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2021 Toyota Camry AWD vs. midsize all-wheel-drive sedans | How they compare on paper

Just as crossovers have become the dominant body style in the car market, the all-wheel drive they frequently feature has become more popular. In fact, all-wheel drive is so popular that automakers are increasingly putting it in traditional cars. The latest car to add driven wheels is the 2021 Toyota Camry. It will offer all-wheel drive on most of its trim levels, though only with the four-cylinder engine. It isn't alone in this market, though. So we've compiled the Camry's specifications, along with those of a couple of its competitors for comparison. For the purposes of this analysis, we're sticking with the AWD veteran 2020 Subaru Legacy equipped with a naturally aspirated 2.5-liter engine and the relative newcomer 2020 Nissan Altima. Both are similar in pricing and power to Camry. We've skipped the turbocharged Legacy and the turbocharged Ford Fusion with all-wheel drive as both have higher base prices and significantly more power. We'll take a look at these three sedans engine output, fuel economy, pricing and space. Below is a chart with all the raw numbers, and below that is more in-depth discussion of the cars. Performance and Fuel Economy These sedans are very closely matched, but one area where a clear winner emerges is in output. The Camry has a solid 21 horsepower and roughly 10 pound-feet of torque over the Subaru and Nissan. This, despite all of the engines having the same displacement. That power should make it quicker than the approximately 50-pound-heavier Subaru, though the Nissan Altima may stay with it thanks to its curb weight being about 100 pounds less than the Toyota. Also worth noting is that only the Toyota offers a traditional automatic transmission, whereas the Subaru and Nissan rely on CVTs. Subaru and Nissan have both dramatically improved their CVTs to the point they're quite unobtrusive, but if you strongly prefer the feel of softly shifting gears, the Toyota is your choice. In our experience, all three of these sedans are pleasant to drive with suspension and handling clearly tuned in favor of comfort over quickness. Fuel economy is close to a dead heat. Toyota hasn't announced official fuel economy numbers for the all-wheel-drive model, but we can estimate that, as with most all-wheel-drive variants, mileage will be slightly lower than normal models. We're betting it will only about 1 mpg worse than front-drive variants. That puts it in the same 29 to 30 mpg overall range as the Subaru and Nissan.

How Subaru saved itself by marketing to the gay community

Almost everyone who's in the car community, and even people that aren't, have probably heard the stereotype that lesbians drive Subarus. What you may not realize is that stereotype was fostered by Subaru, and it helped make the company relevant again in the '90s. This is the story told by NPR's Planet Money podcast. Apparently, as the company was trying to figure out who was buying its cars, the marketing folks discovered that gay and lesbian people were a large segment – along with all those outdoorsy types. The discovery led to subtle advertising directed specifically at what we now refer to as the LGBT community, which in turn led to more sales to gay and lesbian consumers. There were other components to Subaru's sales strategy in the '90s, but this particular campaign was an important part and quite successful. Thanks to that success, today we still have Subaru around building reliable, all-wheel-drive transportation, as well as rally-inspired sport compacts. There are of course many more details, but we don't want to spoil them for you. For the whole story, you need to head over to the Planet Money site and listen in. Related Video: News Source: NPR / Planet MoneyImage Credit: Copyright 2016 Drew Phillips / AOL Marketing/Advertising Read This Subaru lgbt

Subaru ending Tribeca production in January?

The writing has been on the wall for some time, but it seems that Subaru is finally pulling the lever on the guillotine to put the midsize Tribeca crossover out of its misery. Jalopnik has what appears to be a communication from Subaru to its dealers announcing that the final Tribeca will roll off the Lafayette, IN assembly line in January, with the last dealer delivery expected to occur the following month.
The last report we heard regarding the Tribeca said that Subaru could be planning a fullsize, three-row crossover, possibly to compete against the Nissan Pathfinder and Ford Explorer. Dropping the Tribeca would leave the automaker without a three-row crossover for the foreseeable future, but according to the memo, Subaru has sold just 78,000 Tribecas since 2005 making it one of the worst-selling vehicles in the US in 2011 and 2012 - for comparison, the automaker has already found 84,372 customers for its new Forester this year (through September) alone.
We have reached out to Subaru for comment on the Tribeca's passing, but have yet to hear back as of this writing. Stay tuned for an update, when and if we get word.