http://www.thecarconnection.com/blog/?p=759

What gives? This is a very scary thing to read about the Camaro as it comes out. It also doesn't make any sense unless Ford also raises its prices.

 

Sounds like they are trying to encourage more V6 sales?

 

Cars are going to get more expensive period, all manufacturers are going to do a good bit of wizadry to be comfortably under CAFE.

 

Hasn't the v8 model generally always been more expensive than the v6 model? On basically every vehicle that ever offered a v6 and a v8?

I'm confused.

 

Fords in a good position with the Mustang, IIRC they had settled on making money with only about 80k cars a year, and they are close to selling at or over 500k units since the car has been introduced (nearly double their expectation), I can only guess alot of the engineering, manufacturing equipment costs, ect have been paid for. Not to mention the S197 is built in America rather than Canada. Its on a proprietary chassis like the Camaro has sort of been shoe horned into, but its dead nutz simple compared to the F5 (for once, hooray bean counters and knuckle-dragging simple minded drag racers who only think in one dimension), now if Ford could figure out how to make a cheaper engine????

 

The era of the dirt cheap V8 is over. At the same time, anyone saying the price of the volume V8 Camaro is going to be near Corvette territory is completely off their rocker.

First, it's no secret the price of V8s were destined to go up, and in fact already command a premium over V6 models. V8s are going into ONLY performance cars now, and are charged accordingly. Look at everything from Chargers & 300s to even Impala SS.

Mustang GTs are now up to just a few dollars short of $26K.
Impala SS is now going for just under $29K.... starting.
Charger R/T now bases at over $30K.

You simply are NOT going to get another $22K V8 Camaro. Most all Z28s, even in 2002, stickered in excess of $25K.

Before anyone buts in with the normal "but... you need to judge the price after incentives and discounts" BS, let me remind them that if the Camaro needs discounts and incentives to roll out the door, that's BAD, not good news. The whole idea is to sell the car at list.

By the time the Camaro rolls out, it's going to be priced along no lower than a similar Mustang (though I expect it to be slightly more). If by this time next year, a Mustang V8 runs $27,500, then expect a V8 Camaro to be pushing $28.

That's before CAFE kicks in and GM has to start limiting V8 production and prices of the V8 go up farther.

 

Oh, for sure. That is not the end of the market that automakers are going to want to stimulate now. And if they're going to take a CAFE hit for it - we will pay.

BTW, in the other thread I said I'd rather have a 2.9L turbo diesel Camaro over a hybrid, if I'm looking for max mpg.

 

I don't know what everyone is freaking out about. I've been expecting 27-30K for the V-8 since last year... now if it's higher than that....

 

That gives me wood

 

If it's gonna cost over 30k for the base V8 that thing better be an LS3.

 

GM has to price the Camaro around Mustang GT price otherwise it will fail. Until you see those prices skyrocket, you have little worries. Although it's quickly becoming the "not so affordable" musclecar...

 

Considering what you get with a camaro vs GT (At least 60-100 more HP, IRS, 6 speed auto/manual) a couple grand higher camaro quickly makes sense. BUT I would rather pay 26K than 28

Unfortunately, you're right, and the "average" buyer won't see that and ask, "Why should I buy a camaro for 28-30K when I can get a GT for 26K?"

 

I think it is important to note that the performance of the V6 is now in V8 territory. Camaro will probably have the DI 3.6L making 300+HP. Correct me if I'm wrong but from 1973-1996 no Camaro had a V8 that put out over 300HP, the 1996 SS had 305HP and the 1997 LT4 had 330HP (and that was a $40K car ten years ago )

Any new V8 Camaro is going to have around 430HP from that LS3. That is more than the early 90's Vipers, ZR1's, and C5 Z06. That is a lot of power.

I think if we look at HP instead of cylinder count the Camaro is still going to be a performance bargain. And never before have we had so many different engine choices above 300HP.

 

Is it? Or is it going to have 362 hp from an L76, at least in the Mustang-GT-equivalent mass-market trim line?

 

The question seems to be, "How much higher?" I don't think anyone here reasonably expected a V8 under $25,000. Those were rare during the late 4th gen, and that was six years ago (wow, six years). But if we start going higher - lets say above $30,000 for a base V8 - we're in trouble. Even if most people buy the V6, the fact that the V8 is affordable is very important to the Camaro brand and its image of attainable performance.

That said, a hybrid V8 Camaro is a terrific idea, potentially groundbreaking. What a terrific competitor to the Shelby GT. It would make immediately clear which company is accelerating into the future and which is dragging its knuckles.