* Ambient lighting - the FINAL update *

Official word:

There have been many inquiries from customers who saw a very early pre-production photo of the Camaro interior. The photo displayed a blue ambient light traveling across the top of the door panel inserts and on to the dash. This early concept proved to be very popular, and the product team worked on developing a similar feature for the production model.

As a result an ambient lighting feature is now a standard condition with the start of production on all 2LT and 2SS models. This light will have a light blue tint with Black, Neutral and Gray interiors, and reddish-orange tint when the Inferno Orange Interior Package is ordered. This feature is only in the door panels and not across the dash as the concept photo originally illustrated.

This feature is not an orderable option, but will be included on all 2LT and 2SS models at the start of production. No action is required by the customers or dealers to receive this feature.

At the Cleveland Auto Show this weekend, we plan to show an image of how the light is displayed and answer questions.

Our goal was to have the look of the early rendering (and it was just a rendering -- never an announced feature), but there were a couple of issues with execution. In the end, a desire to have the highest quality look, fit and feel for the interior won out (which is the way it should be). I know some will be disappointed, but I still think in the end we have the best in class interior.

Is a red light a non possibility? Will this just be small LED lights or what is making the light?

sweet and im going to the cleveland auto show saturday morning for the VIP event. ill try to get some good pictures. wonder why it isnt going to be going across the whole top of the dash anymore.

sweet and im going to the cleveland auto show saturday morning for the VIP event. ill try to get some good pictures. wonder why it isnt going to be going across the whole top of the dash anymore.

the whole impersonating a cop thing?

might have just answered my original question about the red :|

Hurl.

No offense intended to those that like it.

1SS here, no worries

Excellent news. I love the feature. Too bad it isn't across the dash too. At least it makes production in some form. I think it's bogus that it's not available on ALL SS's though. I think it should be part of the RS package.

Cool! I wish it was actoss the whole dash too, but I guess it is better to at least have it on the doors than not having it at all. The lastest rumor was that it was too hot for the dash, would like to know if this is true or not, but we may never find out...Hey 2010 5thgen, try and get some pics and videos of the ABL if you can. A nice few second video would be really cool if possible, thanks.

A couple of things...

I am unhappy that it is not on the dash as a lot of us had hoped.

Having said that...I have been told that some who were testing early versions found the dash lights distracting, even though they can be dimmed. I wish I could make that decision myself, but unfortuantely, it is how it is (because of execution issues as mentioned in the first post).

I am otherwise extremely happy about the interior and this won't make me enjoy my car any less.

A couple of things...

I am unhappy that it is not on the dash.

Having said that...I have been told that some who were testing early versions found the dash lights distracting, even though they can be dimmed. I wish I could make that decision myself, but unfortuantely, it is how it is.

I am otherwise extremely happy about the interior and this won't make me enjoy my car any less.

Well if that's the reason, then couldn't they put a 2 stage switch on it that turns the whole shebang on or just the doors? Give US the option.

the whole impersonating a cop thing?

might have just answered my original question about the red :|no. fbodfather posted that there was a peview before the show for 150+ people and i signed up and im in. 7:30 on saturday morning.

A couple of things...

I am unhappy that it is not on the dash as a lot of us had hoped.

Having said that...I have been told that some who were testing early versions found the dash lights distracting, even though they can be dimmed. I wish I could make that decision myself, but unfortuantely, it is how it is.

I am otherwise extremely happy about the interior and this won't make me enjoy my car any less.
yeah that should be something WE get to determine. at least it has a dimmer on it. if it didnt have any options for turnin it down i can see them making the call.

Well if that's the reason

No no no, I am not saying that is the reason at all. The first post has the reason in the last paragraph.

Our goal was to have the look of the early rendering (and it was just a rendering -- never an announced feature), but there were a couple of issues with execution

I am just saying that some have noted a small downside to it.

i cant wait to see it. i think its still gonna look really good. plus if you dont like it , turn it off.

From what I'm gathering from the original post, they were having problems with fit & finish of the lit dash inserts.
Instead of delaying the car any further, they decided to eliminate the ambient lighting from the dash inserts while leaving it in the door inserts.

With that said, I think the ambient lighting package should be a stand alone option across all the trims lines.
I don't like the look of the shiny, hard plastic inserts, and would probably remove them when I got the car and replace them with the fabric inserts, even if that meant the loss of the ambient lighting.

I don't like the look of the shiny, hard plastic inserts, and would probably remove them when I got the car and replace them with the fabric inserts, even if that meant the loss of the ambient lighting.why not get a 1SS?

Fit and finish should be a top priority. However, it's a shame they can not get it to continue on the dash. It's like the circle/the flow is broken. It's a similar issue some of us have said about the stripes. Why not continue them onto the nose and around the rear spoiler?

why not get a 1SS?


There's a lot more equipment that you get on the 2SS that you cannot get on the 1SS.
Plus, I don't think you can get the RS package on the 1SS.
And I'd prefer the leather seats over the "cloth".

I think it should be part of the RS package.

Defininitely agreed.

the whole impersonating a cop thing?

might have just answered my original question about the red :|

I don't know of any cops with LED lighting on the dash. Shouldn't matter as long as it's on the inside.

The lastest rumor was that it was too hot for the dash, would like to know if this is true or not, but we may never find out...
I have a feeling that could be somewhat true. I was told that they pretty much scrapped the first system because there was concern that some sections of the lighting could burn out over time, leaving gaps, and of course they don't want to produce a system that will appear "cheap" like that. So I'm under the impression they are working on a more reliable system ... maybe the dash lights weren't going to make it in time, or the reliability was still in doubt? :shrug:

Cool! I wish it was actoss the whole dash too, but I guess it is better to at least have it on the doors than not having it at all. The lastest rumor was that it was too hot for the dash, would like to know if this is true or not, but we may never find out...Hey 2010 5thgen, try and get some pics and videos of the ABL if you can. A nice few second video would be really cool if possible, thanks.

not unless they were using incandescent light bulbs. lol

Incandescent light bulb is your standard house light bulb in case you didn't know.

Heat would never be an issue, any lighting application in today's vehicles and electronics is almost always Light Emitting Diodes (LED). They don't produce heat, they last several years before dimming, they use very little power, they're tiny, and they're cheap.

So it wouldn't be a heat issue. My guess it was probably distracting and they ran out of time before they could implement a way to control the ambient lighting. I'm sure they didn't want to throw just a push button switch anywhere like the Mustang has by the cup holders, that is WAY out of place btw. :rolleyes:

i wonder why they didnt just rent a benz from somewhere or borrow one from someone, that has the ambient lighting , and check it out and see how the germans are doing it.

Or why not use Fiber Optics? Then all they need is ONE light source.

yeah. if they would have used fiberoptics then they could have made it more of a distinction between orange and red. they said they arent making the red lighting for the interior because it looked too much like the orange.

From what I'm gathering from the original post, they were having problems with fit & finish of the lit dash inserts.
Instead of delaying the car any further, they decided to eliminate the ambient lighting from the dash inserts while leaving it in the door inserts.

With that said, I think the ambient lighting package should be a stand alone option across all the trims lines.
I don't like the look of the shiny, hard plastic inserts, and would probably remove them when I got the car and replace them with the fabric inserts, even if that meant the loss of the ambient lighting.

The shiny door and dash trim having nothing to do with the ambient lighting, from what I gather. The lighting pipes for the ABL are above the panels and not behind them.

not unless they were using incandescent light bulbs. lol

Incandescent light bulb is your standard house light bulb in case you didn't know.

Heat would never be an issue, any lighting application in today's vehicles and electronics is almost always Light Emitting Diodes (LED). They don't produce heat, they last several years before dimming, they use very little power, they're tiny, and they're cheap.

So it wouldn't be a heat issue. My guess it was probably distracting and they ran out of time before they could implement a way to control the ambient lighting. I'm sure they didn't want to throw just a push button switch anywhere like the Mustang has by the cup holders, that is WAY out of place btw. :rolleyes:


I am not saying that this it true or I believe this, it was a rumor. I call B.S. on that one as well. It sounds like that they just could not get it 100% correct and felt it was better to leave it off the dash then leave it on and make it not look all that great.

The shiny door and dash trim having nothing to do with the ambient lighting, from what I gather. The lighting pipes for the ABL are above the panels and not behind them.

I knew the lighting was above the panels, and I'm pretty sure it's integrated/part of the shiny panels, so the panels WOULD have EVERYTHING to do with the ambient lighting. Thus, if you remove the shiny panels, you remove the ambient lighting.

I knew the lighting was above the panels, and I'm pretty sure it's integrated/part of the shiny panels, so the panels WOULD have EVERYTHING to do with the ambient lighting. Thus, if you remove the shiny panels, you remove the ambient lighting.

The colored dash/door panels they showed for purchase through the dealer do not have the lighting in them, unless I am wrong. The panels might be somewhat translucent to allow the lighting to shine through or reflect off of.

IMO either do the ambient lighting across the whole dash and door panels or don't do it any of it at all. Don't waste the money or time if it's not going to be the best it could be.

The 2010 Camaro is still a great overall package. But at some point the detractions from mismanaged details add up...

The colored dash/door panels they showed for purchase through the dealer do not have the lighting in them, unless I am wrong. The panels might be somewhat translucent to allow the lighting to shine through or reflect off of.

If you're right, that's even better.
That way, I can remove the hard, shiny, plastic inserts and put the fabric ones in and still retain the ambient lighting. Obviously they wouldn't glow as well as the plastic ones, but the effect would still kinda be there.

Yesterday, I took my '69 camaro to the cleveland show for the classic car show. I had a chance to talk to Scott and he showed me the lighting on the door planels of the SS they have at the show. They have four cars there. The black one from SEMA, a Red Jewel tint coat SS, and two V6 cars- dark blue and silver. I was able to take pictures of all of them. The show starts tonight for the dealers and the public tomorrow morning. I also got to see Scott's yellow SS. I'm going to be there tonight and tomorrow morning for the camaro showing.

ill be there tommorow morning for the preview. i cant wait to see the ambient lighting. as well as the red jewel tincoat. i really like that color.

Your not going to see much. The overhead lights are so bright, you can't tell the ambient lights are even on. When I saw it I was only a few inches away from the door panel. But, because the lights are so bright the paint jobs look really good. To me, it looks like they are using a number of differant K value lights. Some looked like 3000-4000K and some were 6000-7000K. The higher the K value the whiter the light.

ill be there tommorow morning for the preview. i cant wait to see the ambient lighting. as well as the red jewel tincoat. i really like that color.

See if you can get a short video or pics of the ABL on the doors and make sure you give us a review of what you think of it just being onthe doors :)

Went to the Cleveland preview today, too. Camarofan was right, you really couldnt tell it was on due to how bright it was. You could only see a thin blue tint. I think it'll be cool, but we'll have to wait to see it in a darker setting.

Very dissapointing that it won't cross the entire dash. I'm still getting one. After sitting in the one in Dallas I have to say I was surprised how poor the view out was. The interior looked really good though and it was just a base model.

ok so i went to the show on saturday morning. isaw the sketch they had of what the ambient lighting looked like, and it does look very good concidering it cant go across the whole dash. i saw it in the red jewel tintcoat ss/rs and i couldnt see it too well, because it was very bright in the room, but i gotthe idea of it. it basically is pretty bold in the middle of the door and fades out on both ends of the door panel. it is a very nice touch and i think everyone will be happy with it. its not as bold as initially intended, but it is a nice touch and they made it looks very professional in the situation and time crunch they are in. overall ....i love it.