls up next to you at the stoplight, you do not cower. More from Charlotte Observer article

[Editor's Note: Recall our recent criticism of Toyota (Camry), Chevy (Impala) and Ford (Taurus and now the 500) for trying to race grandmother cars in NASCAR. This article only substantiates that others feel the same way and racing in NASCAR won't sell one more Camry, Impala or Ford 500. It's so ridiculous it's beyond comprehension.]