First 2012 Camry Sighting!

The Toyota Camry is not an exciting car, however, numerous generations of it have been so successful since 1983 that they are everywhere you look. But the 2012 model is brand new and I just saw my first one "in the flesh" yesterday.

It was in the next lane over to the right, so I saw the new taillamps first, then looked at the shaping of the tail and up the sides.I caught a peek at its face in my right rearview mirror. Shortly after, it took the exit and I saw it roll away into the distance.

Although I knew what the new car looked like from photos, it was different full-size in three dimensions. Cars are real things, and seeing them helps you understand better why they were designed the way they were. They're commercial art, and you know that a bestseller like the Camry gets careful attention in the studio. What it normally doesn't get is anything too advanced or wild--but that's not its job.

I've enjoyed "first sightings" since I learned about cars from my father as a kid. We drove along identifying the cars on the road by make, model and year together. I saw the new cars at the dealership (sometimes in the back lot, before introduction) and spent lots of time studying the drawings enticingly laid out in Motor Trend. Thanks to the Internet and spy photography, there are few secrets anymore, but that first sighting is always a little special--even if it's a Toyota Camry (which is much nicer than the photos would lead you to believe).