cmc

Having seen the Solstice firsthand, it seems a whole lot smaller than the Camaro. Certainly a lot lower and shorter in overall length, but it is kind of wide. Very aggressive and way better in real life than in photographs.

WERM

I'd take the V8's from the truck and corvette programs (they would be aluminum of course). The transmissions are current parts bin. I'd use standard GM switches, indicator lights, levers, power window motors, modules etc. (but I would spring for some retro shiny chrome interior door levers - to be shared with solstice, of course). Exterior door handles would be parts bin (same as C5, alero, etc). Dome light would be from another GM car (does it matter?).

I'd tool up two unique instrument panels one for Solstice/Camaro and the other for Sky/Bengal. They would have a different look, but use the same structure behind them and the same hidden components. I'd also tool up two sets of seats (deep buckets for C/S and bigger cushier seats for sk/bg) and use different coverings for each car.

I'm sure there are some beefy brakes somewhere in the GM empire to borrow. The need for a beefy rear would probably necessitate the use of a C5/C6 rear suspension. Don't know about the front. There are probably lots of miscellanious brackets, fasteners, stampings, etc. that either already exist or could be shared across these 4 cars.

I bet if they were clever, they could get 50% shared parts between these 4 cars or other GM products. They could also all be built at the same plant, possibly with other GM vehicles like GTO. (If they can't make a business case for that, they may as well hang it up).

Throw in a million dollars for some new wheels and tada! The 2007 Camaro - The true sports car you can actually afford.

WERM

Yea, but also like the 3rd Gen RS, Z28 models. And they'd all be "performance" editions.

Whaddya want that bar for? Don't say chassis stiffness - this is the Camaro of the Future so it should stiff even without the "burt reynolds bar".

Actually I did, several times and collected lots of cardboard corvettes in the process. I figured that as a young car nut who had restored 2 cars, had a Mechanical Engineering degree and hybrid electric vehicle experience I'd be a shoe in... But I digress

cmc

If it's third-gen or fourth-gen enough, the (by-then) old Z06 wheels would look great.

Z284ever

It looks as if Solstice/Sky/Bengal will use an all new platform, but with many Delta components (IMO, not what I'm necessarilly looking for in a Camaro).

While we're brainstorming this... how economically feasible would it be if Camaro had a more sophisticated suspension than the S/S/B triplets.,

Pandamonkey

I like your idea's.

Pentatonic

No.

What's with all these "Smaller Camaro = Better Camaro" posts lately? Maybe some of you smaller guys would enjoy riding around in an automobile barely distinguishable from the stylish go-kart known to the public as the Miata.

Of Course, if the car weighs only 3,000 lbs, then it won't need 400 hp to get it moving. But why stop at 3,000 lbs? Why not go for 2,000 lbs?

My little Cousin likes to ride around in her motorized Barbie Jeep. Think of how that thing would move with an LS1! It even comes with a pink plastic roll-bar for all of you safety conscious people out there.

C'mon now. Let's not make the Camaro smaller.

MunchE

There's a huge gap between the Camaro and the Miata, and you know it. "SMALLER? WHAT, LIKE THE SMALLEST CAR YOU CAN GET? THAT IS RIDICULOUS! HUGE OVERHANGS OR THE SMALLEST CAR MADE ARE THE ONLY REAL OPTIONS, AND I CHOOSE THE FORMER, SIRS!" Most people are asking for the size of, you know, a Mustang. Or a Supra. Or one of the other nice RWD sports cars that isn't heavy and wasting space (although the Supra is ungodly heavy.)

Yeah, but going by all your posts, you want the car to be exactly the car you have. You know, the one that failed.

You want big long overhangs and huge doors that hit the other cars in the lot. You want the car heavy and making inefficient use of the space it has. You want the exact car you have sitting in your driveway.

Which is great, you own that car. Be happy with it.

As for the rest of us, we would like the next Camaro to be a BETTER Camaro.

On another note, for someone who wants their car to stay big and roomy, how come you hate the idea of the GTO so much?

IZ28

M*****g's look so little and not very wide for whatever reason. Camaros have always looked longer and wider. The car needs to be around 184"-187" IMO. No more than that though.

Z284ever

Why not?

guionM

Solstice has a wider front & rear track than the current Mustang, so a Camaro based on this chassis will have the same stance (hopefully without the excess wasted width) and has the wheels closer to the ends of the car (alot less overhang). Simply lengthing the car between the wheels enough to make it a 2+2 would probally make it as just about as long as a Mustang, wider than a Mustang, lower than a Mustang, so in short, it'd be a pretty mean looking ride if designed right.

(Disclaimer:A reminder to some, we are just spectulating here, so you Solstice haters don't go balistic. Since there is no Camaro news, this is a good way to have something to talk about..... who knows, what we say here may influnce someone looking in. Definately possible!)

Z284ever

Who knows. I understand that all the bitching on this and other sites about the 345 hp in the Silverado SS....has got Chevy looking for another 30 horses....for a more Lightning like 375.

IZ28

[QUOTE]Originally posted by guionM"Solstice has a wider front & rear track than the current Mustang, so a Camaro based on this chassis will have the same stance (hopefully without the excess wasted width) and has the wheels closer to the ends of the car (alot less overhang). Simply lengthing the car between the wheels enough to make it a 2+2 would probally make it as just about as long as a Mustang, wider than a Mustang, lower than a Mustang, so in short, it'd be a pretty mean looking ride if designed right."

Sounds good.

"A reminder to some, we are just spectulating here, so you Solstice haters don't go balistic. Since there is no Camaro news, this is a good way to have something to talk about..... who knows, what we say here may influnce someone looking in."

Hopefully.

Pentatonic

This is the opinion I've heard from someone else on the Solstice; small, but pretty wide. So maybe the car is a bit wider than the current Camaro. But from the what I've heard, the rest of the car is significantly smaller.

Oh, and to MunchE, of course I want a better 5th gen Camaro. But "smaller" isn't on the list of things that would make the 5th gen better.

Less weight might be a bit better, but NOT smaller.

Pentatonic

Without turning this post into a GTO thread:

Yes, I like roomy cockpits. However, I have no use whatsoever for a big, roomy back seat. The "GTO" has a roomy backseat and partly because of this, has lost a sports car stance and appearance, and gave way to car resembling a Dodge Stratus more than a "GTO".

At any rate.....on with the rest of the thread.