I noticed lately that this whole forum is going nuts! There is a mass hysteria because people are afraid that the new camaro will be retro.

I think the question we need to ask is what is the difference between retro and a modern interpretation with heritage cues.

For me:

VERY RETRO = PT Cruiser
RETRO = Mustang
Slightly Retro= 300C
Modern Interpretation, or 'evolution' with heritage cues = c5 and c6 (in their own time)

Of course gm is gonna make it retro or give it some heritage cues. How couldn't they when the bean counters look at the success of the new mustang?

The question we need to ask is where exactly does the new camaro fit in on the retro scale ( I know sounds chessy) .Is it slightly retro, or a modern interpretation with alot of heritage cues. Maybe these heritage cues make people dubb it to be 'retro'.


It would be great if someone from the winky club could tell us how exactly retro its gonna be. Yes I know this is probably not gonna happen but it would be great to get some hints. From what has been said it looks pretty obvious that the new camaro is gonna be retro.
It would be great to know just how retro is 'retro'.

The problem with the word retro is that it is such a generalization.

 

Yeah, funny thing is most people probably wouldn't have had a problem with a "retro" design if Ford hadn't done it first.

Retro/Spaceship like/3rd Gen like/SUV like I dont' care, just want something with the Camaro name on it and performance.

 

Well the designs that have been floating around and are said to be very close to what the car will look like are too "retro" for me.

I think the difference between retro and evolution is simple. If the car looks like an updated version of the car it's replacing then it's evolution. If the car looks like any generation before that then it's retro. Of course some cars have always looked very similar so they can't be called retro no matter how far back you go, but this isn't the case for the Camaro.

Sure a 1st gen style Camaro wouldn't be such a bad idea with a non-retro Mustang out, I wouldn't love/really like it but I could deal with it. I've been saying no to retro before the Mustang was known to be retro, back when this place was "Save the Camaro" and retro was new and "in".

If this were the HHR and the PT I wouldn't make a big deal. (some people are though) But, the copycat issue is a big deal when the cars in question have been trying to one-up each other for 40 years or so. The 4th gen was slowly breaking the Mustang > Camaro idea the general public has, and a retro design is going to be a step backwards IMO.

This would be a TOTAL non issue if the sister Firebird/TA was going to be around. Maybe people are placing their Trans Am style hopes on a Camaro and that is why there is so much conflict.

 

Not me... I disliked the idea long before we knew what Mustang was going to look like.... of course, now that Mustang is here in all it's full-blown retro glory.... having a retro Camaro makes it even worse..... IMO, of course.

 

Well, I don't think that the retro/evoution design is such a fine line. Most manufacturers use the evolution theme when redesigning a car, after all, there really are only a few examples of retro and half of them belong to Ford. The Camaro has used "heritage cues" in every redesign and every redesign has been an evolution of the past. This is how it should remain. You can still fix the problem areas of the past without throwing the 4th gen design out the window. If the car goes back to a 69' "inspired" design, then the rest of the Camaro liniage is ignored and to me that is a little insulting. Maybe insulting isn't the best word but definatly dissapointing.

By the way, I also didn't like the retro thing before Ford did it.

 

I don't think the retro theme would be necessarilly bad for a Camaro, and I don't believe we can accuse Chevy of copying Ford when Ford wasn't the first manufacturer to do a retro design (PT Cruiser, 300, SSR were all done prior to Mustang). I just think GM is in a situation that no matter what they come up with, if it doesn't look like an updated version of the previous generation, people will call it retro just because it may be a similiar size as a 69, and have a trunk instead of a hatch. Why don't we just wait and see what GM comes up with and judge the car on it's own merits instead of getting all upset over retro vs. evolutionary design.

 

That's a pretty low standard to live by, don't ya think....

 

This always confuses me. My 4th gen (vert) has a trunk.

 

Hatch > Trunk

 

Because, it has been said that NOW is the time to make our opinions on the matter heard. If bitching about a retro design will actually do anything...........who knows, but at least I did my part and I can say "Don't blame me, I didn't vote for retro" when the 07-69' comes out.

 

I am not real sure about which I would want more, retro or revolutionary. I do know that the Z28 I would want would be a bit rough around the edges like they have always been. The original concept of the Z28 was Trans Am car that you could drive on the street, and with not alot of the BS bells and whistles on it. I do like A/C though....

 

I don't consider the new Mustang "retro." It's a modern 3-box coupe design with heritage cues. In keeping with current trends, it's slab-sided with a shorter roofline. But, it has a front and rear clip unmistakeably "Mustang."

My dream cars would be a 58 - 65 Vette, with c4/c5 suspension and drivetrain updates, or a Unique Performance Eleanor. That's retro to me.

 

I can't express how much I disagree with everyone on here that seems to think the new Mustang is not retro. Every non-enthusiast I have ever talked to that has seen the car always says something to the affect that it looks just like the old ones. Just standing by the damn thing at the Philly auto show last winter I heard comment after comment in that flavor made of the car. It is just a smoother looking copy of the past.

Heritage Cues, that fine. Most cars that have had time to exist for a decent size chunk of automotive time sport some kind of cue to their past. I just do not want the Mustang formula for the new Camaro, and I hope the GM higher ups don't consider a retro Camaro design in theme with the Mustang to just be a new car sporting heritage cues, because that would be what most people I have talked to(and myself included, as well as many on this board) consider retro.