Buzz Lightyear

We have named  our new Camry Hybrid after a character in Toy Story. The name is Buzz Lightyear and he has a "sky blue pearl" paint job.  

In the spirit of "Infinity and beyond" let me tell you about some of the car's unique features.

1.  In addition to anti-lock brakes it has Vehicle Dynamic Integrated Management also called Electronic Stability Control.  This helps control problems like fish-tailing and tires spinning.  This is a feature Janeil will probably not need.

2.  Direct Tire Pressure Monitoring.  This detects low tire pressure.

3.  The gear shift has only D(rive) and B(rake) as the forward gears.  B is used when going down steep grades.  It charges the battery, maybe they should have called it C(harge).

4.  Not only the standard driver and passenger seat airbags, but also (a) seat mounted side airbags, (b) front and rear side curtain airbags, and (c) driver's knee airbag.  It will cost a fortune to replace these after an accident.

5.  Smart Key System.  You leave the fob in your pocket and the system unlocks doors and starts the engine when you push the power button on the dash.

6.  Michlin Energy tires which have low rolling resistance for better gas mileage and longer tread life.

7.  Disc brakes on all four wheels and rack and pinion steering.

8.  Lumbar (back) support and  telescoping steering wheel column. 

9.  A full tank of gas.

Unfortunately the floor mats cost $199.  Toyota was offering no rebates (the non hybrid Camry had a $1500 dealer rebate).  No income tax credits on this model.   

It scored 5 stars (the best rating) in frontal and side crashes tests.  It scored 4 stars in rollover safety.

It was built in Georgetown, Kentucky hopefully by non UAW workers not suffering from a moonshine hangover.

The in-town gas mileage is as good as the highway 34 miles per gallon. 

You can pick from a dashboard display of (a) gas mileage, (b) outside temperature, (c) whether power is coming from the engine, battery, or both (d) estimated mileage remaining on this tank of gas, and (e) several odometer readouts.  Instead of a tachometer which gives crankshaft revolutions per minute, it has a needle gauge which shows the current miles per gallon.  This is more information than is really necessary to get from the house to Bi-marts.

The Avalon has been kicked out of the garage and is now looking lonesome parked in the street.