On thing I am starting to perceive is that the star power of the 5th gen's design, and the higher transaction prices are moving the Camaro's image upmarket. We all know the sterotype the Camaro unfortunatly has..however considering that the current car probaly has an average transaction price north of $30K (and plenty paying $40K for SS's), one would imagine the average Camaro buyer does okay for themself. Yes, you can buy a V6 camaro in the mid $20's..but so far that is not happening.

While here it is lambasted for being fat, in the general public, people love it. Driving one is like being a rock star..which is surpising since the car was in the media so long before you could buy one. Hell, my wife even showed me something on TMZ where Brad Pitt was driving one.

I guess what I am saying is...are we seeing the 5th gen shift the Camaro's image to something more than Mustang. More a mid/high end GT image type car, similar to the 350Z or G35/37? Also, how much does this rub of on past generations of the car?

 

I hope so. 3rd gens (while loved around here) tarnished the Camaro image as some kind of white trash mobile.

The general public has absolutely no idea what a car weights nor do they car. As long as the HP and MPG meet their expectations then they are happy.

 

I hope so too. It's all conjecture at this point, but if they build a version like the gray over brown leather car at SEMA and they can draw some Euro influence it will help. The HID's and Halo's on the RS cars does affect public perception since people relate the halo's to BMW. If GM is smart enough to build a high output turbo version, I think that will solidify an interest base from typical import buyers. I know a twin turbo V6, even if low pressure and under 400hp, would pique the interest of quite a few people. Not everyone that wants gobs of power wants a V8. A high output V6 in some ways is more clever and international in it's appeal. I think back to my Audi S4 and my N/A M3. Sure, they'd both probably be bested by the V6 Camaro. But, they had the panache, and that's what drew buyers and enthusiasts. Something for GM to consider.

 

Unfortunately, 'round here (as in, the area I live in) it IS for the most part a "white trash mobile." Even though I like them, I would never own another 3rd gen again. The 4th gen is "ok" to own, and doesn't have quite the same stigma, but the new car, DAMN, everyone from rich folks to hicks love 'em. I think they're safe, for now.

 

The Camaro has made it into pop culture and for all the right reasons this time. It's the right car at the right time for people looking for a flashy raw American attitude statement in the midst of our economic problems and wars. It's really one of the first American cars in a long that's ok to be seen in by people like Brad Pitt. I think some of this will unfortunately fade once the car is out longer and they become more common.

But the idea shouldn't. This car strikes a cord with the American public that we can identify with. It’s a car like Harley-Davidson is a motorcycle that no other country can or would build. I think the general public likes this car for more than just being a car. It’s fresh and youthful and embodies the new direction that not only our battered car companies are going in but our economy too. I think deep down we root for the underdogs and GM kind of fits that role now. And the Camaro is the first sign of life ahead for GM and I think people welcome that. We are all ready to move forward.

 

Yeah, that is the same as where I live. When I said "while loved around here", I meant CamaroZ28.com land.

 

I just saw my first inferno orange Camaro today (it had the interior treatment as well). Beautiful. It was classy as all get out, I didn't get the same vibe seeing this car as I have with 3rd or 4th gen cars. As much as like those cars, the new one seems removed from their aura... and it was noticeably quiet on the street, exhaust-wise - granted it was in slow traffic. A 3rd or 4th you would have heard.

I envied the dude driving it, big time and it still had the temp sticker in the window.

 

Anyone w/ a mullet is forbidden to purchase a new camaro.

 

Don't worry within 10 years I expect to see a 5thgen hanging form a tree with three skullets bobby around under the hood super gluing a muddy carb to a hole they cut in the palstic intake with a sawsall.

 

Am I one of the only ones that has no issue with the image of 3rd and 4th gens, and actually prefers them to the new car? I'm far more into the 2+2 sports car-type attitude of the 3rd and 4th gens, where I felt like I was part of the car. The new one is just too tall, and too big for me...

 

I understood you, that's why I clarified that's it's considered redneck in my area too, I didn't know if it was white trashy everywhere, or just the south

I'd prefer a first gen to any of them, but the 5th gen is right behind that.

 

Wow, lots of 3rd gen hate.

I don't know, I guess it's easy to look at a 25 year old 3rd gen, with 215,000 miles, dents, rust and primer, ripped seats and sagging headliner and call it a "white trash" car. But I think some of you guys who weren't around at it's intro, fail to realize what a huge impact they made when *NEW*.

It's impact was at least as big as the 5th gen. Actually...much bigger. The current Camaro's bold design gets it lots of attention. The 3rd gen's design got all that - and then some. It literally sucked the oxygen out of the room. It's chassis dynamics didn't just break new ground when compared to previous Camaros, it set new standards for all American cars.

And brother, did it sell...

Combined CF sales volume was over 305,000 units in it's first year. Yep, you read that right.

 

Well I would imagine most people who own a well kept 3rd gen at this point like the car too much to care about the image. No more different than when I had my own Firebird, and it had the Burt Reynolds image. The sad truth however is for some reason those cars did not hold up well over time, or too many found their way in the wrong hands, and got associated with a culture, or sterotype. Some cars end you the way. I remember in 2003 sitting in a get togethor with Scott and some others where it was mentioned that GM had found through foxus groups that the most recognizable Camaro was the 85 IROC, or something along those lines. The thing is..most of the things people associate with that car, GM did not want with the new car.

All that being said, of all the Camaro's, none had the clean, all American, apple pie image of the 1st gen. Many less of them were made..but when people see them, they know what they are, and smile. If you put a 1st gen, and 5th gen in a parking lot next to each other, they look like father and son. Not the same exact..but an evolutionary progression. The DNA the new GTO was missing from old. You put a second, 3rd, or 4th gen next to a 1st gen, and it looks like mom has been sleeping with the milkman.

I also like that the Camaro is now in a very different styling place than Corvette. I always felt the 2-4th gens looked kinda like poor mans Corvettes (mainly because of the hatch styling). Now the Camaro looks like a seperate unrelated product.

 

The problem however is some cars don't age well. I am a big geek for the old Thunerbird Turbo Coupe. It was pretty revolutionary when it came out..but time has not been good to it. I am also gonna go out on a limb and say the the Monte Carlo SS's from the 80s fall in this catagory (big deal when they came out). The other thing is, the 3rd gen at least in the beginning was in many ways was a commuter car..in that I think many people bought it back then as a cheap, stylish alternative to an Escort, Civic, or whatever. That does not seem to be the case with the Camaro where people are ordering them up special like they do Corvettes, and a V6 under $30K is hard to find.

 

Outside of the first gen, I dont think any other release was as big and epic as the third gen. Car of the Year, pace car duty, winning multiple awards left and right. And it didnt stop in 82. It moved foward with the introduction of the L69, and then the 85 IROC brought the best performance fbody in history.
87 brought back both 350 and convertable, and untill 92, it was one of the best performance cars out there.

The third gens are the reason we have the 4th gen and 5th gen. Without the introduction there, without the concentraion on a total peformance package, then the car we see today would have never happend.
third gens were some of the best performing, and best selling Fbodies of all time.

Dont keep pushing the red neck myth. Its embrasing when fellow fbody guys and gals keep it going.