significance of Toyota Camry

The Toyota Camry rented by Michael Jackson to drive his friends out of the city in "Escape from New York" is a symbol of the ordinary, normal life that Jackson has been denied since childhood. Being in a normal car, and even the act of driving itself, are completely unfamiliar to Jackson. He wonders while driving, "was this in fact what civilian people generally feel every day of their lives, in their sad old rank-smelling Toyota Camrys, sitting in traffic on their way to their workplaces" (126). The thought gives Michael a feeling of pity mixed with horror, even as he feels proud of himself for taking action to get himself and his friends to safety.