Toyota released the above photo, accompanied by the headline, “A New Dawn Is Coming,” adding mockingly, “can you guess what’s on the horizon?”
Of course, it’s well known that a redesigned Toyota Camry is due for 2025, and the silhouette suggests a totally redesigned midsize sedan of some sort. But will it be called the Camry? Certainly, the headline and tagline under the photo suggests otherwise.
But if it’s not called the Camry, what would it be called?
Certainly, Toyota isn’t afraid to toss aside a long-used name. Last year, Toyota revived the Crown nameplate in the United States, a moniker not seen here in 50 years. It replaced the Toyota Avalon, a name that refers to the legendary island where King Arthur is buried. It’s understandable, given this car has traditionally offered a similar dose of eternal ethereal serenity to a clientele about to face the same. In an effort to change the vehicle’s image, the Crown nameplate was brought back to America, although it’s been used in Japan since the 1955 Toyopet Crown was released.s
But if the photo shows the new 2025 Toyota Camry, what do the headline and teaser sentence refer to? We’d guess the sedan’s name: the Toyota Corona.
It was the sedan that the Camry replaced in mid-1983 in the American market, although the Corona name survived far longer overseas. But the Corona’s revival may be warranted. After all, the name of one of this country’s favorite beers and a well-known brand of Havana cigar. But it also refers to astronomy. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, a corona is, “the halo of radiating white light seen around the disc of the moon in a total eclipse of the sun; now known to belong to the sun.”
That said, would Toyota ditch 40 years of internationally-known brand equity? “It’s hard to believe that Toyota would spend the millions of dollars it takes to establish a new brand name,” said industry analyst Sam Fiorani, Vice President at AutoForecast Solutions.
Well, but maybe they would.
Then again, it could be called the Solara, the name given to the Camry Coupe in 1998, and produced through 2008. It never proved as popular as its four-door sibling, but Toyota has brought back the Venza nameplate for its hybrid SUV, a name used for a rather unpopular Camry-based crossover and one easily confused with the Japanese word for toilet seat.
After all, company Chairman Akio Toyoda has gone to great strides to inject excitement into the brand at every level, even the workaday Corolla Hatchback. So it would come as no surprise if the dependable, reliable, ubiquitous Camry gives way to a nameplate devoid of baggage.
Then again, maybe not. Maybe it’s the name of a new electric midsize sedan, one that will be built alongside the new Camry before eventually replacing it once gasoline-fueled vehicles are history.
Given that Toyoda has requested the Celica be revived, anything is possible. And the Camry name may soon be consigned to history. Or not. Stay tuned.
