So far there seems to be alot of people here who say they wouldn't go for the car, and would still blame GM. It seems that to some, the loyalty is towards the name itself, not to GM in general or Chevrolet in particular.

But it's ironic that some of the people who are the most pro-GM guys also indicate that they would shop around (not exactly sure where you'd go besides Ford and maybe Chrysler or Infinity) or steer clear of Chevrolet. At least those of you who'd buy a competitor's car will still demonstrate there's a market for these cars.

One thing I want to point out to everyone, Camaro is one of the top 5 most recognized car names in the US, up there with Corvette, Thunderbird, & Mustang. For the record, GM takes the name very seriously. It's a registered trademark, they do own the name, and they have done everything they can do to date, and will do everything they can do in the near future.

uluz28, I thought about making this a poll after I hit the 'submit' button.
I'm sure someone else will.

 

Although a Chevy Coupe would be something worth considering, it would not have a key advantage that it would have if it were called a Camaro. When I buy a Camaro (as I have done four times in the past) I know what I am getting. The car's name has an undeniable history that I am proud to be a part of. I and a lot of people LOVE Camaros and would be willing to look at anything GM offered with the name. The name would immediately attract customers. Camaro Vs. Mustang Redux! would be all over every automotive magazine and website in the country (tons of free publicity that would not be automatically available without the name). Of course, with all the potential publicity, the car would have to be a homerun in terms of styling, packaging, drivetrain, fit and finish, etc. The modern automotive landscape does not allow product development at the public's expense as it once did. The GTO's less than stellar market reception is evidence that if a car is not done exactly right, the car will fail and subsequent revisions and upgrades may not be enough to correct the failure (I like the GTO by the way - Autocross package and no hood scoops please).
A new Chevy coupe would not generate the buzz a new Camaro would. Capturing and exploiting that "buzz" with an excellent product would be much more readily accomplished if the car carries the name the public expects.

 

Camaro is probably one of the most recognized names. But putting the name on a car that loosely follows the description of a pony car is wrong. I am sure that the higher-ups want to use the name on any car just so it will create some talk and make some traffic in Chevrolet showrooms.

 

There is a flip side to the "recognized" name idea. Remember that in today's market, Camaro is considered by many of the younger buyers to be a "mullet mobile", a crude high horsepower primitive brute with a solid rear axle and a "low tech" pushrod small block.

If the new one comes out, however refined and advanced it is, many people will see the word Camaro and think of the previous model and all of its connotations and associations. They'd be wrong, of course, but if it keeps a bunch of people from looking at the car, then...

We love to talk about how many Camaro enthusiasts (and evidently many of you are indeed "Camaro" and not Chevrolet or GM enthusiasts) there are, yet for some reason the Camaro stopped selling after '96 or '97, while the equally primitive (if not more so) Mustang soldiered on with minimal changes.

Suppose you guys were all in the position to afford $50k to $100k toys. If the Corvette had been put on hiatus, then came back with all the creature comforts we expect in a Vette plus Viper beating performance, all for 50 or 60 grand, we'd be all over it, right? Now what if the name changed from Corvette to "Manta Ray" or some other random name. You'd now pass on this perfect car because the NAME is different?

Guys, it is a car. It does not have a soul, except for the spirit WE put into it. If the car has the passion and style and performance built into it from the start, I can't believe you'd pass up on a car you know you'd love just because of the freaking name.

It's a free country though..

 

If a car was just a car, then there wouldn't be any automobile enthusiasts. A great car is so much more than just the materials that it is made of and the function that it performs. It is true that we put the soul into the vehicles but there is that intangible something that makes the car so much more. To not name the car Camaro strips all the feeling and "soul" from the car and it will take 35 years to build it back up, and as history will tell us, that is very hard to do.

As far as the Corvette, I think you can bet the farm that if it were named something different at this point, it would be a total failure, that's just the way it is. People buy Accords because it is just a car, they buy Corvettes/Camaros because it is much more and the name is apart of that.

Yes, you can say that technically it is just a name and the vehicle will not perform or drive any less, but I think everyone here knows that the name in this case is very important.

 

Again, I don't think Guy was saying that Chevrolet wants to call it something else....it's just might happen that they have to call it something else to be able to build it....(within the foreseeable future). It's really that serious of an issue at this point.

The question is: If they do their damnest to use the Camaro name, BUT still have to come up with a new name (or an old one as the Chevelle) to be able to get back in the pony/musclecar business.....and it resembles a Camaro in either looks or execution, will you still buy it? What if GM has NO other reasonable choice?

Let's face it, IF GM wanted to use another name...they'd do it in a heartbeat! But there's a few serious issues thay may cause them to have to forgo the name in the cause of getting a car built.

GM is NOT taking this lightly....hence the battles still raging over this issue....

 

There are enthusiasts because there are cars to be enthusiastic about, not because they have a name with "heritage". What kind of heritage does the name "F360" have for Ferrari? What about the Porsche Boxster? The Mistu Eclipse has been around for a while now (16 years or so, at least). If Mitsubishi let the less sporty current version die, and the name die with it, but came out with a new car more along the lines of the original Eclipse/Talon/Laser and called it something new, should they be doomed to the same exodus of all their fans to a competing camp?

I don't get it. Sure, an enthusiast-type car can be much more than just glass and steel and plastic put together. It is the design that those materials make up which makes the difference between a Malibu and a Vette. But the name is a word that does not change the way the vehicle looks (other than the lettering on the badge), drives, performs, stays together.

You can't GET heritage until you start from somewhere... If Chevy comes out with a new coupe under a different name, what if THAT name were around for the next 30 years? Would it then have enough "heritage" for you? When the Camaro came out in 1967, it was a meaningless word. The car had no "heritage". So, because GM produced a cool car for 35 years, they are now forced (in some of your minds) to have to call any future vehicle that could fit in that product segment a "Camaro" or "Firebird"? I can understand some level of disappointment, seriously. I can understand thinking, "Damn, this car kicks ***!! I just wish they had called it a Camaro!"

But I cannot fathom leaving a brand you like (i.e. Chevrolet, which has much MORE heritage than just Camaro alone, by the way) and a "perfect" car just because the name had to be different. It's beyond me.

 

You know, I've spoken to more than one person from GM with this view. And I'm not just talking "empty shirt" bureaucrats either, I'm talking people who's opinions I generally respect. The thinking is that Camaro's image is just too far gone to salvage. That any car that returns with the "Camaro" name, will have to carry that baggage.

Hopefully, that's not a belief that will take root at GM.

I say, keep the name......just give us a car that can dump the baggage....for good!

 

I agree with you... I know there are folk at GM like this. We know this, RP being the most visible or the good-guys. But there are clearly others who don't think Camaro belongs in GM's corporate plan for the future. Example: the GM person (can't rember his name) who was very recently quoted as telling us that FWD 4 bangers are the new pony car. As ****ing if! These are the people the barbs and jabs are directed at. It's assumed (by me at least), that when people say GM doesn't care about the Camaro name, that they mean these people because it should be obvious we're not talking about the good guys!

 

I've lost count of how many thumbs up and compliments my f-body's have gotten from kids in giant winged, neon bedecked Neons and Civics when Ive been out cruising the local 'strip' in summer. I've only ever once had any give me the thumbs down and this was at an f-body gathering where a lone dork (replete with backwards baseball cap and poor attempt to grow facial hair) drove slowly through the lot acting all tough to all the f-bod owners 'cuz his underaged g/f was with him in his snot green Acura Integra. Maybe these GM people need to get out a bit more and see how things really are.

I almost forgot the little old lady in a green buick LeSabre with her husband pulling in to the stall next to me at Denny's (this summer gone) tellling me what a beautiful car my 95 Trans-Am was and that she was going to be very careful not to ding my door .

 

DITTO . The 4th gen did ALOT to turn that image around . In this area anyways , the 4th gen F-body is what the fox stang was in the late 80's early 90's . Its very popular car with the kids and almost everybody from what I can tell .

Sorry , but a camaro needs to be called Camaro . Its not about just the name or just the car . Its about the whole package . How many cars have been around since the 60's , have grown to legendary status , and up until they were discontinued in 2002 stayed true to their roots . Lets keep that up . Like was said before , not to many people would like the new stang if it was called a maverick or fairmount Though Ive had over 8 f-cars , Ive never bought a brand new one and I'm pissed I wasnt able to . Someday , I wanna be able to order my brand new Camaro exactly how I want it . Id probably keep it forever .

If the issues cant be solved and the name cant be used no matter what , at least dont call a new car built to fill the camaros shoes any other pre-existing chevy name . I dont want a Chevelamaro . Beg Holden to let them use the name TORANA .

 

It really depends on what the car looks like.

If it looks great, performes great, and has a decent price, then yes I would buy it with or without the Camaro name.

But if its some ugly *** car then HELL NO im not touching it, with or without the camaro name. If thats the case, then I'll be in the market for a GTO, or a thirdgen

 

I think the car must be right and must fit the name. Would I buy a sweet, brand new Chevy performace coupe that was RWD and 2+2 and V8 powered? Sure... eventually. I bought my car off the lot in Feb 03, it was one of 4 Z-28's left on the lot. I arrived at the dealership in a 98 S-10 (4.3L, 4x4 that I never used and so on). The salesman came out and I asked what I was looking for... I didn't say I wanted a sporty car, I didn't say I wanted something fast... I asked to see their remaining Camaro's. That was all I wanted to see. 2 or 3 years from now when I have hopefully garaged my current Camaro, I will be in the market again.. and IF there is a 2007 Camaro on the lot.. I will be much, much more tempted to sign a 5 or 6 year payment agreement than if I am looking at a Chevy Chevelle, or Nova, or Vega, or whatever other name GM might have to use. Right name and the right car = sold. Right car and different name means... well.. it will be very hard to convince myself that $500 a month is worth it again.

Today, $500 a month is an investment in a car that, no matter where I go, brings an instant recognition, a car that ( to me) exhudes confidence and a willingness to let me firmly plant my foot and take whatever I dish out. I am a mostly responsible driver, my car has never gone over 110mph, and never been to the track. I KNOW what my car can do, because it is a Camaro. That is all I need


SilZ28
2002 Camaro Z-28 ( Silver)

 

To build a great car and call it something other than Camaro is ok with me.

To build a mediocre car and call it Camaro would suck.

 

I've got a few thoughts on this but will try to be as brief and to-the-point as possible...

1) The Camaro name and its attached heritage is just W-A-Y-Y too important not to have in the new car. I grew up with the Camaro and followed its evolution from the 1st day it hit the showroom. Rekindling the classic Camaro vs. Mustang rivalry needs to be a top priority in order to generate as much enthusiasm for the car as possible... and BTW, should this rivalry in fact, be rekindled, Mustang would also benefit immensely from the increased enthusiasm that would inevitably be a corollary of this traditional rivalry. Call it a Pony Car "Renaissance", if you will!

2) This is a matter of a name on a car. I'm not trying to oversimplify what I'm sure is a very complicated issue here, but GM has to do what it must to do in order to ensure that this car carries the Camaro nameplate, regardless of the costs and legal buyouts that may be involved. This is not an issue where a shortsighted approach will pay dividends for GM!

3) However, the fact of the matter is (for me) that I bought my 4th Gen because of what the car was and not because of the name. Heck - I got rid of my 2nd F*rd in a row to get my SS! The combo of performance, price and looks was irresistible and if Chevy can produce a 5th Gen that is as appealing to me for the same reasons (and hopefully more), I'd definitely buy it - even if it wasn't called Camaro. Without the Camaro name however, it simply would not have the same "cachet" or magnetism.
I was fortunate enough to participate in the discussion that took place in Bowling Green this September involving this topic (the one that Doug referred to) and I'll make the same point here that I did there... being that the Camaro name invokes an image of Mark Donahue in his blue Z/28 battling it out with George Follmer in his yellow Boss 302 around a tight corner during a Trans-Am race. The Chevelle name, on the other hand, invokes an image of going down a drag strip. In my mind, there is a connotation here that Camaro is much more of an all-round car - more akin to a Corvette than to a car (Chevelle) whose image is more "straight line". I'd like to think that any 5th Gen vehicle would be an improvement on the 4th Gen - which proved itself to be a very capable and easy car to drive on a road course and I'd like to think that GM would play this to the hilt! This is definitely not the case with any Chevelle that I can remember! I likethe commercial for the '05 Mustang with Steve McQueen doing some corner carving thru that cornfield!

4) As far as the current image of a Camaro driver wearing a mullet or having braided chest hair with lots of gold chains is concerned (not that having either of these traits makes someone a bad person!). I think that GM is more than capable of dispelling this image. I'm basing this conclusion on the amazing effort that GM/Cadillac Division has made in this area. We sometimes forget how advertising and promotion can effect an image change! (Heck! Can you blame us?!? When did you last see a Camaro ad?!?) The other ingredient, of course, is a product that lives up to its hype, which 1 or 2 Caddys seem to be able to do.

5) Bottom line is that GM needs to not only hit a home run with this car when it is introduced, but a grand slam home run and not do their usual "let's take a couple of years to get it right" routine. The lesson has been learned with the GTO. Hopefully GM will be able to call it Camaro, but if it's called Chevelle... or Panther... or whatever... the car simply needs to simply blow away the competition... and to have a soul, and everybody here knows what that is.

Best regardSS,

Elie