i got dings all over the place even on the top of the trunk...made me think that someone hit my car with a small hammer or something.

hail damage?

 

no hail...i would hate to think what would happen to this car in a light hail storm.

 

welcome to the new century. There's nothing you can do about it, and every car out there is going this direction.

they can reduce the cars weight by hundreds of pounds by using thinner metal. in turn, increase the MPG's. Congress keeps passing tighter laws on what average MPG the manufacturers must meet or else cease selling in USA.

an easy out is reducing the weight without coming up with a ridiculous new car and technology.

 

I think Cjanik got it right. Sheet metal thickness reduction saves weight - end of story.

It's an interesting trade-off though. The car I recall from my childhood that had the strongest sheet metal was my parents' 245 Volvo wagon. That thing was built like a tank, but it handled like a tank and drank gas (I recall about 19 mpg with a 2.0 litre I-4 - pathetic).

The worst car I ever owned for sheet metal thickness was a Mazda 323. I swear it would dent if you looked at it the wrong way LOL! I've since owned a Honda and Toyota (2012 Camry), and neither of those cars comes close the fundamental cheapness of my Mazda. So, I still think Toyota has a way to go to get to that level.

Sorry to hear about your dents, BTW. Sounds like something else (nuts/acorns off of a tree, hail, etc.) is creating the problem. I'd find other places to park, if I were you.

 

welcome to the new century.

+10000000000000000000000000000000000000
all newer cars especially Japanese got thinner and thinner metal and paint.
the only cars that are still got thicker metal and stronger pain are Germans.
easily dented, scratched and chipped cars are our future...

if you dont have any damage on the paint, just dents, most likely you got hit by hail.
if paint scratched/chipped it could've been are hammer...

 

LOL...I noticed this on Saturday. I opened up my driver's side door and my door hit my brothers side view mirror right between the handle and the window. I lightly tapped it and now there is a small dent there. My dad and brothe were watching me when I did it. We were all dumbfounded when we saw a small dent. It is rediculous.

 

i recently opened my door to fast at a gas station and hit one of those cement guard post. it wasn't a hard hit at all but nonetheless a dent was left.

I also created a thread about how the plastic is wearing away on the upper part of the door panel.

I don't know how the the engine and the transmission will hold up in this car but but based on my experience the last 8 months, cosmetically this car will look like crap in about 3 years inside and out.

 

We bumped into a rubber trash can and dented our '11 Highlander. It is ridiculous.

Has anyone tried the body side moulding on the Camry to help with door dings?

 

We bumped into a rubber trash can and dented our '11 Highlander. It is ridiculous.

Has anyone tried the body side moulding on the Camry to help with door dings?

i have them. No dings yet.

 

It is not just the sheet metal, either. The little box to store your loose change inks very cheap feeling, compared to the one in my last Camry. The trunk lid is lighter too. Frankly, I think they did a top down review of ways to save weight, use less raw materials, to both improve gas mileage and save on the cost of the car. This is both good and bad, pros and cons to this. I have mixed feeling about it.

 

more con in my opinion because i'm less than thrilled with my gas mileage.

 

I used to have an 86 Chevy metro. One day I was driving on a windy day and I kept hearing this weird noise, "doink.............doink..................doink". I adjusted the side mirror so I could see down the side of the car. When the wind would blow the fender would cave in, "doink". When the wind stopped it would pop out again, "doink". Nice.

 

Our 2002 Camry and my 1998 Volvo both felt like they were built like tanks. Both have taken hits from other vehicles in accidents and both faired way better than I thought they would.

The 2012...I'm not so sure. It feels like it's built like my parents 2007 Honda, and they've got small dings from parking lots all over it already. We've already got 2 rock chips on the front bumper in less than 1,000 miles - the car's going in to have the paint protection option on it from the dealer, and they said they'll touch up the bumper before they apply the treatment.

It's amazing how careless other people can be...I saw someone's kid slam their door into my brand-new Cruze the other day in the grocery store parking lot. Then they just walked away. I was furious and ran up and yelled at them, but I was glad to see that it hurt their car (a Highlander) and mine was totally unscathed. It seems to be built tough, even if it is heavy for its size.

If you've ever driven the Hyundai Elantra, Corolla, or a Civic...those things feel like they're made out of aluminum. Shutting the doors gives off a "tink", and you can press down the metal on the trunk on all of them with one finger.

 

Things are only going to get worse. With government mandates nearly doubling corporate fuel economy in the next few years...things that don't contribute to efficiency or safety will likely become even thinner and lighter.

 

Sadly all new cars are ultra thin and easily dented. It's all about making them as light as possible for fuel economy while providing all of the electronics, airbags, and addons that everybody simply must have these days.

 

In V6 form this car is as fast as a previous generation V8 Camaro and older Mustangs. It seats 4 and still gets mpg in the mid 20s in normal driving. Gotta pay the piper somewhere.

 

That is the truth.

My car has a dent from an acorn impact. That compared to giving more money to the Middle F******* East? Yeah, I'll take the dent.

 

I've been extremely cautious. Parking far away or in spots next to trees with one edge very close to the curb, so far no dings.

My front bumper has quite a few places where the paint got nicked out by small rocks, not much I can do about that.

 

Smaller Doors

Instead of making the car with thin sheet metal to lighten the weight, they should just make the doors smaller so that only skinny drivers and passengers will fit in the car - problem solved :lol:

 

Instead of making the car with thin sheet metal to lighten the weight, they should just make the doors smaller so that only skinny drivers and passengers will fit in the car - problem solved :lol:

OMG that is so wrong, but so true :clap:. Could save a couple hundred pounds easily!

 

Well... It's not that hard to push a 25-year-old Camry to modern WRX/Evo speeds, maintain a tough as nails body, *and* get mid-high 20s for mileage.

Not really sure how they're excusing the quality of new cars.

I mean, I slid my '88 head-on into a foot-thick steel reinforced concrete post at ~13mph and drove it home. Some minor body damage and a realigned frame later, and the car is back on the road without issues.

 

The Camry is designed to crumple if you hit something head on. It's not lack of quality. It's designed so the car gets destroyed instead of your body. Your choice lol

 

Def not very dent resistant when a kid on a bike runs into it either...

 

I hate it when people are so careless in parking lots and ding peoples cars. My wifes Outlander has been hit by doors in parking lots a few times mostly scratches but they still pisses me off. One is above the rear fender and it caused a small dent and chipped the paint the metal now it has a small bit of rust. I am so cautious with the Camry that I park away from everyone, may wife gets a little irritated when I park to far. If I have to park near people I make sure not to park near big cars or SUVs and the like. Almost every other day I check the car for dings or scratches. They should make those plastic edge door guards standard on every car.

 

Not necessarily thinner metal, but lighter metals such as aluminum are being used for fenders, hood, etc.... to boost gas mileage numbers.