Ahhh.....style. What ever happened to style? Even Firebird Esprit's and Camaro Berlinettas used to have style. People wanted to buy and drive them, even if their powertrains were alittle pokey. The high end models like Z/28 and Trans Am were literally exploding with style and desirability.

People could barely contain themselves with desire for those cars. No wonder they sold in such incredible numbers.

And before I hear anyone say...."yeah, well this isn't 1979, people want SUVs now"; let me just say that regardless of time and place; cars with "STYLE", will always sell.

 

I happen to love the 4th Gen's "style". The car's problems went waaayyy beyond slightly non-mainstream styling.

 

To me Camaro isn't trading RPO's and talking limited numbers of production. I get my rocks off throw'in down four shifts through the quarter mile, or heal toe down shift off a long straight away into a chicane. I've chosen Camaro up till now cause the powertrain suspension and drivetrain sans rear diff gave me a good basis for what I wanted to do with a performance car. For performance enthusiasts we had it pretty darn good with the F-Bodies.

No doubt the a new 5th gen car will have to have more panache and refinement over old car so that it GM gets a attracts a crowd they didn't with the previous 4th gen car to make it a success. At the same time I still hope they give enough thought into the car for the enthusiast that lingers wanting to do more with the car than offered from the factory.

Wouldn't it be nice to grab a 5th gen then be able to pickup a SPO catalog and buy proven, good parts from GM to enhance the performance of the car over the factory offering. It's a win win for GM if they have the time, money and business case to develop such a offering.

The next two to three years will be interesting with the new Mustang coming out, along with the GTO, C6. Camaro or whatever the label they put on it must be somewhere in the mix.

 

I don't think that these are mutually exclusive goals.
Camaro doesn't need to be "generic" to have enthusiasts want them.....in fact I think the opposite is true.

There is nothing wrong (and quite abit right), about creating defined models for specific enthusiasts. How about a Z/28 that appeals to me and quite afew other people on this board. And how about an SS which appeals to enthusiasts who want greater option content. And a base model that performance enthusiasts can get excited about. And maybe an interesting performance package for the base car. Tell me all you want about how expensive such variety would be for a 5th gen....but at least it wouldn't be ONE LONG YAWN.

I've been looking for another 3rd gen lately....and it's so interesting to pour thru all the different models, engines, horsepower ratings, RPO's etc.

I think I'm having more fun doing that, than I ever had looking thru a new 4th gen catalog.

 

PS

YES!

 

maybe it should be siting on the passenger seat when you pick up your brand new 5th gen Z/28

 

When it comes to a 5th gen Z/28....I'd rather see all those parts already bolted on!

 

true but a pamplet should come with the car.

 

I agree 100%. I'm not about to void the waranty on a new car. That said, I would have willingly paid the price to a reputable aftermarket converter for a 383 upgrade if I'd bought a LT-1. I don't believe in half-measure like K&N airfilters and cat back exhausts. Now that my warranty has finally ended, I've started to wonder about that 427 C5-R block. Oh well, I guess I don't want to know what a rebuilt 4L60-E costs.

In any case, a F5 Z28 should be hot enough from the factory to satisfy all but the most rabid enthusiasts. If Chevy is tempted to do another SS-type package, they should do it on the production line instead of farming it out. It makes me wonder how much money they could have shaved off this option if they'd avoided the SLP monkey shines.

 

 

Everything you said there made perfectly good sense.
And while you're definitely NOT alone in your position, you must understand that you (and me, and most everybody else in this forum) are in the minority with this thought pattern. The average 16 y-o boy or 20 y-o girl does NOT buy this car and go hunting blind apex's at 90+ mph on a road course.
I think they buy the cars for 3 main reasons...
1) The "feel good" factor of driving a sporty car with some daily "liveability" to it,
2) The "look good" factor; making a statement that my car fits my personality... youthful, sporty, good-looking, practical, economical, etc,
3) Desireability/demand - meaning that they wanted this particular car for some personal reason... maybe dad had one, best friend has one, they love the color, right price, right options, popularity, current fad, school mascot ... whatever the reason, they want that car.

Personally, I think you have nothing to worry about here. If it doesn't appeal to the enthusiast who wants to race, tweak, or mod, it won't be called a Camaro!
At least not for long anyways...
I don't think GM would be so crazy as to bring back a Camaro along the lines of today's Malibu.

My concern would be just the opposite - I would be afraid of having too much mandatory crap on the car. Let's be honest, does a drag racer really want traction control? an IRS? Does a serious weekend road racer really want OnStar and leather in his car? HUD? DOD? I'm not saying these aren't nice options that people don't want... I'm saying they need to be just that - OPTIONS. Deletable or non-mandatory for those who want the "lean, mean, no waste, go-fast Z/28-type" car.

Couldn't agree more. It could be a winner on multiple fronts too. Ford is actually making a killing on FRPP racing parts. The make a tidy sum from the sale of the car, then turn around and make more money selling parts for the car to allow you to reach whatever platform you desire. I think GM will have to migrate this way too, especially if Camaro comes back in class. And with all the common driveline parts shared with the Vette, you'd think parts sales would be doubly-profitable if done right.

PS - somebody mentioned "voiding my warranty" by buying race parts...
Not necessarilly true. If you buy certain parts from the car's OEM, of a moderate level of performance, your warranty will likely remain in tact - especially if you have the dealer install them. GRANTED, there are parts available that exceed warrantability, but let's be real, people. Hendrick Motorsports won't give Joe Gibbs' race team a warranty on the race engines they provide either.
In the real world, you're not gonna be able to buy a true "race car" with a warranty - accept it. If you want a racer, buy used and mod to the heavens - it's cheaper that way anyhow.

 

It would also be nice if they limited the number of options. This would keep the overall average price of the car lower and prevent dealers from stocking only loaded cars no one can afford.

I'm not suggesting they make a stripped down car with no options, but that they keep things reasonable. There shouldn't be a $16,000 difference between a base V6 and a loaded convertible.

If it were up to me, I'd only check the following options.

-Power Locks / Windows / Keyless
-Manual Cloth Seats
-Manual Transmission
-Z/28 High Performance
-Removable roof panel (maybe)
-Big honkin' stereo
-A/C
-ABS

No leather, climate control, heated seats, overpriced/undervalued SS packages, HUD, steering wheel buttons, ACR, power seats, navigation, HID lights, etc.

BTW, this option content is the same as the Camaro I used to own.