Being a die hard Chevy fan (i even have a cat named Chevy and my major dream is to be president of Chevrolet since i was 8 years old) and now a huge Camaro fan (my bro and i each have one), i was in disbelief for years about the HIATUS that we all know of. And i was deeply saddened when it actually happened. That is really when i started comming hear very often in hopes of word on a new Camaro.

That said for the past year or so ihave been 98% sure of the Camaro's return, lately it has grown to 100% positive . By the time it comes out, i will be most of the way through college, and a new Camaro would be a nice little grad pres if i do say so myself . Anyways, there has just been so much evidence of it coming back lately from people officially saying they are/were looking for a new platform for a 2 door Chevy coupe, Zeta seems ultimately ideal and most likely.

But there is a problem with no "official" word on a "Camaro" per say. Yes, I am damn well sure it is coming back, but not everyone does. Most of us here know it, but no matter how hard i try i cant convince some of my friends of it. and also every so often ill here a guy in a Camaro talking to his buddy about Camaros and one guy asks when they are coming back, the response "never." I know GM cant say anything because of contracts, but i just thought i would give them a little bit of a heads up about some of my first hand experience with the topic of the Return of the Camaro.

PS. RP, if there is one being developed right now, can you give recommend that they build a nice spacious trunk in it (unlike the 4th gen) please. Its hard packing 3 people in my car, let alone their stuff in my car on the way to practice.

 

Yes, I disagree.

There have been enough leaks and unofficial information that it's pretty obvious that you'll see a RWD Chevrolet coupe. Based on a post on goauto.com.au, it looks like 2008 (calendar or model year it doesn't say).

It would cost someone's his job if he said something official. It may also cost GM a lot of money, perhaps over $1 Billion.

Why would you expect anyone to say anything official in the face of that?

 

On a side note Red; I'm loving the avatar! When did you get that? Very fitting!

Oh....and....

I've got faith!

I just wish my Faith could speed things up!

I feel like a kid on Christmas Eve. Except then I realize Christmas is months away. Get my point. Oh well, as long as Christmas comes.

 

"Global Platform" = Zeta

Gonzo saw something VERY close to what we all are looking for at the styling clinic last fall....still think it'll take until 2008 to return?!?

I like pie!

THAT'S IT He's communicating in Morse (sp?) Code!!!!! ROTFLMAO!!!!

 

 

I just hope it doesn't look like that car. (or 4th Gens )

 

You're obviously smarter than GM

 

I think a lot of this is more nervous anticipation. So many of us take this seriously and are crossing our fingers hoping that GM designers can give us something we'll be proud to call a Camaro. So far, the engineers seem to have their side under control.

Don't take this the wrong way, but I still don't completely understand the 3rd vs 4th thing. I was wandering the junkyard the other day and looking over the 3rd's. To me they both are so very closely related in so many ways. Compared to other gen's, the line between these two is certainly blurred.

 

Well, of course there are certain similaries between the two. But the only really obvious things that let you know that the cars are of the same line is the size (chassis) and the front of LT1 Camaros. (which was the better looking car over the LS1) Otherwise they unfortunately look like completely different cars. Don't wanna turn this into an Third vs. 4th thing, everyone knows Thirds are my preference.

 

I think we'd need some dashes to go with the dots!

 

To Red and the others 'in the know' or 'close to in the know' and the 'you know who you are'....

This has been covered soooooo many times I think the few here that post inorant posts like 'F.U. GM' and the what and 'GM really needs to say something" really shouldn't be replied to anymore.

The majority here have a good enough idea of what has happened and what (might) be happening. All we can do is wait and shake our heads at past GM CEOs' mistakes and misguided judgements that got us to where we are today.

So stop banging you head against the wall...there are some people people in every industry (for example mountain biking) that you just CANNOT REACH. All you can do is eventually walk away from them.

 

Will Only Buy GM Products. Never will go back to Ford.

Ford spelled backwards spells DROF = Driver returns on Foot

Mopar is short for More Parts.

I have driven & owned Ford, Chrysler & Chevy & I will only drive GM from now on.

What you guys most likely dont know is if it wasnt for guys like RP that the Camaro would have been dead a few years ealier.

So stop Complaining about it & do something. You want the Camaro to return Dont sit on your "pie hole" start joining Car clubs & getting your voice heard.

GM isnt going to Listen to a single voice. They have to hear alot before they do something.

Plus We dont know whats going on behind close doors .

So stop your compaining & Do something. Dont sit on the pot do something while you are there. or get the F off.

 

Originally posted by Red Planet
(banging head against wall..............)

okay obviously I understand..yes I do..thats why I am on the 5th gen board as much as anyone..what I am saying if you know what I mean...I thought of it like this..

when GM Said "viper? dont worry we got something comming out that will smoke a viper" or to soemthing of that effect..

THAT IS WHAT I MEAN! We need THE quote that makes everyone go HOLD ON..GM's got something...

we can read between the lines all we want...but like everything it can mean things can get cancelled...and I know there is something down the road..the people that love Camaro but dont know about this board..those people that read M T or Hot Rod need to see that quote from GM..saying something like..
"05 stang..dont worry we got soemthing that will smoke a Stang comming up"

know do you understand..thats what I mean..not hard info..no "its dead" comments..cus thats what they read..and alot beleive..we need the quote..from Lutz that says diffrent..it is the next big Revolution "peice" from GM...
thats what I am tryingto say!

 

I understand RP's frustration with certain people. However, I also understand that GM pushing anything back, Camaro or otherwise, will always open the door for something else.

Now, I'm of the mindset that you never buy in the first model year, so if it's an '07 Camaro, then I won't be buying until '08 (and so on if it's later). I'm planning on a new house this year and a new car (SUV) for the wife unit shortly thereafter. So my Z28 fund will be limited for a while, but 2008 might be in my sweet spot. IF that's the second model year, I will be buying. If not, I will most definitely be looking elsewhere and it's 90% that it won't be with GM. I need a 2+2 coupe. That's the only thing that's viable for me. I have two kids, and they love riding in "the fast car", and I love taking them with me, so a Vette or similar is completely out of the question.

Basically, come 2008 or so, whoever has a fast 2+2 coupe (that doesn't rhyme with "ford") will be getting my money. The only RWD car I will consider is a Camaro, anything else will need to be AWD. I'm one of the few people that drives their car year 'round and I would only put up with RWD if it says Camaro on it.

To further what another GM diehard said... Keep in mind that I'm just about as GM diehard as they come. My father has worked for GM longer than I've been alive (30+ years if you're counting) and I get a pretty sizeable discount to buy a GM product. However, if they don't have anything for me, then it doesn't mean squat. Think about this when you want to gauge what the non-GM diehards think about this hiatus.

Currently, I'd be looking at a Subaru WRX STi. God help GM if Mitsubishi still made a 3000GT VR4 with appropriate 2004 enhancements!

 

Boy, this thread's come alive since I last stopped here!

Look, the car in question (no names please) is almost certainly coming. Short of an economic calamity (and with our current administration using taxpayer dollars to finance Hummers & Escalade buyers and tax breaks to the over $100,000 crowd, it's certainly possible) you can probably bank on a certain Chevy returning. In the auto business, odds don't get much better.

There are many reasons for the gap, and you CAN'T blame the current management at General Motors. The things that cause this gap date back to 1997! That's SEVEN YEARS AGO! It takes a whole lot of years to get something through the system.

Now.... on the flip side, GM isn't making things any better.

Bragging that they can do a car from scratch in 18-24 months, then taking 4 years to bring a car from near final design to production doesn't help. Neither does does producing a car simultaniously with it's own division in another country, then taking an additional year or 2 after that division brings out it's version to bring out ours.

If I buy a Mustang next year, I'm not saying "F.U." to GM. It's simply that I need a new car at a particular timeframe, and I have no intention on waiting another 3 years to get it (however, as RP knows 1st hand, my sister is likely to wait till h*ll freezes over to get the next Camaro ).

I also am looking at GTO, hoping for an ElCamino, and will check into the Dodge Charger. My loyalty is to the best vehicle that suits my needs & wants at the time I'm ready to buy. I know that GM has some phenominal stuff coming. The problem is that so does everyone else.

To make things even more difficult, currently Mach1s are going for around 24K, GTs can be had for 20K and less, and 300C Hemis will be runining about 30K with Merc parts & quality that appears to be better than anything else built in the US save the assorted Ford truck, Lincoln, or Cadillac.

Redplanet is right that this is a highly competitive business. He has also dropped so many hints without jepordizing his job that we can almost draw blueprints of the car.

The issue ISN'T that GM let us down (those guys have moved over or out of GM), or that GM let the F-body die (GM intended to go FWD on all their cars save Cadillac & Corvette, leaving no chassis for the Camaro).

There is a devoted team hellbent on bringing a Camaro back. Former Chevy GM Kurt Ritter, North American President Gary Cowger, Bob Lutz, and pretty much the whole Chevrolet Motor Division are all pulling to get Camaro back in the showrooms.

It's just that GM's North America arm moves at a snails pace, and there isn't anything that can be done about it to make it move as quick as smaller car companies or as quick as we would like. That's all.