I don't have all the answers. I've thought the same thing. But, people hypothesized exactly what you are when the retro Tbird and PT Cruiser first came out. Truth is, we don't know how long this retro thing will last. And we all know how long Ford can stretch a Mustang redesign out.

GM is going where the market is. They are late, but that doesnt mean the party is over.

 

I bet that mustang and challenger did not see yesterday caoming. Today thay are back at the drawing board. they definitley have work to do. Retro as of yesterday is dead. Camaro is born.. it doesn't look retro to me. ME.

 

Mini?


(dunno if this was mentioned yet or not, don't have time to read all the pages at work!)

 

This statement sums up my opinion of the car. I feel the car does stand alone in it's styling, although it does have definite cues from the past. Everything I love about the first Gens are there, although it's infused with modern styling.

I'd say the Camaro is 30% retro, the mustang a little over 50% and the Challenger is pushing 80%

I think the styling of the Camaro will stand the test of time much better than either of the other two cars.

 

I am curious as to those who don't like the new concept, what would you have liked as the new camaro? How about coming up with an image, let's visually see what you (new camaro dislikers) have in mind?

 

You would prefer that over the new Camaro concept?

 

Well, I hate to do this, but I kinda like this.

 

Out of curiosity... what is that body and who makes it? It looks way to "importish" to me. I'm glad to see the new design, it's something I've been waiting for since the intro of the 4th Gen.

 

That's a scale model, 1/16th scale(?), either made out of clay or fiberglass for his college project.

 

the first one looks like early 90's Saturn mixed w/C6 and the 2nd one looks like z32 mixed with C6. Blech. anything else?

 

Ahh, ok. To me it looked like a lexan body used on 1/10th scale R/C cars.

 

I can certainly understand that, I like modern stuff/shapes too (in fact that is one reason I now have an 05 GTO). But I recall distinctly when the 4gens came out. I was excited by the pictures... then I went to a dealer and sat in one. Just sitting in it was a real turn-off to me. It was TOO radical and different, especially the extreme windshield angle making it difficult to get in and out of. In fact it wasn't until the cars got the sweet LS1 that I managed to get over my issues with the 4gens and buy one. Again - Mustangs have not had that style/layout problem any time in the last 10-20 years, and do not have the problem now. And again, the 5gen Camaro appears to not have those problems either... and it bodes well for the car's potential success.

The 4gens were a very polarizing design. Either you liked the radical windshield angle, the low seating, and the big rear hatch, or you didn't. Not exactly a winning formula for broad appeal, in retrospect. In contrast - the Mustang has been and is a mainstream layout, with command seating and view of the road. The red car pictured above in this thread seems like it might bring a lot of the same baggage with it, that helped doom the 4gens.

 

It doesn't have the extreme windshield rake if that is what you are referring to.

It is hard to tell what wil carry over to production and what won't and that could kill a lot of the character that this car has all in the name of practicality. Just look at the Mustang from concept to production. I bet the low, wide, dramatic fender, chopped look will be lost in production and it might look a lot more plain. Let's hope not.

 

I dunno... but it sure looks like that red car has the flat windshield/short greenhouse/big hatch thing going on in spades. Maybe that's just me. But another issue with the red car, IMHO, is that the front clip looks too much like a C5 and the rear clip looks too much like a 4gen Camaro.

As for the changes from 05 Mustang concept to production, I also beg to differ. Aside from adding the rear seats, actually it's quite remarkable how faithful the production car is to the concept, again IMHO.

 

No way. A lot was lost.