JakeRobb

I feel that Camaro's success hinges more on price than weight. Outside of the enthusiast community, most people don't care how much it weighs. They will buy the car if they think it is a good deal.

However, I have faith that Chevy will deliver an affordable Camaro, so I'm not "concerned" about price.

Conversely, I'm 99% certain that Camaro will be heavier than I want it to be (though I still don't think it will be as heavy as you do, Charlie).

I am therefore more concerned about weight than price.

Z284ever

So IOW, you can't. That is, unless you want to have a totally gutted, virtually unuseable car, which cost you some pretty serious bucks to get that way. And even then, you'll still have a pretty hefty Camaro - considering where you started from.

No thanks.

Z284ever

I wish I were wrong. I mean that.

diarmadhi

Charlie, your question was and I quote " how can one substantially change weight" and I answered you. Whether the results of the weight loss is worth the is gain is entirely individual, as well what direction the weight loss is in (what components etc..).

Back at you, how can I substantially change price from a dealer (assuming I can get GM supplier because I can)?

Another question for you would be what would be your ideal rwd 4 seater v8 coupe. Give me weight, options, price. From there we can start looking for a car that you want (forgetting nameplate because I honestly think your stuck on that).

PS: If I where to do a complete tear down on a production car that started out at 4000lbs to a raceable spec, I can GAURANTEE it would be 500lbs lighter. Give me a car that you want that done to and I will bet you a weeks paycheck here and now that I can do it.

number77

I've always wanted to see a graph of cost vs. drop in weigh (cause you know it isn't linear!).

Mjolnir

The odds are that those of you saying "weight" are actually concerned about something else- fuel economy, acceleration, handling, etc.

Since it's the necessity to share a platform that creates this car's weight, and since we wouldn't have any Camaro to argue about without platform sharing, I'd like to ask that those of you whining about weight simply be quiet and wait until production versions hit the showroom.

Once you've sampled a production vehicle, then you can assess the actual statistic you're worried about. If your bugaboo is handling, and a test drive disappoints you, then you can feel free to carp about how heavy it is.

Most of the rest of us will simply be happy to have a Camaro, even if it doesn't meet whatever standards you hardcore fanboys are angsting about.

Dragoneye

That was.....harsh.

polo3433

In today’s economy I will have to say cost hands down. When I first seen the Camaro at the Detroit auto show, I was blown away, and the weight of the car was the last thing I was thinking of.

Capn Pete

Absolutely. 100% correct! A few of us may care deeply about the weight, but the fact remains, COST will help determine ACTUAL sales. Same goes for HP. The Mustang never suffered due to being under-powered .

I agree. I think they KNOW the price has to be competitive, they've SAID it will, so I "have faith" regarding the price issue . This knowledge certainly factored into my vote .

Still too heavy!! My Camaro weighed in at 3475 lbs recently, on a set of corner scales at the racetrack. That was with a full tank of fuel, but no spare tire or jack. I have a ~22 lb lighter K-member, but I have the additional weight of SFC's and an aftermarket Tq arm (much heavier than stock). So I'd say the weight of those items pretty much balances out. So 3475 lbs for a "fully loaded" Z28 w/T-tops. And I think my car could stand to lose some weight!

Now, according to your belief, you can eliminate ~500 lbs from a car by doing a "race" make-over. 3000 lbs. I like the sounds of that!!!

No kidding . If you want a car to PERFORM, it is WAY easier to do so with less physical car! And considering you're (obviously) in the "price" concerned group, why wouldn't you then be concerned over the fuel economy too?

So instead of whining NOW (while the car is in the development phase, and there is a "slim" chance that GM could try to shave off a couple extra pounds) you'd rather us wait until the inevitable occurs, and they've produced an over-bloated car?? (I'm not saying I believe the Camaro is going to be ~4000+ lbs like its Dodge counter-part, but I still think the car may be heavier than what I would like).

Fanboy! I like it!!
...(although concerned enthusiast is probably more appropriate/accurate)

jg95z28

A few extra pounds? Sure. But the amount of weight that would make Charlie happy? No chance.

HAZ-Matt

I voted for weight because the price is going to be competitive, but I don't think the pork will be. At least not compared to what will be coming out with a little shiny horse on the front soon after it.

As far as weight whiners, I guess I am in that camp and I suppose it is the cornering, braking, acceleration, and fuel economy that makes me lament an extra 500 lbs. I guess if you don't care if your performance car has performance than you will be fine with pushing 2 tons around as you cruise around town just to be seen in a nice looking car.

Capn Pete

Gotta start somewhere . And every little bit helps, right?!

I'm still not convinced it's going to be "too" heavy, although I know what the weight of the G8 is, and I'm not blind to reality either. Although, the GTO came in at ~3700 lbs, and the Camaro is on a similar platform to that car . AND, the Camaro is supposed to be a "clean sheet of paper" design, right?

Who knows, maybe they'll pull a rabbit out of a hat somehow!?!?

Bob Cosby

Things that make you go DUH. And guess what one of the primarily metrics is that will go a LONG ways towards determing fuel economy, acceleration, handling, and etc?

Need two guesses?

No.

Unless JasonD or Chris Frez tell me not too, I'm going to feel free to "carp about how heavy it is" anyway.

Sorry.

Outstanding.

Wow. I've never been called a Camaro Fanboy (even by association).

Bob

PS....I'm in the minority - I'd pay extra for a decrease in heftiness. Don't know if I'd by more than "mid-high 30's" (quoting R&T) though.

detltu

I'm more concerned with weight for myself, but more concerned with cost for the future of the Camaro. Cost will be a much bigger factor in determining the success of the Camaro. And I want a 6th gen. Some of the non-weight ***** seem to think that if the car gets X mpg, Y 0-60 and turns Z gs on the skidpad or laps the nurburgring in 7:XX then the weight won't matter. That is true to an extent but the question will still be: how much better would those numbers be if they dropped 1 or 2 hundred pounds. Without knowing how much it would have cost to drop those 1 or 2 hundred pounds no one can really make an informed decision.

Also while it is true that you can gut a car and turn it into an all out race car and drop X number of pounds. This is not really a good argument either. The amount of weight you can drop is largly going to be the same between a 4100lb car and a 3700lb car. The weight ****'s probably want design changes that reduce wieght from the chassis (and its way too late for that), not carbon fiber body panels and titanium exhaust.

Once again the only way to give a difinitive answer is if the engineers got on here and said we can shave X pounds off the car but it would cost X dollars and you would have to give up IRS, 2 stars in the crash rating etc.

Mjolnir

I am concerned about fuel economy.

However, I realize that weight is only one component of the number I'm concerned about so I don't spend hours agonizing over something no amount of internet chatter will change.

I'll wait and see what it's EPA rated and then complain. Or not.
There is no chance that talking about it now will change the weight.

As soon as the decision that made this car possible was made- the decision to modify an existing platform- and that decision was modified by selecting a target price point the Camaro's weight was "determined".

Maybe, if you'd kicked hard and screamed two years ago, GM might have decided to drop a couple of pounds from the base chassis. Unlikely, but it's possible. At this point, when focus groups are looking at near-production cars, GM isn't going to go back to the drawing boards and redesign the window regulators to save 5 pounds.

No matter how much you kick and scream about it, the base Camaro is never going to recieve a purpose built light-weight chassis and parts. That means that your time would be better spent discussing something that can change- gear ratios, options packages, drivetrain selections, etc.

No matter what you say on cz28.com GM is not going to spend millions of dollars to lighten the chassis of a mass produced product so you can get an extra .2 out of it at Lime Rock.
I know what dictates that.

I also know that GM is not going to price the Camaro out of its target market or spend capital to lighten a chassis to satisfy >10% of it's market.

As it sits the new Camaro will be extremely competitive with any coupe in it's price range.

Internet rantings demanding they spend millions of dollars modifying an existing platform so you can get a little extra speed or one more MPG are pointless.