This may have been covered in another thread somewhere I am sure but I have got to ask.
Why is it taking so long for this car to finally make it into our hands??!! This is a painful process. It seems like forever since they decided to make the concept a reality. I just want to see it on the road already.
I realize that there is a lot that goes into making everything perfect. I just want it to be here all ready! Every time I see one of those stupid new mustangs I yell out in anger (well not really, but I feel like I should).
The worst part is, that I am not even going to be able to buy one. There is no way in the depths of hades that I am going to be able to own one of these probably anytime within the next 5 years at least. That is really what kills me. It sucks not having money! But I tell you what, I am going to test drive one any and every chance I get!!!!!!

 

I know that you don't need to hear this but...you can't rush a good thing. It's been said before that part of what's taking so long is that the Camaro is being built off of a brand new platform...whereas others, the Challenger for instance, is being built off of a platform that's been used for years now. We're all just as excited as you are to get our butts into the driver's seat of our new Camaros...GIVE ME MY CAMARO!!! But...Patience is a virtue To tell you the truth...I'd rather have GM work this long and hard on it in order to work out all of the bugs and test the crap out of it so that I can buy mine and not have it recalled...at all! But hey, we're all right there with you!

 

Platform not withstanding....I sure hope the Camaro interior looks better than the G8 (same platform) that I saw at the Detroit auto show. I always thought the Pontiac was a "premium interior" vehicle....but the car they had at the Detroit show (red one) proved me wrong. The G8 with the option package looked no better than a Dodge Charger (and my 70 Charger looked more elegant than the new Charger anyway).
I'm dying for this car to come out as much as everyone else, and may have even considered a G8 because I cannot stand the wait. But after seeing the G8 in person there is no way I would buy a car with that cheap looking interior. I'm shocked ....and hope the Camaro interior ends up looking much better.
I don't like the entry/exit issues of a Vette at my age....but I may have to opt for a Vette if the interior quality/design of the Camaro ends up at the same level as the G8. Lets face it...you spend more time in the interior of a car looking at it than you do looking at the exterior. I don't wanna look at some cheap looking plastic pile of crap (like the Charger) while I'm driving an exensive car and making big payments on it. Cmon Scott...don't let it happen. At least give us an optional interior package that means something more than a couple of stickers etc.

 

You know...there's the whole issue of getting it right, and getting it right...and being better than the 'stang - and the rest of the competition.

The way I see things, it pretty much boils down to 3 things:

-They started the work of bringing it to production a couple of months after NAIAS '06.
-It's being built from the ground up, no shortcuts like basing it entirely off of an existing platform (coughchallengercough)
-and it has to be the best...and the best takes time.

So, considering all that, and putting into perspective that there's only months (not years) to wait...~3 years isn't terrible at all for a brand new car!

 

I also can't wait for the Camaro, but I starting to see the Camaro is being overexposed. Why would GM put it in their commercial when knowing you got a year for the car to come out, and already being at the auto show for the 3rd consecutive time. I feel they should have pushed it for the fall of 08 without sacrificing R&D.

 

1. Yes, this has been discused before. About a hundred times before. I bet Jason and the other moderators got a dollar comission every time someone started a thread on this. They'd be able to retire by now.

2. IMHO, anyone about to suffer a coronary over a new car needs to up their nitro medication.

3. It typically takes about 4-5 years to bring a car from idea to production. Camaro is getting it done in less than 3. If you're getting impatient, self induce yourself a coma till the car gets out... it's already setting a bit of history.

4. If you are using the Dodge Challenger concept to production time as a yardstick on how long it should take Camaro, don't. Why?....

a) The Dodge Challenger was farther along in development when the concept went on display. Camaro had no official (or unofficial) program when it's concept came out.

b) The chassis the Challenger is based on (LX) was in production when the concept went on display. The Camaro's chassis (the Zeta) was still under development in Australia, and the donor car (Holden's VE and WM) weren't even in production, while the Charger, 300, and Magnum (Challenger's donor chassis) was well into production.

c) The Challenger is being made on the existing LX assembly line in Brampton Ontario. The Camaro is being made in Oshawa, but not before the Grand Prix and Monte Carlo was discontinued, the remaining W chassis cars were moved to a single assembly line (Oshawa has 2 car assembly plants) and the vacant plant gutted and goes through a massive rebuilding as half of a new integrated factory designed as a flex manufacturing plant (multiple chassis and vehicles in a single plant that aren't required to be on the same architecture).

Again, under the circumstances, all the work that had to be done to create then modify the chassis, and even more amazing, the coordination of discontinuing and consolidating existing models and essentially creating a whole new plant while an existing one is still running, you should be pretty awed that the Camaro will be here in less than a year from now.




Name a Pontiac with a better interior than the G8.

 

Which commercial are you referring to? I'm not aware of any...I thought I remembered there being a brief appearance in one...but when I tried to find it, it was nowhere to be found...I mean correct me if I'm wrong, and send me the link, because I, for one, would LOVE to see the commercials!

And would it make sense to have the Camaro at one auto show one year but not have it at all the next year? Autoshows, typically, only happen once per year...For me, personally, if they any Camaro at the Philly Autoshow every year...you will find me there.

But in regards to the release...I would venture to guess that GM would have the car ready earlier if it was at all possible. The fact of the matter is that GM is getting the Camaro out as soon as it's ready. If the Camaro team thought they could get the Camaro out earlier without sacrificing research and development...they would.

 

Just to follow up on what guionM said. Usually a car takes 4-5 years and these days less time due to numerous innovations.

Normally when a new car like the Camaro is being developed there is a current one to sell and thus there is no wait. But since the Camaro went on hiatus in 2002 the development time is pure agony for those ready to buy the car. GM put the concept Camaro out for display in 2006 to guage public interest and then decided to green light the program.

The current 2005 Mustang is due a replacement in 2010-11 and Ford has been working on it for years. But because there is a current car for sale the wait doesn't seem so bad and isn't noticed.

 

Something else to keep in mind....... in today's day and age with 24/7/365 access to anything we want to find out about anything at all, we know more about the Camaro than we ever knew about any other car prior to it's production. With spy pictures, countless web forums, and people within the company sharing little tid bits occasionally, there's more here to tantalize us than at any time prior in history.

Think about 1967..... the original Camaro concepts and ideas were probably started around 1962-64.... that car pretty much went from concept to production in pure secrecy. There were no cell phone cameras, no internet, and any little snippet any one found out about the car was in the back of the newspaper. If someone DID take a spy pic (probably with a rather large, conspicuous camera), it was one little picture in the newspaper, in black and white, and you probably couldn't tell the difference between the car and someone's house.

 

I think Camaro has been a long time coming. If you think about things, Camaro ceased production six years ago. We won't see a new one until spring of 09. Any way you look at things, it's been a LONG time.

 

Enough of this already please. Don't make excuses for GM manufacturing and Development!

The Camaro ended production because of bad Sales to the Fbodies due to cost! Can you argue with that?

GM dangle that concept in 2006 just to gauge interest without the intention of manufacturing. Then came the talk and decisions a year after. Come on people, the concept was not even at all operational with the designated engine........ think for a minute....... What GM did was nothing more than what you and I could have done with no promises or intent. Since GM has done poorly in the past, they didn't want to take the risk with the production of the Camaro! All of these points are contributing factors as to why the late production.

Other Makes would show the vehicle a year or two prior to sales with the intent of production, while GM shown the vehicle just for looks and remarks.

Did you see Knight Rider this past weekend! I had to see it... the opening with Kitt Introduction was alright, then the whole movie went down hill all the way to the end! A talking car is no big **** to us these days when we have CGIs! At any rate, throughout the movie, all advertisement belonged to Ford vehicles!!!!!!

Manufactures were given the opportunity to opt in for the new Kitt, only Ford stepped up! Even though that show will not last, Ford did good in promoting their Stang......... what did GM do? Nothing! You can't expect sales by doing nothing!!!!!?????

Argue with this:

Life happens while you sit on the side line pondering!!!!!!

 

This is not even a qualifying Statement-------- "The GTO has been a long time coming too?"

The GTO tanked big time! Revival in a name is just that.

If I was GM, I would not call this vehicle with the same old Camaro name. I would of given it a new name and let it start it's round from there. I would of name it: The ORAMAC SE ORAMAC U and the ORAMAC T Edition standing for Standard, Upgraded, Top

 

Alright, I had no real desire to see Knight Rider Sunday night...and after reading peoples' reviews about it, I'm glad I didn't waste my time. But I will tell you one thing, I loved the original show, it was a lot of fun to see that Trans Am driving around with the red light bar in front. And you are correct, that show is never going to last...But question for you...WHY would GM want to invest in something that's bound to fail?? And what would you call Transformers?? GM almost single handedly funded that movie, and I'm going to go out on a limb an say that that particular marketing strategy worked pretty darn well. THAT raised so much interest in the new Camaro...people who aren't car buffs, who don't go to autoshows people who never even know what a Camaro was before now know.

Another thing is this...if it didn't come back as the Camaro, I wouldn't buy it. The Camaro name is full of nostalgia...an amazing history. Calling it anything else would be wrong. The case of the GTO is interesting...but you have to take into consideration that part of the issue with the GTO was that it took 29 years for GM to bring it back and when it did, the car appeared soft...nothing like the GTOs from the musclecar era. I think that you'll agree that if GM produced this new Camaro and it looked terrible (not-Camaro-like) and was overpriced that it would soil the Camaro name, just like many purists believe the 04-06 GTO did to the original...but we've seen the concept...we've seen the pre-pro versions of the Camaro and it remains incredible and very true to the concept...which, in my personal opinion, SCREAMS Camaro...just my thoughts...

 

Did they?
hmmm I was under the assumption that the Director picked the GM vehicles....
In any event, I would say you're right about the advertising. Over 500,000 people used that little card inside the DVD cases to contact GM and find out more about the Camaro...that's 500,000 potential customers....BEFORE THE CAR IS EVEN OUT!!!

Anyways, MatthewRox, I think you're underestimating the General, and generally downplaying alot of what they did with this concept. There were issues that prevented them from bringing out a concept earlier...otherwise I'm pretty damn sure they would have.

Even if everything you say was true...3 years start to finish is still VERY impressive. And if you look at all the issues involved - that's NOT 'late'.
I also think I heard something about the Concept being carved and made show ready in 30 days?? If true...holy $hit!

There were many factors involved with the demise of the 4th gen...and many more important than the cost factor...'cause if you ask me, the last of the 4th gens really were a bargain - but they were tailored more towards us (enthusiasts). Not everybody is an enthusiast. And then there was the issue af it being killed in 1998, etc......

 

I watched the director's commentary thing and he said that GM donated the cars in the movie. They were all (except the camaro) Hurricane Katrina flood cars that couldn't be sold to the public. What I don't know is if GM tossed the movie company a few bones (in addition to the free new cars) to get "free advertisement."