Now before everyone starts throwing DAGGERS at me over this, I want to point out something PLAINLY.

THIS ARTICLE IS OLD!!!

Now that I have said that, take a moment to read the article.
Look closely at what they say in it regarding a Mustang competitor...
"Corvette Camaro" they called it.
(cool, because they were still making the Camaro at the time, and were at liberty to say the word "Camaro", so it is all through the atricle. A refreshing change too I might ad!)

They also claim that the unit was already completed in clay, and was ready to go into development... in 2001!!!

Enjoy the article... Chevrolet: We'll Be There, but the Corvette Won't

Quote,"The Mustang challenger is currently referred to as the “Corvette Camaro”, and is a replacement for the existing Chevy version. Reportedly both smaller and lighter than its predecessor, this 2+2 coupe is based on GM’s rear-drive Sigma platform, and has reached the full-size clay model stage. "

So... now we have the benefit of 3 more years under the bridge and we have some idea of what is coming for 2007.

Anybody care to offer some facts or speculation on what happened with this proposed Mustang competitor?

How about the proposal that Corvette become it's own product line!!! (That one sent me for a loop, personally!)
Can you imagine a "Corvette Dealership", with nothing but Corvettes, Camaros, and Nomads on the lot for sale...

Gotta hand it to somebody though, because they did hit the nail on the head in a few places like the C6 predictions, Nomad, and Caddy units.

I just think it's neat to go back and do some Monday-morning Quarter-backing from time to time.

 

Moving Corvette to it's own division was the most odd and lame idea I had ever heard.... Bringing Camaro with it was even more absurb.

But, yes, it was nice when they could actually mention their own car's name, let alone talk about it in relation to the future.

 

That artical talked about making a performance car called the "Corvette Camaro" which had a V6 and a BASE price of $25,000.

 

The GM philosophy at the time, thinking of individual models as "brands."

I remember when this ideas was being tossed around. I really don't care for the idea of separating Corvette.

 

You know something interesting though guys...

The article said GM was going to promote Chevy as the Cost-conscious everyday transportation provider... the economy car so to speak.

We have seen that come to pass. Pontiac has been given the performance moniker, with Caddy being theonly other exception as far as speed goes.

I find it interesting how they were ready to peel Corvette out of Chevy's brand to allow Chevy to be "non-performance" cars only.
I see the textbook logic in it, but the history books blow it out the window... SS and Z/28 Camaro's, SS El Camino's, SS Chevelle's, Monte Carlo SS, Nova SS, SS454, and about a dozen other performance cars jump in my mind when I think Chevy. Hell, look at NASCAR!?!? Chevy Lumina, Monte Carlo, etc... there ain't no performance in THAT?

Again, just doing the Monday quarterbacking... but it is interesting, isn't it?

Anybody ever see the CorvetteCamaro at any shows or anything?

 

NO, but since you mentioned it, you better find a pic.

 

I remember this story being bounced about when I 1st started posting on the internet and before I met (or started corresponding with) the guys that actually work in the industry.

Branden even did a story about it for Blueovalnews back when he was working with them.

I think this "Corvette Camaro" was the result of GM's "Brand Management" mentality at the time, and came alot farther along than anyone thought at the time.

GM was going FWD across the board minus Corvette & Cadillac, meaning every other car was an appliance. Also, every GM division had a very narrow and specific role. Chevy's was the bargin basement role. What's really facinating is how much of the things GM started back in the late 90s, we attribute to Bob Lutz today. The specialization of each division we see today was initiated almost half a dozen years ago.

Camaro, under the original scenerio, would be rolled into the Corvette "brand" and would continue. The 4th gen Camaro was put under the Corvette engineering & development umbrella back in the mid-late 90s, so the move was at least initiated.

As far as I can tell, GM actually planned to make a new Camaro till late in the game. It seems that those putting together a new 5th gen Camaro back then actually believed the car would be produced because they were completely stunned and broadsided when GM officially pulled the plug on the project.

Again, as far as I can tell, the final decision to let the car die was heavily influenced by the Ste. Therese plant. On one hand, Ste Therese had exclusive mandates to produce the f-body. But the next Camaro wouldn't sell enough to make production there economically feasible (the plant's capacity was 200,000 cars per year). So in short, the car couldn't be made there, and it couldn't be made somplace else, GM didn't need the plant because it was extremely underutilized, yet if they made a new Camaro, they'd be obligated to make it there.

Now comes the interesting part.



Plant expansions are planned years ahead, and are part of a vehicle's case going before the board for approval. Corvette's Bowling Green plant expansion had to be initially be planned around 1998 since it was done in 2002-2003. This expansion would have included a separate assembly line in the plans since the plant was set up this way. This seems to support the story that Camaro was going to continue under the Corvette brand (or at least it's factory), especially since the car that eventially became the XLR wasn't displayed till 1999 as the Cadillac Evoq, and wasn't approved for development till sometime afterward. You want a twist? It was originally planned as a "Sigma" based car to be built either at Cadillac's Lansing plant or possibly even at the Craft Center.

What if, "hypothetically" of course, the Corvette based or developed Camaro was cancelled because of agreements with the F-Body's Ste. Therese plant that prevented Camaro from being produced elsewhere, and GM wanted to shut down the Ste Therese plant? Suppose all this happened right about the time Cadillac was starting to develop plans for a 2 passenger sports car?

"Well, we have these plans to expand Bowling Green for the new Camaro already initiated, can it be incorperated into the business case for the Evoq?"

It would seem the idea of a Corvette Camaro was probally much farther along than we might think.

 

So... when do we get to see pics of what they were thinking the 5th Gen would look like back then?!?

 

Couple of other things.

1st, the Nomad that 1st started as a Corvette based car, seems likely to become a Corvette based car (the Kappa looks suspiciously like a shrunken Corvette chassis), and the C6 design based Camaro sounds suspiciously like the Chevy version of the Solstice described by insiders that Chevrolet may be working on.


Also, remember this thread?

(http://web.camaross.com/forums/showt...ighlight=nomad).

 

those elusive winks, you never know what they mean. thanks for the info to. it seems that GM is planning years ahead and is getting far enough in front of itself to get run over. as mentioned in another thread cars are planned and designed, years before we see anything. do you think that they planned, or created the notorious suv market?
are they showing us concepts while the car is 100% finished? and like you guys are showing about the planning of cars and plant development. the thing is, if all this info was somehow released to the public, the effect would be not so great on the stock market, as far as price speculation goes, since they wouldn't really understand them. man, i'd love to get a GM secret black folder.

 

Interesting stuff, guionM. Geez, it is surprising how close we might have been to seeing a Corvette brand. I never did like that idea.

 

yes, but the new Nomad kappa car is brand new, and has only been introduced with the incoming of Lutz. This talk about a Corvette Division probably dates back way before Lutz walked in the door.

And a kappa-based Camaro... I dont like that news.

 

A simple minded man would be led to beleive that the modern-day Caddy CTSv is a reskinned version of the 2000 Corvette-Camaro unit, wouldn't he?!?!

Nice stuff there guionM. I too am getting some of the cobwebs shaken loose. If I get time tonight, I'll see if I can dig out some old stuff... maybe we will luck-up and find a pic or two to throw in.

It is VERY apparent to me when GM actually decided to 86 the F-cars, simply due to the change in advertising, quotes, and PR/press releases like the one Ilinked to. The use of the word Camaro goes away.
We also saw a whole about face with the way the car and future concepts were "leaked-out" to us too.

But again, it's easy to QB on Monday morning.
Look at some of yesterdays press releases, and try to guess what we'll see in 3 more years.

 

Actually, it is a pity they abandonned this marketing strategy. Remember, in this context "Nomad" meant something closer to the '99 Camaro-based concept than the current Krappa-platform concept. Maybe "brand management" would have worked if it had been backed by decent product?

In any case, the current passenger car line-up at Chevrolet (ugly C6 excluded) seems directed at buyers with low self esteem. Marketing the $45-60K Corvette in the same brand as the Aveo "clown car" makes zero sense.

 

You mean like marketing a $120k+ Ford GT with a Ford Focus... or like marketing a Dodge Viper with a Dodge Neon... or marketing an Acura NSX with an Acura RSX...

I could go on...