Hey guy's I was just wondering, do you think GM understands what they have done by stopping production of the F-Cars.(Other than a few dedicated and driven individuals, RP in particular.)The F-Body was more than just a car to allot of people, myself included.To drive a Camaro or Firebird was to make a statement.And yes the cars did have shortcomings, we all know that they have had no investment in 10 yrs.Yet we still chose them.
I was reminded of when there was talk of discontinuing the Mustang....Public outcry was astounding...Ford listened.
Well now the F-Body is gone, is GM listening?

 

There is almost certainly another Camaro comming. The question is when, and will anyone ever respect current Camaro enthusiasts enough to let us know.

 

They don't care!! Well, alot of them don't care. A few, like SS, care. For the most part, as long as they are selling all those trucks and SUV's, they don't care!!

 

Yup! they just don't care
that is why I will never buy a GM car in my life,Serious

 

Certain people within GM knew what they did when the fate of the F-body was decided, people like S.S. and others on the Corvette/Camaro team. People in the old regime (cough cough ZERELLA) either did not know or did not care enough about some of the most loyal GM customers found anywhere. That being said, I honestly think Bob Lutz is serious about bringing a performance image back to GM and that Camaro is in that fold somewhere.

 

i dont think ford saved the mustang cause of its customers. more like the probe (which was to replace the mustang) didnt catch on as theyd hoped so they killed it instead (thank god). and i could guarantee the camaro IS coming back under Lutz, as he stated himself :"camaro is more than just a car, its a corporation" (or something along those lines). hint hint.

 

We know there will be another Camaro. The question's are just when and how.

 

I'm hoping they throw us a bone within the next year or so. It doesn't have to be very detailed, just something along the lines of "We're working on the details of a new Camaro and hope to have it in production within the next few years". Anything to keep us interested would be nice. I'm going to be in the market next summer and if I haven't heard anything on their plans to build a new camaro, I won't even hesitate to look at other vehicles...even the new cobra I realize its a bit soon at this point for GM to be talking about a new camaro but would asking for future plans by next summer be too much to ask??

Colin
98 Z28

 

Wrong! Brief History lesson:

Ford was all set to kill Mustang in 1990, but a massive letter writing campaign and a big spike in Mustang sales convinced Ford to rename the MustangIII (no I'm not making this up) Probe, and continue Mustang till it's sales died out, then kill it off completely in the early 90s.

Don Peterson, who was the head of Ford at the time (an an avid performance guy.....he actually took a racing course at Bondurant's school in Arizona & made many of his other executives do the same), secretly formed a group, which later became Team Mustang, and charged them with finding a way to save the car (with next to no budget).

Probe was killed off partially because it's sales lagged (ironically well behind Mustang), and Ford wanted to remarket the car under the Mercury brand. Cougar basically was Probe's replacement.

Cougar was killed off because of poor sales & the fact that Ford (at least before it's meltdown last year) was going bring the Cougar back based on the next Mustang.

The first years of Probe1, Probe2, and Cougar actually sold very well.

BTW, Kut Ritter is the force behind Camaro at the moment. Lutz is currently focusing his attention on Cadillac, Buick, and Pontiac. It was Bob Lutz himself who also said that it would be a while before Camaro returns because there are other higher priorities right now.

 

Just my .02 worth, but I don't think I can wait till the next gen comes out for this reason. Seven years from now, I'll be 60 and would certainly like to retire, if possible. If and when that time comes I don't think I'll be in the market for a new performance car, I'll be looking at some basic transportation. The wife and I recently paid off both our 98Z28 and the 99SS and sure it's nice not having any payments, but the cars are getting up there in milage (pushing 70K on the Z and over 50K on the SS). They both run great because we take care of them, but I'd say in another 2 years, 3 at the most, we'd be in the market for something new. Last major purchase before retirement. Point is, I'd certainly love to buy a new 2005 SS Camaro or Z28 at that time but it doesn't appear that's going to be possible because GM won't be making them. And if they do come out in say 2007-2008 what are they going to cost when you figure inflation? $35K, 40K, 50K??????? Who knows?

We're planning on keeping our current f-bodies as long as possible, but it certainly would have been great knowing we could get new ones in a couple years. Bummer.

 

I was under the impression that GM, because of the political crap and contract they have with CAW, that they cant announce anything about a new Camaro. I also recently talked to my friends dad who builds trucks at the Arlington plant in TX and he said that the contact idea proposed here (about Gm making a deal that the Camaro could only be built by the CAW until 2005) makes sense to him. I cant remember all the details that he told me. But he basically confirmed that it is plausible. So I’m betting that as soon as this contract runs out we'll start to hear more specifics (maybe a concept car). We know its coming whether its being worked on now or not. But I think because of this deal with the CAW we are pretty much locked into the later part of the decade for a new Camaro. Oh well, unlike a lot of you I should be getting out of college and getting my first big job (hopefully with one of the big three) around this time and in the market for my first brand new car.

 

I'm hoping they throw us a bone within the next year or so. It doesn't have to be very detailed, just something along the lines of "We're working on the details of a new Camaro and hope to have it in production within the next few years". Anything to keep us interested would be nice -------Well said!!


35 yrs of performance history and a cult like following, come on let us know something!!

BTW, Kut Ritter is the force behind Camaro at the moment. Lutz is currently focusing his attention on Cadillac, Buick, and Pontiac. It was Bob Lutz himself who also said that it would be a while before Camaro returns because there are other higher priorities right now.

IMHO the F-Body should be a priority!!The car is an image builder,and if done correctly it just might catch on!
On top of all that we seem to at the dawn of a new high performance era...And we have nothing to bring to the party!!!

 

So very true.

 

in response to Guion m's post on my response, i appreciate the enlightenment on the subject, facts i didnt know about, but im 99% sure i had read it in car and driver or road and track a while back that fwd performance(aka probe) was to replace v8 rwd performance (mustang) in the ford lineup cause thats where they (ford) saw the performance spectrum heading . (this was in the early nineties) because the stang sold so well and the probe didnt, thats why they changed their minds. the cougar was a replacement for the probe (as you said) and really didnt do well. so i think ford's learned its lesson. and thats why were getting some pretty kick:ss stangs coming out now. anyway, i hope you understand that im not contradicting you (cause im not), just you know more the facts whereas i know the fluff but in all its the same point. only part beeing is that they werent gonna call the stang "probe", they intended to kill it. take care.

 

The car guys in GM understand. It's difficult for non-car guys to get it.

I have to wonder if, in the grand scheme of things, GM expects V8 Camaro buyers to now look at the Vette and/or the Monaro (I won't call it a GTO), while the V6 buyers to head over to Pontiac for a GTP.

It's all business in the end, whether we like it or not.

This is where I feel GM is making a huge mistake. By not saying anything about a 5th gen car, people will probably start looking for something else at some point. And once they leave, will they come back?


The real question is this: if you were to get rid of your Camaro, what would you get? If you go to a non-GM brand, and you get hooked, would you be inclined to come back to GM if/when the new Camaro shows up? As Camaro buyers depart, will they be back?