guionM
10-20-2007, 03:12 PM
I'm getting the feeling that although there will be ripoffs and scalping when the new Camaro comes out, GM will be doing all it can do to keep that from happening.
When GTO came out, most GTOs went to the Pontiac dealers that sold the most cars. Unfortunately, out side the rust belt, Pontiac dealers aren't anywhere near the top of anyone's list, so a diosproportionate number of the few that were imported early on ended up at dealers that were often snowed in, while the rest of the country where the GTO would have sold faced serious shortages. Also, when the GTO came out, Pontiac dealers weren't really used to selling a hot car. Even the Solstice which has been out for 2 years still sees substantial dealer markups.
When Ford came out with the new Mustang, they misjudged the ratio between V6 and V8s and for a few months there was a shortage of the latter, also resulting in markups, although they came down quickly. Ford also traditionally has a better handle on dealer markups than GM tends to.
Chrysler is fully planning the new Challenger to energize their dealer network. The new Challenger is going to first be produced in SRT trim, basically making the car a "GT500" for Dodge dealers. Expect dealers to price them at whatever the market will bear. Things will calm down significantly by the time the "regular" Challengers (the V6 SXT and the R/T) come on line later in the year.
GM plans to start production of Camaro the last few months of 2008. Without going into detail, when they start showing up in dealers in (currently expected in February 2009), there will be quite a few months worth of production behind it, and any initial shortage early on should be short lived (assuming, unlike Ford, GM guesses the demand ratio right).
Those of you using the Mustang GT500 as an example of what can happen to the Camaro (you know who you are) you're pretty far off base. The GT500 is MEANT to be sold at high profits for the dealer network. Ditto the Shelby GT. These are specialty cars. Regular Mustangs are sold at regular prices. The same will hold true for regular Camaros.
The exception will be this "Super Camaro". Whatever engine and drivetrain it does or doesn't have, it's going to be a relatively low production, high intrest car. As such, it's going to be priced that way. If you expect it to MSRP for much less than a GT500 (around $40K) you're likely to be in for a very rude awakening. As for the GT500's markup, that is something you need to discuss with your local Chevrolet dealer. If he or she is only going to get 1 or 2 in the entire year and 3 or 4 if their extremely lucky, unless your intimate relationship with your dealer streches the boundaries of morality, you're going to be paying a substantial markup just like everyone else buying rare low production cars (including GT500 buyers).
Crystal ball prediction based on what I see, if you are depositing nonrefundable money to get one of the 1st Camaros, you might qualify for mental disability benifits. If you are making deposits to guarantee MSRP, you might be a bit smarter, but it still is a bit unnecessary.
Camaro is likely to be in dealers as quick as they can be shipped. As with any new high demand car, there's going to be shortages especially for the V8 version and there's going to be markups (even 2002 WS6 Firebirds had markups in Southern California). But because there's more Chevrolet dealers in the US than any other name, the fact that GM learned a painful lesson about allocations with the early GTO debacle, and that GM is going to produce the Camaro for a time before it begins shipping should mean that scalping for Camaro should be no worse than it was for Mustang (which was kept shockingly in check considering the intrest)....
.... and light years better than Pontiac dealers seem capable of doing.
When GTO came out, most GTOs went to the Pontiac dealers that sold the most cars. Unfortunately, out side the rust belt, Pontiac dealers aren't anywhere near the top of anyone's list, so a diosproportionate number of the few that were imported early on ended up at dealers that were often snowed in, while the rest of the country where the GTO would have sold faced serious shortages. Also, when the GTO came out, Pontiac dealers weren't really used to selling a hot car. Even the Solstice which has been out for 2 years still sees substantial dealer markups.
When Ford came out with the new Mustang, they misjudged the ratio between V6 and V8s and for a few months there was a shortage of the latter, also resulting in markups, although they came down quickly. Ford also traditionally has a better handle on dealer markups than GM tends to.
Chrysler is fully planning the new Challenger to energize their dealer network. The new Challenger is going to first be produced in SRT trim, basically making the car a "GT500" for Dodge dealers. Expect dealers to price them at whatever the market will bear. Things will calm down significantly by the time the "regular" Challengers (the V6 SXT and the R/T) come on line later in the year.
GM plans to start production of Camaro the last few months of 2008. Without going into detail, when they start showing up in dealers in (currently expected in February 2009), there will be quite a few months worth of production behind it, and any initial shortage early on should be short lived (assuming, unlike Ford, GM guesses the demand ratio right).
Those of you using the Mustang GT500 as an example of what can happen to the Camaro (you know who you are) you're pretty far off base. The GT500 is MEANT to be sold at high profits for the dealer network. Ditto the Shelby GT. These are specialty cars. Regular Mustangs are sold at regular prices. The same will hold true for regular Camaros.
The exception will be this "Super Camaro". Whatever engine and drivetrain it does or doesn't have, it's going to be a relatively low production, high intrest car. As such, it's going to be priced that way. If you expect it to MSRP for much less than a GT500 (around $40K) you're likely to be in for a very rude awakening. As for the GT500's markup, that is something you need to discuss with your local Chevrolet dealer. If he or she is only going to get 1 or 2 in the entire year and 3 or 4 if their extremely lucky, unless your intimate relationship with your dealer streches the boundaries of morality, you're going to be paying a substantial markup just like everyone else buying rare low production cars (including GT500 buyers).
Crystal ball prediction based on what I see, if you are depositing nonrefundable money to get one of the 1st Camaros, you might qualify for mental disability benifits. If you are making deposits to guarantee MSRP, you might be a bit smarter, but it still is a bit unnecessary.
Camaro is likely to be in dealers as quick as they can be shipped. As with any new high demand car, there's going to be shortages especially for the V8 version and there's going to be markups (even 2002 WS6 Firebirds had markups in Southern California). But because there's more Chevrolet dealers in the US than any other name, the fact that GM learned a painful lesson about allocations with the early GTO debacle, and that GM is going to produce the Camaro for a time before it begins shipping should mean that scalping for Camaro should be no worse than it was for Mustang (which was kept shockingly in check considering the intrest)....
.... and light years better than Pontiac dealers seem capable of doing.