Toyota has launched a new social media initiative with a chance for participants to win a brand new 2012 Camry for themselves and one more for a friend. The opportunity will come tomorrow, Sunday, Feb. 5, during a live NBC broadcast – we’re presuming Toyota means the Super Bowl, but the oddly worded press release mentioned no such thing.

To enter, you’ll need the Shazam music identification smartphone app, and use it, when prompted, during the broadcast of Toyota’s “Connections” commercial, which encourages the nearly seven million Camry owners across the country to share stories, moments and memories they’ve had with their camera in the past 30 years. By entering the giveaway using Shazam technology, the winner of the contest could start a new “Camry Effect” by not only winning a Camry for themselves, but also to gift another Camry for a friend.

Vice president of digital marketing at Toyota says, “The Camry Effect is one of the most ambitious social media campaigns we’ve ever implemented. Partnering with Shazam allows us to increase awareness of this effort on the national stage and give one lucky winner the opportunity to positively affect a friend and start writing his or her Camry story.”

Who’s going to tune in tomorrow?

There`s an understanding in business that selling a lot means selling cheap. Unless you have a monopoly on the water supply, sales numbers don`t hit astronomical heights without stepping into volume pricing territory. Toyota spent the last decade worshiping that philosophy and consequently kept the Camry on top.

Given the Japanese automaker’s decade of domination, it is easy to assume that Ford will be gunning to take that position with their new Fusion sedan. After all, it’s sporting a sexy new look that’s eye-catching to say the least and before Toyota got hold of the spotlight, the Ford Taurus actually held that title between 1992 and 1996.

Despite the rivalry-ridden history, it seems Ford prefers to improve their product and walk a slightly different line by maintaining a balance that focuses a hair more on quality than volume. In fact, research by IHS Automotive suggests that the company doesn’t even have the capacity to outproduce Toyota.

It wasn’t so long ago that the Ford name brought snide remarks like “found on road dead” or “fix or repair daily” to mind. Well, we have yet to drive the 2013 Fusion, but based on what we saw at the Detroit Auto Show earlier this month, it’s shaping up to be a real contender.

So much so, that Ford is actually looking at increasing their production capacity. In fact interest in the car on Edmunds.com jumped 49 percent after the reveal.

Toyota will be hot on Ford’s heels, though, having recovered from the damage their production suffered after last year’s tsunami. When all is said and done, Ford will have the capacity to build 400,000 Fusions per year and Toyota will be capable of producing 500,000 Camrys. Last year the Camry took the top spot by selling just over 308,000, where the Fusion moved just over 248,000 units. Neither company is expected to maximize their capacity in the coming year.

GALLERY: 2013 Ford Fusion

[Source: Automotive News]

The Volkswagen Golf will remain the best-selling car in Europe, but here’s the real news: it keeps the crown with a whopping 484,547 units sold.

Numbers might not mean much to most people, but this will put things into perspective: at 1.6 million units worldwide, BMW stood fast as the world’s largest luxury car brand. Those are worldwide sales figures. VW came close to the half-million mark in Europe alone and with just one model.

As far as American bravado is concerned, we can’t come close to touching those numbers. The top-selling car in the U.S. was the Toyota Camry with 308,510 units. To be fair, all you need to do is delve into the popular world of pickup trucks to find that the Ford F-150 sold about 100,000 more units in the States than the Golf did in Europe, but the fact remains that Volkswagen is killing the competition with their catchy compact.

If VW has its way, the Golf will remain in the top spot for its seventh generation— set to debut at the Paris Auto Show in September. Sales actually dropped by 2 percent last year, though such fluctuations are typical towards the end of a model cycle.

Read AutoGuide’s 2011 Vw Golf Review Here

GALLERY: 2011 Volkswagen Golf

[Source: Automotive News]

The all-new 2012 Toyota Camry has received a five-star composite safety rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The redesigned 2012 Camry was able to achieve the five-star rating despite the NHTSA’s new, more rigorous testing procedure that’s targeted to raising the bar for overall vehicle safety.

Featuring a reinforced body structure that utilizes high-strength steel, the new Camry is able to withstand cabin deformity during certain severe collisions as well as absorb impact energies and as a result, help enhance occupant safety. Other features include 10 standard airbags, Toyota’s Star Safety System – which includes Vehicle Stability Control, Traction Control, Anti-Lock Braking System, Electronic Brake-Force Distribution, and Brake Assist – and Smart Stop brake-override technology. And as with all newer vehicles, the 2012 Camry will come equipped with tire pressure monitoring system as standard.

An optional feature available to the new Camry is Toyota’s Blind Spot Monitor, just another form of technology that Toyota is continuing to develop in order to help raise vehicle safety standards throughout their models.

Times have been difficult in the past four months for the giant Japanese Automaker, Toyota. With four consecutive months of sales declines, a 13% drop to 129,482 units in August alone, actions are in order for a much needed rebound.

This action will come in the form of the redesigned 2012 Toyota Camry, now set to deliver ahead of its original October 3 launch date and will be available in dealerships by mid-September. Confident and excited of the new model’s potential, Jeff Bracken, Toyota’s VP of Sales, confirms that production of the new Camry will begin at their Kentucky plant in only a matter of days.

As far as the outgoing Camry is concerned, Bracken tells media that the “sell-down is going extremely well.” Bracken also revealed that we should also expect a redesigned Yaris to arrive in showrooms later this month, as well as a new, taller Prius V for October.

GALLERY: 2012 Toyota Camry

[Source: Autonews]

Click here to read AutoGuide’s 2012 Toyota Camry Review

Toyota officially launched the all-new Camry last week, and Nissan took advantage of this situation in a very 21st century method of subterfuge.

When the sedan was unveiled, Toyota found that the word “Camry” had been acquired on social media service Twitter by rival Nissan North America. Anyone searching the Camry on Twitter during the launch, would receive a tweet regarding product news from Nissan.

Nissan took advantage of the fact that it knew Toyota would launch the Camry with special attention to Twitter. Nissan discovered that the key word Camry had not been locked up so it purchased what Twitter terms a “Promoted Tweet” allowing the automaker to acquire a selection of search terms for 24 hours that included “Camry”, “Toyota Camry” and “mid-sized car”.”Toyota blew it,” crowed one Nissan manager. “They simply didn’t protect their intellectual property.”

Nissan has become increasingly competitive especially against Toyota. U.S sales of the Altima are up more than 18 percent through July, compared to Toyota’s 8 percent Camry fall. The decline was primarily a result of inventory issues stemming from the March 11 earthquake. The Camry has been America’s top selling passenger car for 13 of the past 14 years. The Camry vastly outsells the Altima, but Nissan has been making up ground in recent years.

Check out our full review of the Camry here!

GALLERY: Toyota Camry

[Source: Automotive News]

Toyota’s all-new Camry will blitz the US market to regain sales lost after three years that included a recession, recalls and an earthquake. The new Camry was unveiled on Tuesday and is the first of 20 new and refreshed Toyota, Lexus and Scion models arriving by early 2013. Along with the Camry, Toyota this year will add the hybrid Prius v wagon, revamped Yaris subcompact, Scion iQ minicar and a modified Tacoma pickup truck.  Vehicles to be released in 2012 include, a plug-in version of the Prius, compact Prius c hybrid, a new Lexus GS sport sedan, a battery powered RAV4 and a rear-wheel drive Scrion FR-S sports car. Toyota is determined to keep the Camry the top seelling passenger car, a position that has been held by the model for 13 of the past 14 years.

Toyota’s best year for the Camry was in 2007 with 473,108 units sold. However, through July, Camry sales slipped 7.8 percent to 174,485 from a year earlier. Hyundai has been very successful with the Sonata up 27 percent in sales during the same time frame. Nissan’s Altima has gained 17 percent to 153,182 during the same time period as well.

Camry’s have the largest owner base of any midsize sedan in the U.S with Toyota estimating that there are over 6.8 million of them on American roads. Toyota has also slashed the price on the 2012 model, as the company hopes to entice those who might be thinking about moving away from the automaker to look at other car brands.

The four-cylinder 2012 Camry LE with an automatic transmission has been priced at $22,500, $200 cheaper than last year. The SE model is also $1000 cheaper, selling for $23,000. The top-of-the-line XLE has been lowered by $2000, to $24,725 (all of these models are equipped with the four-cylinder engine).

Camry is symbolic of Toyota’s success, CEO Akio Toyoda said in a speech Tuesday marking the start of production of the model in Georgetown, Ky. ”This is an opportunity to show the world what Toyota is all about,” said Toyoda, grandson of the automaker’s founder. “I can introduce the new Camry with 100 percent confidence,”, he said.

GALLERY: 2012 Toyota Camry

[Source: Automotive News]

Toyota has announced pricing on the all-new, seventh-generation 2012 Camry and Camry Hybrid. The all-new Camry and Camry Hybrid will be offered in four different model grades. The models will include the entry-level L, value-driven LE, premium XLE and sporty SE grades. The XLE and SE are available with four-cylinder or V6 engines. The Camry Hybrid is offered in LE and XLE grades.

The Camry L has been priced at $21,955 and comes equipped with goodies including, Bluetooth hands-free capability, air conditioning, power windows/locks, six speaker CD audio system, and iPod connectivity. The LE has been priced at $22, 500 and features and all new Display Audio System, which features a 6.1-inch touch screen. The sporty SE has  been priced at $23,000 (4-cylinder) or $26,640 (V6) and features 18-inch rims, sport suspension, and unique body styling. The XLE will start at $24,725 for the four-cylinder or $29,845 (V6) and comes with the all-new Display Audio, 17-inch rims, chrome exterior accents, heated mirrors, fog lamps, leather-wrapped steering wheel, dual-zone auto climate control with rear air vents and wood-style interior trim.

The highly revised 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine equipped with Variable Valve Timing with Intelligence (VVT-i) produces 178-hp and 170 lb-ft of torque.  The engine achieves 25 mpg city, 35 mpg highway for 28 mpg combined – best in class. The 24-valve DOHC 3.5-liter V6 employs Dual VV-i produces 268-hp and 248 lb-ft of torque. This engine achieves 21 mpg city, 30 mpg highway for 25 mpg combined.

The revised 2.5-liter four-cylinder Hybrid Synergy Drive powertrain produces 200-hp and achieves 43 mpg city, 39 mpg highway for 41 mpg combined. The Camry Hybrid LE has been priced at $25,900.

GALLERY: 2012 Toyota Camry Hybrid

Click here to read AutoGuide’s 2012 Toyota Camry Review and see after the jump for the video:

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Toyota has just released the second official teaser photo of the new 2012 Camry. This picture follows a series of leaked unofficial shots and videos that ended up online in the last few weeks, not to mention the first official teaser image - of the headlight. Today’s photo shows angular taillight, with some of Toyota’s slightly more modern design cues as seen on the new Sienna. Still, there’s quite a similarity to the rear end of the previous generation Camry.

Stay tuned for more photos!

GALLERY: 2012 Toyota Camry

First Toyota released a teaser video of the 2012 Camry, then grainy photos of the car leaked online. Oh, and let’s not forget the leaked video from a dealer conference.

With several spy shots being snapped recently Toyota has decided to join in once again, releasing a more detailed photo of the vehicle’s front end design, with more edges and fewer bulbous bits.

GALLERY: 2012 Toyota Camry