58% sold are 2SS

2SS has a starting price of $34,595 (inc. delivery) and you know people are loading them up with options. The average V8 Camaro at my local dealer is ~$38K. They had six of them like that. Every week I drive by a few are gone and a few new ones show up, most 2SS with RS package.

Just imagine the profits if they came out with the RWD Impala that was said to look like the Camaro only better.

 

The expensive ones are the majority for now it seems, but that wouldn't equate to cash cow status unless the following questions are answered:

How much profit is in a 2SS?
How much did the development of the Camaro cost? How long to pay back?
What will gas prices be next year?
What will 2nd, 3rd year sales be after enthusiasts have purchased their cars?
Will the Camaro need a redesign in 5 years like every other highly-styled, "iconic" vehicle seems to require?

 

1) a lot if there is profit in the LS
2) $300 Million? If they keep selling this many 2SS cars development will be paid off a lot sooner than expected.
3) higher probably, no way to know for sure.
4) who knows, GM needs to keep this car fresh, it needs new options each year.
5) Yes, every car should be redesigned every 4-5 years or sales and profits will fall off a cliff.

 

Uhhhmmmm.....every car shouldn't be redesigned every 4-5 years...every mainstream car needs to be redesigned every 3 years. Didn't the 4-5 "rule" lag behind the imports by nearly a year or two years, which ultimately led to them having vehicles that were more "fresh" design wise than the domestics?

The Camaro, if it continues this sales trend will be a main stream vehicle and needs to fall into the 3-4 year refresh requirement or else it will just go away in 5 years cycle time like the last one did.

I'd like to think GM learned something from bankruptcy.

 

http://www.autoblog.com/2009/11/19/t...ortedly-being/


No, 4-5 is what the Imports did, GM did 7-8. Go research your last few generations of Accords and Civics. Nobody does 3 year cycles.

 

Are you serious right now?
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/toy...cle-refreshes/

Also check the comments.

 

I seem to remember that the last couple of years of the 4th gen, the majority of sales were high content models.

Maybe this has become Camaro's paradigm?

 

What does that link prove?? Is Toyota going to start leaving models out to rot and then change them every 8 years now. This contridicts your previous post.

 

Ole Red is eating his words!

 

Who?

 

Many makers use MCE after 3, redesign in 5-6.

 

This makes sense to me....

 

This is exactly my point. A MCE to the average car buyer is "all-new" to them, so they have to rush out and get the newest model of their favorite car they already own because it's "all new."

Ask any owner of the new Fusion - they'll say it's "all-new" because to them, it is. This is what GM has to do, refreshes every 3 years instead of what they've done previous.

 

Although the Camaro was dirt cheap to GM to develop (my estimate is under half a billion.... the '98 Camaro redesign was a quarter billion), and it's profit margins with all these loaded Camaros is pretty juicy, I wouldn't exactly call it a cash cow just yet. It's only been on sale for 6 or 7 months, and I think it's going to take alot longer than that to make up it's investment.


Sidenote to the MCE chat.

There are some eggheads who have "Auto Analyst" attached to their names that feel that MCEs are a waste of money, and at least 1 of them brings studies supporting that to the table. They instead point to "All-New" designs, and say that carmakers should focus on that instead as well as quality since that's what their data shows. However, since most MCEs are nothing more than a changed grille or tail light, or something no one typically notices, it throws the results. What these folks call "all new" are really restylings, and also can fall under MCE.

I think this is the type of MCEs you guys are talking about.

I'd be hard pressed to name anyone that did restylings every 3 years. However, cosmetic changes or styling tweaks here and there, then yes. There are plenty of automakers (including Toyota and Honda) who have engaged in this every 3 (or even 2) years.

The current Honda Civic came out in 2006. In 2009, it got a facelift and a redesigned tail.

That was only 3 years.

Sidenote, the last king of the MCE was the 80s era Ford Thunderbird (4 different T-birds that decade).

 

Red Planet; he told us that the V6 was what has always been the high volume car and it would be in the future, that simply most people didn't want high performance.