[pveezy]

Ah the joy of American made camrys.
laughs evilly from his Japanese made Camry

Not sure about 2 and 3.

However with regards to 1, I was told that the jerking/lagging gear changing/etc... is the car trying to accelerate while consuming the least amount of fuel. But it isn’t smooth.

Now I don’t know if this will fix or minimise the problem but have you tried turning eco mode off?

It shouldn't matter where the car is made. Heck the transmissions might even come from the same source regardless of where the actual car is assembled (engines and transmissions aren't assembled at the same factory as the car, they are shipped there already complete). It all boils down to people's perception of the "issue" and how acceptable it is.

I have a 2019 Camry SE right now, US made. I've had it as a rental for over a week while my 2015 SE is getting bodywork. I can see why SOME people might not like the transmission behavior but I find it to be perfectly fine myself. The transmission seems programmed to keep to in low RPM at all costs which is common with a lot of more modern autos in the never-ending quest for better fuel economy (same reason so many companies are putting CVTs in). My GF's 2016 Mazda CX-3 felt exactly the same way. I find it pretty smooth overall other than a specific situation: when you slow down, almost to a stop, and then accelerate instead. That seems to make it do a bunch of shifting in quick succession that feels jerky. But really, in most driving situations, you shouldn't be doing those kind of stops unless you are someone who does "California stop". I only even noticed it because I specifically did a few of those stops due to posts on this forum.

 

[pveezy]

With regards to manufacture location I was refusing to question 2 and to a larger extend the wide range issues and recalls the American made Camry has had, fuel pump recall, engine block recall, sun/moon roof rattle, loose wires, etc...

Just a harmless playful jab

That process the transmissions seems to be doing of keeping the rpm low might be to... save fuel? Again it probably won’t fix it but try turning eco mode off to see if there is any improvement.

Oh ok. Yeah things like fit and finish, rattles etc have more to do with assembly point. Personally I've had no issues with US made Camry's that I would attribute to the factory. I like supporting North American manufacturing so I am glad Toyota makes them there.

That issue with the engine blocks was for sure an error at the factory in the US, but at least it was a very small number of cars actually with the cracks and Toyota is handling it properly.